Urgent help with car starting and dieing while driving

[MooreEk]

*IM SORRY IF THIS POST IS LONG BUT I NEED TO GET AS MUCH INFO OUT TO GET THIS PROBLEM SOLVED AS I AM A HUGE NOOB AT THIS STUFF*

My 1998 civic cx with unknown miles on a d16y8 swap has been having major issues when trying to start...i recently just changed the spark plugs. Spark plug cables AND cap and rotor on the distributor. The car ran just fine for 2 weeks then all of a sudden one morning it took multiple key turns and cranks to start it and pressing gas peddle. Then driving down the high way the car dies and i started it back up with they key. Other times it has done this i keep it in 5th gear and frantically press the gas and it starts back up and has a huge back fire like a gun shot out the exhaust. Then other times it dies randomly when im just on a regular road and i cant start it up this way and have to stsrt it up with they key and pressing the gas.

Today was the worst when i was driving the car all day no problem and i stop and let it sit for an hour while i go eat and it would only crank and not start. The battery died and had to get it jumped. The car started right back up and i went home 30 miles away and the car died about 10 times but i started it back up with the above examples.

There are no codes other than the bank 2 o2 sensor that has been present since i bought the car. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[97civicexgirl]

What was the original motor in the car? D16y7? Did you change the ecu to the vtec ecu or leave the original non vtec ecu in the car? Check ignition coil, relay and most wiring you've put together. Maybe replace the whole distributor. Might be a short bit could just be the computer. Sorry couldn't be more help but let us know if you figure it out.

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[MooreEk]

What was the original motor in the car? D16y7? Did you change the ecu to the vtec ecu or leave the original non vtec ecu in the car? Check ignition coil, relay and most wiring you've put together. Maybe replace the whole distributor. Might be a short bit could just be the computer. Sorry couldn't be more help but let us know if you figure it out.

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I did not do the swap. I bought the car with the Y8 motor and transmission. It dose have vtec. Heres a pic of the ecu

and herez just a picture of the motor

 

[97civicexgirl]

Oh I gotcha. Have you checked the fuel pump and relay? When it doesn't crank do you hear the pump kicking on when you turn the key over?

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[97civicexgirl]

If it's not that check your battery, your alternator. The distributor itself. Basically you've lost something somewhere. It could even be compression. So check everything that has to do with spark, fuel or power.

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[XpL0d3r]

Always troubleshoot rather than guess. Need some answers first.

@MooreEk did this issue begin before or after you changed out the plugs / rotor / cap? Either a fuel or spark issue. When it backfires, any smoke out of the exhaust? Fuel pump certainly can cause the symptoms you're describing. Otherwise it may be electrical.

When's the last time you checked the CEL codes to confirm that no new codes have shown up in addition to the o2 sensor codes. That being said... get that fixed. Bank 2 o2 sensor issue could mean the cat is not doing it's job. A bad / clogged cat can also cause those symptoms.

It's also entirely possible that your fuel issue caused your o2/ cat CEL.

 

[MooreEk]

Always troubleshoot rather than guess. Need some answers first.

@MooreEk did this issue begin before or after you changed out the plugs / rotor / cap? Either a fuel or spark issue. When it backfires, any smoke out of the exhaust? Fuel pump certainly can cause the symptoms you're describing. Otherwise it may be electrical.

When's the last time you checked the CEL codes to confirm that no new codes have shown up in addition to the o2 sensor codes. That being said... get that fixed. Bank 2 o2 sensor issue could mean the cat is not doing it's job. A bad / clogged cat can also cause those symptoms.

It's also entirely possible that your fuel issue caused your o2/ cat CEL.

I replaced the plugs, wires, cap and rotor 2 weeks ago All brand new. 4 days ago or so i have gotten this problem. The car struggles to start and Somtimes its starts right up. I Replaced the ignition coil yesterday. I have fuel pressure because there is a gadge on the fuel filter (50-60 psi)

 

[XpL0d3r]

I replaced the plugs, wires, cap and rotor 2 weeks ago All brand new. 4 days ago or so i have gotten this problem. The car struggles to start and Somtimes its starts right up. I Replaced the ignition coil yesterday. I have fuel pressure because there is a gadge on the fuel filter (50-60 psi)

So the issue didn't occur until after you replaced these parts? Plugs were pre-gapped or gapped correctly? Wires in correct order?

When you say it sturggles to start, is it when the engine is cold, at operating temp, or both?

 

[MooreEk]

So the issue didn't occur until after you replaced these parts? Plugs were pre-gapped or gapped correctly? Wires in correct order?

When you say it sturggles to start, is it when the engine is cold, at operating temp, or both?

Cold and hot. Its very random. Wires are in right place