My car broke down today and will not start

sounds like a general tuneup, minus the internal coil(pack). whats the car doing just not starting?

 

The problem is you drive a Honda.. get a mans car.. AMERICAN MUSCLE!

 

BTW... No such thing as a V4.. its a 4 cylinder.

 

yeah Its an I4 but anyway.... your engine needs 3 very basic things to run, gas, air, and something to make them combust in order to turn the engine over. Your car is lacking that something to make it combust. It sounds like your distributer is whats wrong (this includes the cap,coil and rotor that you mentioned), it decides which cylinder needs to spark and exactly when and in what order. The other 2 things are sorta tune-up that need to be done with a new distributer. The spark wires are what bring that high voltage shock into the engine, and the spark plugs are what actually make an electrical arc inside the cylinders, igniting the gasoline.

Its not a very complicated fix, could take less than an hour if you have all the parts at hand... but must likely your mechanic not only has to order parts, but has 10 other cars to fix first. Your best bet for getting it by sunday is to track down somebody (a friend?) who knows cars and just see if the stuff is available at NAPA or someplace for immediate install.

 

I am no mechanic but it sounds like possibly a cylinder is missing. (Spark Plug not firing) While all of those things your mechanic said is a likely cause and should be replaced, try just replacing the spark plugs first. If it works, it's a 15 minute fix that will get you around for the weekend. Just use a socket wrench with a special socket for spark plugs (has rubber inside to grip the plug) to remove and install plugs. Replace the coil pack last, this will be a rather expensive item and I wouldn't replace it unless it is broken.

 

YO !!! ALEX,
Maybe he should get a "monte".i bet you don't have a problem getting yours to mooooooooooooooooooooooove !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Shaka brah,
surfdog

 

I have a 10 year old Jetta....I work on my car all the time.....Sounds like you have a bad coil or your distributor needs adjustment. All the other stuff you mentioned is just basic tune-up stuff. I would join a Honda forum and go from there do it yourself all the stuff you mentioned is very easy to replace.

 

i can help a bit, i know hondas really well (went to school for them). Your engine is called an F22B1, 2.2L SOHC VTEC. Your mechanic is saying you should change all of those parts, but you really dont need to - Only one of them is causing the car not to start.

Basically the first thing you need to find why the car is not starting. Its either missing spark or missing fuel. more than likely its missing spark. If you want to test this, using a 5/8" spark plug socket, remove a spark plug and once its out of the motor, plug it into the spark plug wire. Hold the wire so the threads of the plug are touching anywher on the motor (causing it to ground) and have someone try to start. You will either see a spark or no spark. If there is no spark at all, it can be coil or ignitor. Both are pretty easy to change... if you need more info on how to do this PM me. definitely do not remove the spark plug wires from the distributor (only unplug them from the spark plugs) and also do not remove the distributor (3 12mm bolts). There is no need to do this, and it will cause problems if you dont have a timing light or dont know how to orient the spark plug wires.

if you want to search on a forum www.honda-tech.com is the site

if you want to keep the car for a while, learning how to fix a honda is noodles easy, like the easiest cars of all time to fix. you just need the honda service manual www.helmsinc.com and a basic metric toolkit

 

Was out all day and it really started looking nice in the late afternoon, if you don't get up tommorrow you will regret it. Get loaded when the waves are not good.

 

i had the same car and the same thing happened. i got new spark plugs and a new coil for around $300