1993 Honda Civic Car shuts off after starting

Tiny
LBAHENA
  • MEMBER
  • 1993 HONDA CIVIC
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 180,000 MILES
My honda civic recently shut off on me while driving on the freeway. RPM's dropped to zero and I lost all power. The car fired up after 2 attempts and I was able to drive it home, 30 minute drive. After I shut it off it would not start again, engine would turn but would not fire up. I had the main relay resoldered and the car would fire up for a quick second then die. Almost as if it weren't getting any fuel. I then noticed that none of the cells on the dash would turn on when I turned the key to the ON position. After turning the key slightly toward the ON the cells on the dash turned on, the relay clicked once and I heard the fuel pump start. So I figured it was the ignition switch. I just swapped the ignition yesterday with the new one, all wires on the ignition switch connected exactly the same way as the old one. The car starts and revs to 1000 RPMS but then shuts off after about 2-3 seconds. So this is where I am at now. I am told it could be my distributor, ignition module, coil, idle control valve. I do get fuel from the pump and the fuel filter is not clogged and I have spark. Oh, one other thing. Right after I start the car and then it dies, if I leave the key on the start position after it dies, I hear a buzzing sound coming from around the intake? It doesn't go away until I turn the key to the off position. Please help.I need my car to go to work.
Friday, September 11th, 2009 AT 4:28 PM

2 Replies

Tiny
F4I_GUY
  • MECHANIC
  • 3,302 POSTS
Jump the service connector to see if you get any codes.

If you get no codes, I would check for STRONG spark. Strong spark should be blue/white and very bright. If it's a dull orange spark, you have weak spark. Check this on every cylinder.

Also, check your fuel pressure, you may not be recieving enough fuel pressure to keep the engine running.
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Friday, September 11th, 2009 AT 7:31 PM
Tiny
LBAHENA
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Thank you for the reply.

How can I check the fuel pressure if the car shuts off a couple of seconds after it turns on?

I will check the spark again. I didn't look for a particular color, I was just glad to see that there was spark from each cylinder. Would I need to change the cap and rotor to get a good spark?
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Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 AT 1:22 PM

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