HELP!!!

PeaCheZ · Post by **PeaCheZ** » July 3rd, 2006, 11:16 pm

I dunno what is wrong with my mx3, i try to turn it on and the car starts revs up to 2, than shakes and then shuts off, i tried starting it 3 times in a row and it shuts off, i cant even move the car from my garage...i dont know what it is!!!

Post by **Custommx3** » July 3rd, 2006, 11:19 pm

Got spark in all cylinders? Start with the ignition system.

Check for spark on each wire, pull each plug and see if its fouled.

PeaCheZ · Post by **PeaCheZ** » July 3rd, 2006, 11:25 pm

im scared to do anything,,, do u think it is a gas problem??? maybe i need a fuel pump cause i have been running it on a quarter tank 94 octane, and ive used tune up fluid into the crankcase, to soften the noisy lifters from canadian tire , but it has been making the oil thick and the car idles really rough, even when im driving ,,, this is been going on for weeks now, hoping that the oil will then out be4 the next oil change, but now my car doesnt even start!!!! i think it ruined my car...it cant be anything else i hardly drive the car and ive replaced everything, even charged the battery to full ..Help im freaking out i love my car!!

ariesdude · Post by **ariesdude** » July 4th, 2006, 3:28 am

Sounds like the ignition module is bad - try another distributor - it will help you rule in/out the ignition mdule.

and/or

http://www.clubprotege.com/wil/howto/hei/index.htm

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » July 5th, 2006, 12:46 am

Check for spark, then check the plugs.
When was your last tune-up and what was done?

illapino · Post by **illapino** » July 5th, 2006, 1:57 am

Interesting. Because my precidia has done the same thing today. Well not the same as you in that I managed to get mine from the college parking lot where it first happened, to my mechanic, and then to my house, but it was shutting off in the middle of me driving today, causing me to be the blinking hazard blocking the traffic downtown. My mechanic got me cranking the s--- out of it and deduced that it needs a new distributor.

Although i had a tune-up last week in which a new "rotor" and a new "distributor cap" were installed... isn't the engine "rotor" the distributor?!

I'm getting rid of this car... Might as well buy something newer...
i believed in you precidia, but enough is enough

Vanished · Post by **Vanished** » July 5th, 2006, 6:07 am

Jalapeno:

Go take apart your disty or google it to figure out what a "rotor" or a "cap" is. When you put things in quotes because you don't know what they are, thats a hint that you should look it up! Like i said before, it's simple stuff that you need to find out on your own. (i'll help you out this one time...the thing with nipples is the cap, and the flat thing that spins around inside is the rotor).

PeaCheZ:

I'm not familiar with your problem, but always always check your plugs and ignition systems as mentioned when a problem like this occures. Then look at the fuel system...did you try and give it some gas next time you start it?

change your oil to some quality 10W30 and a new filter to get rid of the tick..unless your OUT of oil, it's no probable that oil will ruin your engine, so don't worry about that.

I noticed you mentioned a rough idle. Check out the hose that runs from your intake box to your throttle body. Look between the ripples for cracks, because if you have a large leak your car WILL start, ilde ruff and stall. The crack could be getting worse, hence your car idleing rough, and now not starting at all.

jschrauwen · Post by **jschrauwen** » July 5th, 2006, 9:57 am

Vanished wrote:PeaCheZ:
I noticed you mentioned a rough idle. Check out the hose that runs from your intake box to your throttle body. Look between the ripples for cracks, because if you have a large leak your car WILL start, ilde ruff and stall. The crack could be getting worse, hence your car idleing rough, and now not starting at all.

Myself, I'd start with the simple things like vanished mentioned above. That intake flex tube can develope cracks and eventually lead to big enough holes / gaps that will affect your idle. It maybe also the cause of that surging too but not 100% on that. I would highly recommend that you do a search on your other issue wrt oil additives and the like. Basically, it's a bit of a tabboo to be doing those off the shelf make your engine gimmicks. Basicaslly, a lot of it is just a bunch hooey. Search "HLA" and that will lead to more informative info as to taking care of your rngine wrt to oil and oil additives. You didn't hurt your engine much with the additive but you didn't do it much of a favour either. I would imagine that a lot of those additives might even make things worse by clogging already small oil galleries and the HLA's. Search "engine flush" also if you like to make a clean start with your engine oil and follow a regular routine of maintenance. Be carefull what products you use from Crappy Tire. Post back your results.

John

illapino · Post by **illapino** » July 6th, 2006, 2:56 am

Vanished wrote:Jalapeno:

Go take apart your disty or google it to figure out what a "rotor" or a "cap" is. When you put things in quotes because you don't know what they are, thats a hint that you should look it up! Like i said before, it's simple stuff that you need to find out on your own. (i'll help you out this one time...the thing with nipples is the cap, and the flat thing that spins around inside is the rotor).

there is a rotor inside the distributor
i know what a distributor cap is and i know it had nothing to do with this
when i had my tune-up last June 22nd 2006, the mechanic put in a new distributor cap that cost $55.30
when I had my tune-up last June 22nd 2006, the mechanic also installed a new rotor for $12.86

now let me quote what I said for the record:

...although i had a tune-up last week in which a new "rotor" and a new "distributor cap" were installed... isn't the engine "rotor" the distributor?!

do you see anywhere in that quote where i am unable to distinguish between the distributor cap and the rotor? NO. absolutely not. Nowhere there do i ask you or anyone here what a cap and a distributor are. i merely quoted them because that's as they appear on my bill. I know that the cap is a separate piece that goes on Top of the Distributor. So I Did Not Ask That. All I didn't know is what the ROTOR on my bill exactly meant: the rotor in the distributor or a rotor somewhere else in the engine, which i've decided against since i'ved only read about this one rotor in the distributor...

and no, there were no brake rotors rolling through my mind...

what confused me at the time was "if there is a brand new rotor in the distributor, shouldn't the distributor be just fine?".
i guess not...

please don't give me attitude. i do my searches term for term on wikipedia and if i slip still, do you really think i deserve to be replied at like that? please. this is my money flooding into this car by the hundreds to fix the crack out of it and i'm not taking all of it for granted. believe me that i do my searches. i read as much as i can. if you're tired of my questions, just ignore them. thank you for "hints", but don't give me attitude.

so anyway, i'll be having a USED distributor being put in on Friday, although i'm weary about it being USED. "How long will a used one last?" The mechanic replies that they have no idea. no assurance. "A month?" they said hopefully. (?!?!)
A new one costs $200 more.

it just baffled me that suddenly i need a new distributor, even though i got a new rotor put in--something that appears to me (from what i've read) to be the core element and basis and machinery and brain of the distributor.

so after another distributor is put in, what's next? a capacitor?
. . . . . $$ . the mechanic is basically my employee . $$ . . . . . .

my car still shut itself off today in the middle of me driving every like 6 kms. i no longer try to restart it right away. i turn on my hazrds, take out the key, wait for probably exactly 55 seconds (while waving to people behind to just pass and stop honking), and then try it again (brake and clutch down) and it starts up just fine. it shutting itself off randomly is the only problem... so perhaps nothing to do with ignition even!!

other possible causes besides distributor?
immobilizer (my alarm is a cracky no-name that might secretly be going crazy)
fuel pump (it slipped out of the mechanic's mouth, but he still decided distributor in the end)

sorry for the long post. just wanted to fully elaborate on the dilemma's symptoms so that i can garner more accurate speculations.

Bochek · Post by **Bochek** » July 6th, 2006, 11:31 am

after pollishing my vc the other week, my car did that, i looked under the hood and the sparkplug wires where sitting on the exhaust manifold, make sure your plug wires are in their proper holders.

Bochek

ariesdude · Post by **ariesdude** » July 6th, 2006, 1:09 pm

illapino wrote:what confused me at the time was "if there is a brand new rotor in the distributor, shouldn't the distributor be just fine?".

The distributor is not just the rotor - it has an ignition module, ignition coil and a cam angle sensor all built into it along with the rotor. So if you just change the rotor you cant just assume the disty is fine. In your case it sounds like the ignition module is bad (which is very common). A cheaper reliable fix for that is already available - http://www.clubprotege.com/wil/howto/hei/index.htm .

By the way $55 for a disty cap is a certified rip-off considering you can get them for $20 at rockauto.com

illapino · Post by **illapino** » July 6th, 2006, 5:14 pm

ariesdude wrote: By the way $55 for a disty cap is a certified rip-off considering you can get them for $20 at rockauto.com

i'm in canada..

anyway, i'm now leaning towards getting a new distributor instead of a used one. For $200 more, I'd much rather have the assurance that it will last more than one month! Although there is still that possibility that my problem will remain after I have it installed, even perhaps in a different form. That's what scares me. What a risky business this is. Mechanics can diagnose and tell you to put this and that in the car but can't be at fault if it doesn't eliminate the problem. Great for me...

remember, possible causes for random cutting out:
1) distributor
2) immobilizer
3) fuel pump
my mechanic has chosen #1. let's hope he's right.

I test drove a 2006 Honda Civic today, not an Si, but miraculously I still missed my Precidia. New cars don't have the feel that my car does. I mean the seats in our 92s are great (with the hole in the head). I don't think I can part from this car now. Paying for a brand new car will kill all my other lives, that's for sure. Maybe I should just keep the MX3 and put up with the fixes. I can't imagine myself in Integras or Civics. They're just too common; everyone has one. The precidia is shunned by its maker and the aftermarket, perhaps that's what lured me to snatch one up regardless of the pre-inspection report. Who knows what the future holds. I hope I'm doing the right thing by keeping this 222 000 km driven car...

Hmm, the gearbox sometimes grinds...

Teqnyck · Post by **Teqnyck** » July 6th, 2006, 6:31 pm

My Mx did the exact same thing, like the exact thing, and it was my JE50 air flow sensor. I'm with the moderator on this one. Check your intake tube, make sure it has no leaks. Make sure you VAF is sending a voltage signal.

Vanished · Post by **Vanished** » July 6th, 2006, 7:27 pm

Well, my advice is to take a plung. Go to the junk yard and find a disty, take it out yourself, and buy it. Take it home and put her in, fire it up and see if it works...i'm sure you can do it yourself, and you'll learn alot while your at it, while saving the money that you'd pay your machanic.

BUT

check that hose first! trust me..it's important.

Here's another quick hint: Alot more people would be able to help you if you made a thread for this specific problem, instead of making a thread in a thread. People would see it faster, and you'd get a better response..

good luck man!

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » July 6th, 2006, 7:37 pm

My advice is take some auto shop classes and read the shop manual cover to cover. No offense.. but from the sound of it.. you have very little mechanical experience. This website offers LOTS of information. But if you have no mechanical experience and arent inspired to learn how stuff works.. it will be worthless to you. This site is a great resource.. but its upto the individual to put it to use. Just my 2 cents.

Tunes67