changed clutch, car wont start. have spark and fuel wtf

[Coutts]

ok so after changing the clutch, i got it put together today. Got all the grounds bolted on, everything plugged in, went to start it up and it wont start. I have fuel and spark, and the battery is still good (puttin out 13 volts) and the motor is turning (i can see my cam gears moving when i try to start it) but it wont start. I did a compression test and found its only building 90 psi of compression (its an ls/vtec motor, my last compression test showed 235psi of compression across all cylinders).

wtf is up? when we changed the clutch, all we did was drop the trans and thats it, didnt f**k with anything. we did take the distributor out to get at the starter though, thats it. I thought i put it on 180 degress off somehow but that didnt make a difference. I did rotate the distributor a couple times, could the timing be messed up from that?

We put cylinder #2 at TDC and took the dizzy cap off and when the #2 piston is at TDC, the rotor isnt pointing at the #2 spot, its pointing right between the #4 and #2 terminal on the cap.

Could the timing be f**ked up from that and thats preventing it from starting? please help!!!

 

[tonyM]

i hate s**t like this, makes me nuts.
its prolly something stupid that you over looked.
good luck man.....

 

[AliasNeo]

are the spark plug wires in the correct order on the distributer cap?

 

[cheezeonmakneez]

I think the distributor only goes in one way. Set the number 1 piston to tdc (check the crank pulley to make sure marks are aligned) then make sure your cam gears are pointing in the tdc direction. If they are not, then some how you screwed the timing up. if all you did was drop the tranny and remove the dizzy, I doubt you did anything to the timing. When you are checking the compression are you cranking at full throttle? That makes a difference I believe. If your timing isnt out of wack, double check all of your connections and grounds.

 

[Coutts]

i know the dizzy only goes in 1 way, but say while it was off, it rotated 360 degrees so that its still at the same position as before, but now 360 degrees rotated, making it offset from what it was before, is this possible?

 

[GREENLANTERN]

r u positive your have everything grounded?
like people said b/f double check over everthing its is probably something small & stupid

 

[cheezeonmakneez]

i know the dizzy only goes in 1 way, but say while it was off, it rotated 360 degrees so that its still at the same position as before, but now 360 degrees rotated, making it offset from what it was before, is this possible?

I dont believe so. I have removed distributors and have taken them apart to replace seals. I just popped them back in and never had an issue. About 90% of your push rod engines, you need to have the distributor pointing in the correct direction according to crank position. Honda ohc engines arent like this.

 

[Coutts]

r u positive your have everything grounded?
like people said b/f double check over everthing its is probably something small & stupid

how would a bad ground cause such a massive loss in compression?

Im thinking somehow timing to f**ked up, maybe im off a tooth on a cam or something, which would cause the valves to not close all the way or at the wrong time or somethign, causing the low compression.

Tomorrow im gonna try putting #1 at TDC, and turning the distributor shft till the rotor ponts at the #1 terminal to see if that does anything. any more input is appreciated!

 

[cheezeonmakneez]

Just make sure your cam gears and crank pulley are aligned with the tdc marks before cranking it over. Dont wanna bend any valves.

 

[Coutts]

well how the f**k did it change? i drove the car into the garage and it sat for a week.

 

[cheezeonmakneez]

Really the only way it can change is if you change it, or your timing belt slips or breaks.

 

[civic98turbo]

does the car crank and crank?...or nothing from the starter...because you had to have taken the starter off...check the grounds...(starter, thermo, trans ground def.)

IMHO...its a grounding problem...

 

[Coutts]

the engine does crank and crank, it sounds like its cranking slower. battery is putting out 13V according to a volt meter. it could be a bad ground i guess but whats causing it to only build 90 psi of compression?

 

[--<EM1>--]

youre not going to get a correct reading if its barely cranking. check everything over twice and take your time.

 

[Coutts]

got the battery charged and it cranks faster but still wont start. It will only spark on #1, and it only does it for 1 cycle, then theres no spark from any of the wires after that. i jsut dont get it, i drove the car into the garage and now its doing this wtf.

 

[spoolinaround]

I hate forien cars now :suicide:

 

[cheezeonmakneez]

Heres what I would do
I would completely remove the engine harness and reinstall it. I am almost certain that something is unplugged or a ground is not tight enough. Yeah its a pain in the ass but then if it doesnt work, you know its not a connection issue unless you have a break in one of your wires. May want to remove the distributor plug and blow it out with air or electrical cleaner.

 

[xxsenceo89x]

even tho its cranking id check grounds...

theres one on the tranny that goes to the frame and theres another for the valve cover. if the valve cover wires not there it wont start. check the neg for the battery also

 

[Coutts]

took harness out earlier, a friend is going to look it over tomorrow and check for any breaks in it. ill keep you guys updated.

 

[cheezeonmakneez]

cool, good luck dude.