Car Not Starting... Fuel Pump??
 

Hey guys,

So my 97 coupe is sitting in my driveway and won't start. It didn't happen all of a sudden, here is the history of what's been going on:

-a month ago was when i first noticed a problem. One day it wouldn't start. I kept trying and trying to get it started, and eventually it did fire up after about 5-10 mins. I smelled a bit of gas, so assumed it was flooded (but I had just driven the car earlier in the day, so it's not like it was sitting for long)

-then, a couple times while driving later that week, I felt the car kind of sputter as if gasping for air or fuel, but then continued to run normally (I passed this off as "hmmm, weird"). this happened about 3 times in a week.

-couple days later, it wouldn't start at night (our first really cold night). I tried to start it for about 5mins then gave up and took my mom's car. The next morning, I tried starting my car up, and it started no problem

-now, a few days ago, same thing, no start. I tried again for five minutes, got it to start, but it only ran for about 5-10 seconds then chugged and died. I've been trying periodically since then, but it's just not going.

I don't have experience with diagnosing a problem like this, but my step-dad thinks it may be the fuel pump. Before taking it in to get looked at, is there anything I can do to narrow down the problem? Thanks a lot.

1997 Civic Coup
Standard transmission
all fluids are at normal levels
routine oil changes
new battery in the spring
new spark plugs and wires ~Jan. 05 (according to the seller, and they look new, not stock, so i believe him)
this is the first problem since i bought the car last january

check for spark.
can you hear the fuel pump prime if you turn the key forward to clicks?
So it cranks over but won't start? Or does it not even turn over?

It turns over. How do I check for spark? I'll go listen for the sound of the pump now. I'm not sure what sound I'm listening for though, I'm assuming something that sounds like a little motor.

Alright, I hear a hummmmm,click. I think that is the fuel pump. The car is turning over with the odd chugg.

this may help you
i can think of two things from past experience
1 my old jetta would do it all the time , it was an electrical problem , only way to started when it happened was to move wires (just shake the wires under the hood , the ones plug to the computer hardness) , i had to do it everytime it happened and ea it was apain in the ass but the mechanic told me to fix it i had to replace all the wirin in my car since it only happened once a week.

2 my friend had this problem with his honda before , but in this case the honda would not start at all I, he had to take it to the mechanic and the mechanic did a tune up to his car , after that it was fine

3 this may not apply to you but my same friend with the honda had his car not starting once because of the alarm , something wrong with the alarm system

thanks, i'll keep those in mind. I'm hoping right now I can get some info on certain things I can do to narrow down the cause.

the fuel pump priming sounds like a faint hum....it only lasts about 2 seconds then stops, but should prime everytime you turn the key to clicks forward.
You check for spark by pulling a spark plug, attaching the corresponding spark plug wire and grounding it on the valve cover, then have someone crank the engine over and you should see a spark at the end of the spark plug. If there is no spark or very weak spark its most likely something inside of your distributor.

I'm assuming I do this for every sparkplug, is that correct?

ya, well if theres a problem with the dizzy it usually effects all of the cylinders.

So basically what you're saying is that:

A) if all spark plugs don't work, then the distributor is causing the problem

B) if only one or two spark plugs don't work then it's those that are causing the problem

C) if they all work, then something totally different is causing the problem

Correct?

I'm just trying to understand it now b/c I can't test until the morning.

Had this problems so many times, I am sure its distributor related especially with all the symptoms you wrote. More or less I would say its either the distributor ignitor or control module. In which case it might just be best to replace the whole thing. From my experience when one of the two die its best to replace both.

only three things needed for a car to run, air, fuel, and spark

buy or borrorw a fuel pressure gauge (real cheap to buy at Pac Mall) and install on your filter. that way you'll always know if the car has fuel pressure. pull your spark plug and ground the thread part of it to your block or valve cover. you should see nice blue spark as you crank. if no spark, check one other plug, if no spark on that one either, then replace the distributor.

and compression:wink:

if your near oakville I got the a fuel pressure tester bruno is talking about.

When you check spark.. make sure the spark is blue and not yellow/orangish

Hey, thanks for the input. I've tested the plugs and am getting good spark. I don't have a fuel pressure guage and live in London :(, are their any other things I can try? What about the fuel filter, could that be causing the problem?

Update:

We got the car started by pumping some gas into it, waiting a minute, and recharging the battery (charge was low from all the attempted starts).

We let it idle for a few minute, then took it for a ride...

While driving, if I gave a little bit of gas, it was fine, but when I gave it more, the car wouldn't "take" it and kept stuttering and jolting. We figured either air filter or fuel filter just as a guess.

Took the air filter off and it is still very clean. So this is leading me to think I need to change the fuel filter. Of course, this is purely a guess. Any input?

well pull your plugs... are you running lean or rich (lean they would be more of a white/tan colour, rich they would be black)

to me, it sounds like your running rich. Could be a vacuum leak, your ignition timing is off, etc. Try checking your timing. Wouldnt be a bad idea to change your fuel filter either anyways. And if your plugs are black they are fouled so buy some new ones. (ngk v-powers)

Hmm, well I just finished installing the new fuel filter and that didn't help.

The sparks are black at the ends, but they seemed to be giving a good spark and they don't look very dirty, just a bit black. Plus, during that one time we had it running, it was idling fine, wouldn't that suggest that they were okay?

I think I'd need to take it to the mechanic to check for the vacuum line or timing.

What do you think?

If you had a timing light you could check the timing yourself, its very easy. I asked you before if the spark was blue or yellow, i dont think you answered. So which one is it?

You are running rich, could be a vac leak, weak spark, off timing, bad o2 sensor, etc. Most causes on a honda its either a vac. leak or weak spark.

When I looked at the spark, I said it looked more white with a little tint of blue and my step-dad said it looked fine. I trusted his judgement b/c he's always changing his plugs on his snow mobile. But, if they are supposed to be clearly recognizable as blue, then I'm not too sure. I was going to buy new plugs, but changed my mind b/c the car idled fine. Could it still idle even if the plugs were no good/weak?

Don't have a timing light unfortunately, I can see if one of my friends does. As for the leak, is there any way to check for that? Thanks.

get a water bottle with a spray nozzle.. and spray water near all the vacuum connections on the intake manifold and on the fpr, cruise control connections (if u have it) pcv line, evap pure soleniod connections, etc. If the idle changes when you spray water on a vac line then you got a leak there.