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car starting, and immediately stalling?

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  • #561091
    joshuajoshua
    Participant

      last week i took my car to the shop because it was sputtering and stalling, they said they couldnt find a problem with it, and when i got it back it ran fine. they said moisture must have gotten in somewhere.

      well everything was fine until i had to pick up a friend from work when it was raining. the car began to stall again and i ended up killing my battery trying to get it home.

      a friend of mine said he had a similar problem when a shop once forgot to plug his O2 sensor in, so i got under my car to check that out. i knew it was plugged in, but the wire for it was long and it dangled from the bottom, so i thought maybe it scraped and the wires were exposed….i was right..

      so i took the O2 out and shortened the wire, and repaired the wires, put it back together, even wrote out a diagram so i didnt confuse the wires.

      then i put the O2 back in the catalytic converter, plugged it in, secured the gromet. and waited for my friend to come and jump my car. assuming it would now run.

      he got here, at first it just cranked, and didnt turn over. then i got it to turn over, and it would immediately die once it started, no matter if i gave it more gas or not.

      im burrowing a battery charger to charge the battery to full, but i know its not going to run yet, so i would like and greatly appreciate some input on what it could be. i took out the O2 again to make sure it was alright, i can take pictures of it or whatever may be needed.

      any information is appreciated

      -Josh-

    Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 26 total)
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    • #561121
      JayJay
      Participant

        Your no start condition is not due to the O2 sensor. What kind of car? Did you get a check engine light?

        #561129
        college mancollege man
        Moderator

          Test fuel pressure with a gauge. any check engine light on?
          if so post codes.

          #561133
          joshuajoshua
          Participant

            when it was acting up the check engine light was not on. right now im not sure because the battery is dead, i have to go to my other friends to pick up the charger tonight.

            #561145
            joshuajoshua
            Participant

              do you think it would run correctly with the sensor removed? just so i can verify there is no other problems with the car?

              #561150
              ytramytram
              Participant

                Un plug the sensor and try it. Should start if the sensor is bad with cold engine regardless of wire condition. Sensor wires when broke or cut make sensor usually junk when trying to fix them.

                #561154
                college mancollege man
                Moderator

                  I would leave the o2 alone for now. Get the codes read
                  and posted. You could try spraying starter fluid to see
                  if it runs off that. if it does run then its a fuel issue.

                  #561176
                  joshuajoshua
                  Participant

                    i just tried to start the car again with my room,ate jumping me. i unplugged the O2 and got the same results, starts for a second and shuts off. unplugged the other O2 to see if maybe that one was bad. still had the same result

                    btw im driving a 98 honda civic ex, sorry i havent mentioned that before.
                    its a manual transmission, if that matters lol

                    #561282
                    college mancollege man
                    Moderator

                      check out this no start link for some troubleshooting.
                      click on your symptoms.

                      http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-no-start-problems

                      #561293
                      george gonzalezgeorge gonzalez
                      Participant

                        It could still be a wire problem. If the wires were exposed for any length of time, moisture can creep into the cable. The O2 sensor is a super-high-impedance circuit, so it doesn’t take much moisture to swamp out the O2 sensor.

                        Also it could just be some other problem altogether, it’s not rare for cars to have multiple small issues. Hondas are known for having ignition switch problems. If the car runs as long as you hold the switch to start, or even let it spring back halfways to the “run” position, then the problem is in the back half of the ignition switch.

                        #561324
                        dave1645dave1645
                        Participant

                          main relay light brown box up under the dash to the left of the steering wheel take it out open it up and you will see a cracked solder joint reflow the solder and your good to go

                          #561353
                          joshuajoshua
                          Participant

                            i will make a video of whats going on tomorrow and post it, that way you can see what exactly is going on with the car. hope it helps. i dont think its the ignition switch based on how the engine is acting when trying to get it running, will update in the morning!

                            #561369
                            Kevin CriswellKevin Criswell
                            Participant

                              Check all your fuses. The reason you heard an O2 can cause a no start is because the power wire for the sensor’s heater sometimes runs other parts of the ECM also. A bad heater wire can short and blow the computer’s main power fuse.

                              I found this website to be helpful for diagnosing Honda/Acura computer problems.

                              http://techauto.tripod.com/

                              #561394
                              Lorrin BarthLorrin Barth
                              Participant

                                The ECU doesn’t use the signal from the front oxygen sensor until the engine is pretty well warmed up. So, no chance of it affecting start unless, like said above, the wires are shorted.

                                The rear oxygen sensor is for monitoring emissions and doesn’t control anything.

                                #563363
                                joshuajoshua
                                Participant

                                  UPDATE: got the battery charged up,and was inspecting the spark wires and discovered one was popped out a little bit, pushed it back down and cleaned off the wires attaching to the battery because there was lots of corrosion. tried to start the car; as soon as i turned the key, before cranking i would hear a loud clicking and clattering sound coming from the dash on the passenger side. didnt think anything of it at first.

                                  today i was on the site and read about the main relay going bad in honda’s. and realized it was near where i been hearing all that noise. so when i got home i checked to make sure i had fuel pressure (loosened the fuel filter and turned the key, without cranking. fuel spit out as expected) and then i went over to the passenger side and dropped the glove box down and turned the key and verified that it was in fact the main relay making all that noise. i took it out, but there was no broken solders like in eric’s video. so i suspect it shorted somehow and needs replacing.

                                  but this is where i am at now. the car now does not turn over at all (when the relay is connected) it just cranks and cranks.

                                  would like some feedback on what you think, if i should replace the relay, or take further steps to diagnose the crank, no start.

                                  thanks for all your help! much appreciated!

                                  #563392
                                  EricTheCarGuy 1EricTheCarGuy
                                  Keymaster

                                    I think this video might help. Leave the main relay alone for now. I don’t think it’s the problem.

                                  Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 26 total)
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