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1989 Honda Prelude 2.0si TIMING ISSUE? NO SPARK

Home Forums Stay Dirty Lounge Service and Repair Questions Answered Here 1989 Honda Prelude 2.0si TIMING ISSUE? NO SPARK

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  • #987275
    todd manntodd mann
    Participant

      Hello,
      My son and I are working on an 89 honda prelude 2.0si. It was starting fine when we started working but we knew we needed to do the timing and work out many kinks to get it to run smooth. Replaced o2 sensors, pcv valve, checked plugs, wires, etc…still starting at that point. Noted a large coolant leak below the distributor. Had to rebuild the “T” shaped hose connection down there. Did that. Reinstalled the distributor (which appeared fine and operable). NOW car will only crank and no start. Been like this for several weeks now. We swapped coils, verified no spark there. No spark at plugs needless to say. swapped igniter from a ’91 that we know works. no joy. I have seen alot of talk about being off 180 degrees causing timing off so that it wont start, but i cant be sure with this car because we could only get the distributor to go in one way. We did not force it in or bolt it down etc…we have another prelude and understand how that has to go in correct. At first, we thought it made a difference how the distributor was turned (after removal) so we tried turning the distributor rotor different directions (disconnected from the head) to see if we might have accidentally turned it but nothing seems to change the situation. I turned the engine manually to the timing mark on the flywheel and noticed that rotor went toward the #1 plug connection. But now i really dont know if we have a timing issue or not. Could it be a big air block in the coolant system since we pulled out all the cooling hose beneath the distributor? And why are we getting NO SPARK? Checked all connections (plug wires, coil connections, distributor on snug and plugged up), NOTHING. Car goes to run fine and all electronics come up with no apparent blinking codes shown on ecu. We hear the fuel pump kick in as well so not sure if we have a main relay issue either. All under hood fuses are good. Any ideas would be gold. thanks.

    Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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    • #987278

      Not to be simplistic, but did you take the rotor off? If so check the continuity of the transfer circuit and if it can be put on backwards. Also, check the distributor cap for smashed or scorched contact posts,and no plug/dist wires have separated inside the insulation. If that is all good, check all ground straps and for loose screws in the distributor on the electronics and they are not worn to much or damaged. If nothing found during that, I would check for unplugged Engine monitoring sensors,if any don’t report properly it disconnects the ignition system and all of their wires run through the harness removed to access that coolant T you worked on. I don’t remember if that has a deadman rollover switch, but if so it might need reset.
      I hope it helps, and good luck, if it doesn’t reply and I will try to get back.

      #987279

      BTW ECM and safety module fuses are either behind the passenger side dash storage drawer or under the driver’s side dash behind the storage drawer if equipped or the lower panel if not.

      #987281
      todd manntodd mann
      Participant

        Thank you David for your response. It is greatly appreciated. We did not remove the rotor. The rotor cap looks good including all contact posts. We swapped coil and all plug wires with no change so not a wire issue directly. I forgot to mention that we do have AC Delco spark plugs in there (supposed to be NGK). I doubt that is our main issue with no start but i thought id mention it. I will double check connections since our work on the cooling connection, but im pretty sure we have gone over that several times with everything lining up. Dead man switch…thats in the trunk area right? not sure about that one. I doubt that would have been affected if there is one. I do wonder if a ground could be affected as while we were working on the coolant line and had the distributer off, i was doing alot of degreaser and water spraying from a spray bottle into the engine bay area to clean away alot of grime…so we could see future leaks. I tried not to get any in wire connections or on the distributor but i wonder if my spraying could have affected something. My next job is to check all interior fuses and check once again that everything was plugged up in that area. I will post the result.

        #987282
        todd manntodd mann
        Participant

          checked all interior fuses. The only ones not showing connectivity are the starter fuses (in run position). i pulled them out and they are not blown. i’m basically just cleaning up ground connections now. went over all connection again…all in place and snug. SHRUG

          #987305
          todd manntodd mann
          Participant

            FOUND A BAD GROUND BEHIND THE COIL! The two wires that come through the fender and out toward the coil had parted from the bolt. That created this hopeless situation. Thanks for anyone that looked into this on our behalf!

            Todd

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