midway615

My Civic is having problems not starting. I've been troubleshooting this thing for quite some time now. In the past few months I have been able to start the car two times, and both times it would run for about 30 - 45 seconds and then cut off. When it cuts back off ... it will not start again, and I'll smell some smoke inside the cab area.

About a year ago, I noticed the smoke coming from the ignition column area. I was having problems with my clock/radio/heater working, and I was told it was the ignition wiring harness. I replaced it, and it the car started up fine, and everything seemed to work fine .. then it shut off and didn't start again til last night (almost a year later).

I know there's nothing wrong with anything mechanical under the hood, due to the fact that it actually ran for about a minute the other night. So it leads me to believe that I'm still having an electrical problem ... maybe even the same one from a year ago. I haven't been able to pinpoint which wire is causing the smoke (it smoked again the other night while it was running).

Here's a list of what's going on:

1. When I turn the headlights on, the check engine light comes on kind of dim ... and if I turn on the turn signals with the lights on, the CEL comes on full brightness.

2. If I turn the headlights on, the tach will rise up to around 1500 rpm.

3. With the key in the "on" position, if I turn on the hazard lights, they won't flash ... the indicator lights on the instrument cluster will remain constantly on .. rather than flashing ... and the signals on the outside of the car won't work period. I can also hear a popping sound in my speakers when I turn them on.

4. Turn signals do not work on instrument cluster, or outside the car.

5. ECU light is not blinking once at me when I turn the key to the "on" position like it used to.

6. Fuel gauge is not working.

I don't belive the ECU is the problem because it mostly handles engine mangement, not the tach, turn signals, hazards, etc...

I've tried tracing each wire to see if something is grounded somewhere, but I can only see so much of the wire before it disappears into a massive bundle of them wrapped in tape. I also figure that my "no start" condition is coming from the fact that my ECU isn't turning on. Without it, I'm not getting any spark or fuel, but like I mentioned earlier ... I don't believe it's the culprit.

Any ideas?

I want to verify that my timing is correct. I had to replace my timing belt and my head a couple of days ago. When reinstalling the head, I made sure that the number one cylinder was at top dead center and the valves for the #1 cylinder were closed as well. In my mind that puts everything correct ... the camshaft pulley was in the correct position, and I knew that the valves were closed. I had just looked at the piston, so I knew it was in the TDC position.

However ... when I reinstalled the harmonic balancer I noticed that the three marks were about 180 degrees off from where they should have been. The pulley has a keyway on it, so it can only be installed one way, so that's correct.

I know that if someone brings a car in to have the timing checked and the marks don't line up, then the timings off. In my case though, I had just looked at the piston and knew that it was at TDC.

Is it possible that I'm 180 degrees off, and my piston is on the exhaust stroke rather than the compression stroke? It wasn't running before I did the work, and it's not running now (but hopefully should be).

Everyone keeps telling me to line the marks on the harmonic balancer up with the arrow on the timing belt cover. This all makes sense and is what I have been doing. However the final time I bolted the head down I noticed that I didn't do that. To me it seems that it should be working fine, and it should be timed correctly ... it's just that when someone else looks at the balancer they won't understand what's happened.

I guess my main question is this:

If you remove the head from the engine ... does the piston have a stroke to it, or a postion? For example if the piston is up top, can it be at both TDC for the compression and exhaust (all depending of valve postioning once the head is reinstalled).

Hopefully all that makes sense.

On my S10 I'm having some issues. It's been going on for quite some time now, but now the problems are getting more severe.

Last summer it started to hesitate just a little while driving down the road, and it would only do it while I was maintaining my speed. If I were to push the pedal to the floor, it would take off like it was supposed to. It felt like real subtle misfires, however it would never cause my check engine light to come on.

Over a period of two or three months the "misfires" got a little worse and worse until it started setting off my CEL. I went ahead and replaced the distributor cap, rotor, plugs (ac delco), and plug wires, and that didn't fix it either. It was more of an annoyance than a reliability issue, so I didn't worry about it too much. I figured the worst case would be that I lose gas mileage.

Last week however on my way to work it misfired extremely bad. It was spitting and sputtering all the way to work ... that afternoon it went back to what it was normally doing; just kind of hesitating while pushing the gas pedal.

Yesterday morning, it wouldn't start. It turned over fine and a couple of times it sounded like it almost wanted to crank up, but it never did. It had been sitting since Friday night, so that would make 2 1/2 days of not running. When I got home from work I tried starting it up, and it fired right up. It was idling horribly though. It would rev up to 1500 rpms and then down to 200 rpms. It did that for a few moments, then it began to smooth out. I rev'ed it up a little and the rough idle started all over again and it even cut off a couple of times.

A few hours later I had my wife follow me to AdvanceAuto so they could put their code reader on it.

On the way there it was running kind of rough, but not horrible ... not like it was in my driveway. I floored it a couple of times and could see a LOT of brownish smoke coming out the back. My wife was following me and said she could smell gas.

AdvanceAuto hooked up their OBD reader and said it was reading "multiple misfires", and the right and left O2 sensor where bad.

I went ahead and replaced the throttle position sensor, but that didn't fix the problem either.

Any ideas?

I have an 86 F150 with the straight six, 4 speed manual transmission, two wheel drive.

The straight six needs a rebuild, and most likely a new clutch.

I have access to a running (free) 1979 Ford with the 400M with an automatic transmission. I've looked, and looked online but can't find anything about any kind of domestic motor swap ... at least not what I'm trying to do.

I know with enough money anything is possible, but do you all feel that this is a feasible project? I don't have the experience needed to pull off a task like this, so I'll have to find a shop to do it. To save money I'm going to remove the straight six and transmission myself.

I'll be getting the motor, automatic transmission (C4 or C6), driveshaft, and entire rear axle assembly off the donor truck.

I have access to all the parts that come off the original truck (donor truck), so I can get anything else needed.

Any idea if custom motor mounts are made? Who makes them? Most importantly ... is this a dumb idea?

I have a budget of about 700 - 900 dollars to get the truck running with the 400 in it.

I've got a 1990 Civic that's been sitting for about a nine months now and won't start. It was running fine until I changed the ignition wiring harness. I installed the new one, started the car, it ran for about 2 minutes and cut off. It hasn't started back up since then, and that was last March.

Here's what I know:

Timing is correct ... spark is good ... fuel pressure is good ... new main relay ... new plugs/wires/rotor button & dis. cap ... ecu appears to work fine (little red light comes on when you turn key on). The ECU isn't flashing any codes either.

I had a really low reading on my # 3 cylinder when I did a compression check. The rest were in the 130 range ... the number 3 cylinder was around 60. So I could need a valve job, but would that cause the motor to not start at all?

I have access to a free 1990 - 1992 Lincoln Towncar. I can't remember exactly which year model it is, but it's in that range. It comes with a 302, and an AOD, or AODE transmission.

I also have access to a cheap 1989 Mustang LX without motor & transmission. It was originally equipped with a 302 ... and an 5 speed transmission.

Can I reasonably put the Lincoln motor/transmission in the Mustang?

I'll have some people to help me that know much more than I do, but I figured I would ask on here before I try to arrange things.

I imagine the driveshaft would be different, but what about all the mounts; are they different too?

I've helped with import motor swaps before, so I know the basics ... but I've never dealt with a RWD swap on a domestic ... let along having to swap a transmission too.

Any ideas?

I have a 1989 F150 4.9L (2 wheel drive). The motor doesn't run in it, and has been sitting for about a year. I also have a 1988 ish Lincoln Towncar with a EFI 5.0 motor.

Is it possible, or feasible to swap the 5.0 into my truck? I've heard people say never put car motors in trucks ... but besides some of the plumbing and wiring being different, is there any actual difference in the motors?

The 5.0 runs, so that's the only reason I'm considering it. I'm not going to be towing with this truck, it's more less used to haul trash to the dump with, and to drive to work on.

I don't know about transmissions though ... I have a 4 speed transmission in the truck now, but the lincoln is an automatic of course ... might take some rigging to get that to work right.

Any comments, ideas?

I have an '03 Yamaha TTR-125 that is having issues. It will start and barely idle after about 15 kicks. When it is idling it's blowing a tremendous amount of blue smoke (oil) out of the exhaust.

When I let off the clutch in 1st gear it won't move any ... it's almost like it's still in neutral. I've tried starting off in 2nd gear, but have the same results. I was originally having issue's just getting it to crank up, but I adjusted the exhaust valve and it now at least will crank. It seems to rev fine, but I haven't rev'ed it to high either.

The only other thing I know is that I tried to start it by push starting it down a hill. But when I popped the clutch in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ... it wouldn't even catch. It felt like it was in neutral.

I just did a compression test today, and after four kicks it read 110 psi. I'm not sure what the spec's are, but that sounds low. I went ahead and removed the motor because I figured it was the rings. After disassembling everything, I noticed a lot of carbon build up on the piston head and valves. The rings are fine, and the piston is fine with no holes or cracks. The only other thing I can think of is the valves, but I don't know what to look for there. Any ideas?

I also drained the oil and I can smell gas in it. The oil is a greenish color rather than a black or brown.

If something is wrong with the valves, would that contribute to it not moving any while it's in gear, or is that a seperate problem?

I have an '03 Yahama TTR-125 that is having issues. It will start and barely idle after about 15 kicks. When it is idling it's blowing a tremendous amount of blue smoke (oil) out of the exhaust.

When I let off the clutch in 1st gear it won't move any ... it's almost like it's still in neutral. I've tried starting off in 2nd gear, but have the same results. I was originally having issue's just getting it to crank up, but I adjusted the exhaust valve and it now at least will crank. It seems to rev fine, but I haven't rev'ed it to high either.

The only other thing I know is that I tried to start it by push starting it down a hill. But when I popped the clutch in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ... it wouldn't even catch. It felt like it was in neutral.

Any idea's? Is the smoke related to the "not moving" problem ... or are there two different issues?

I bought this bike about six months ago from a local shop, so I'm not sure of any existing conditions.

I just built a go cart with a 6.5 hp engine. It's for my 7 year old daughter, and it's just a little too fast for me to turn her loose on it. Is there any way I can slow this down without changing the throttle cable or sprockets?

I know NASCAR uses restrictor plates ... is there anything like this for my motor?

Here's some useless information (maybe it'll help). I'm using a motor from Harbor Freight Tools, and a 12T chain clutch from Northern Tool. The engine is one of those new cheap ones from China that's a rip off of the Honda versions. I also have a 60T sprocket on the drive wheel.

I have a 1990 Civic DX with a 1.5L motor. I recently had to replace the ignition switch wiring harness. After completing that job I started the car, and it ran for about 10 seconds then cut off ... and it won't start back up.

Here's what I know ...

The wiring harness was installed correctly. The timing belt is fine, the distributor cap is new, spark plugs are new, rotor button is okay, plug wires are new ... battery, cables, starter, alternator, etc ... are all okay/new. I'm about 70 % sure it's not a fuel issue. I haven't actually disconnected the fuel line to check yet though.

I can occasionally hear what sounds like a back fire through the throttle body (my air filter hose/box is off). It'll shoot a fuel mixture back through the intake. It looks like a nitrous system purging. The last time that happened it ended up being that my distributor was bad. I'm getting a good spark this time though.

The only other thing that's been done recently to it is ... I removed that annoying little beeper thing that goes bee bee bee bee beep ... bee bee bee bee beep .... bee bee bee bee beep while the doors open and the keys are in the ignition.

I had to pull out the fuse box under the dash and actually use a soldiering iron to remove the speaker. I'm pretty sure I didn't goof anything up while doing that, but who knows. The fact that my car actually started and ran leads me to think that it's not a wiring issue caused by me.

Here's how I checked to verify timing ..

I found which cylinder was the number one cylinder. Manually turned the motor until it was on the compression stroke. Use a long screw driver to tell when the piston was at top dead center. I then checked to make sure the rotor button was hitting the number cylinder spark plug wire, and it was. That leads me to believe that the timing is good.

The sound I get while trying to start the car is somewhat higher pitched than it normally sounds. If I hadn't already checked I would swear it was a broken timing belt because it sounds like it's only turning half the motor (but that's not what's happening).

Tonight I even trying spraying just a little touch of starter fluid into the throttle body .. that didn't even work. I didn't want to push my luck, so I only tried it once. I sprayed one good spray about two seconds long directly into the throttle body. I figured if that didn't work, it probably wasn't going to help any.

I've triple checked the ignition switch harness, and fuses, but everything appeared okay.

Here's what I haven't checked: fuel filter, fuel pump, and I haven't put a timing light on it to be 100% sure about timing.

Any ideas?

I have a 1989 boat that has a 2.3L OMC Cobra Stern Drive in it. I started it up for the first time this weekend. There appears to be several issues here:

1. The motor won't shut off with the key. I tried turning it off at the switch and nothing happened. I even disconnected both battery cables and it wouldn't cut off. I had to pull off three of the plug wires before it would shut off.

I just replaced the starter with an automotive starter (I know the whole deal about it being dangerous, and creating a small atomic explosion, etc...) I bought the old one from Advanced Auto, so I carried it back to see if they had a new one. The part number was five digits long ... something like P3191. The section of the part number that has the "3" was partially torn off, so we had to guess and it turned out that P3191 was a valid part number for them. It looks identical to the old one, and has the same amount of teeth. Since it actually started the boat I assume it's the correct one, but I could be wrong. If I'm wrong could that be what's not letting it cut off. It sounds normal when it starts, i.e. no grinding, the bendix didn't hang, nothing wierd.

Issue 2. The motor is overheating (that's why I had to cut it off quick). I can see water shooting out of the two little holes on the stern drive. I do notice that water is leaking around the water pump area. It's behind a cover so I'm not 100 % sure that's where it's coming from. It's been about three years since I replaced the water impeller on the outdrive, so i know it's about due. There are four hoses that are coming out of my thermostat housing, and I know one of them goes to the water pump. I've seen people pull that hose off and check to see if it's pumping, but I don't know which hose it is.

Any idea's on the two issues?

1990 Honda Civic is having issues with the fan motor not blowing. Here are the symptoms:

1. I've seen a little bit of smoke coming out from where the steering wheel goes into the dash, and next to the turn signal lever. I haven't been able to pin point the source of the smoke or exactly where it's coming from. The smoke only comes out once in a while, so it's not something I can look for.

2. The radio and fan/blower will not work with the key in the "on" position or with the car running.

3. All fuses and wiring (from what I can see) are fine.

4. From what I can tell I'm not getting any power to the fan speed switch at all. There are six wires that run into the switch harness, so I took a 12v test light and touched each little prong that was sticking out and didn't show power to any one of them (fyi .. my test light had a good ground).

5. The radio will work with the key in the accessory position, but that's all.

6. My cig. lighter also will not work when the radio and fan isn't working. And I think the clock even shuts off too.

A few weeks ago my wife said she saw the smoke, but it only lasted a few seconds and then it was gone. Everything still worked fine then, but last Sunday (March 1) I started the car up, and the fan wasn't blowing and the radio wasn't working. I parked the car for about a week, and started looking at it yesterday. When I started the car up, the fan worked fine, and the radio worked. So I played with the fan speed switch some just to make sure it was going to keep working. Everything was going good, but then it suddenly quit ... along with the radio. I then shut the car off, and started to troubleshoot.

I know it's not a fuse, or a hot wire that grounding out somewhere. If it was just the blower I might think it was a relay or something, but since it effects the radio too, I'm not sure. I've mentioned that the radio works while the key is in the accessory position, but the fan blower doesn't work at all with the key in any position. I also think that the fan speed switch is working fine.

Maybe you guys can tell me if I tested my fan speed switch correctly. I have a voltage meter that has the whole ohm option on it. I don't really understand ohms, so this is what I did: I found the wire which I believed to be the hot wire to the switch and put one probe on it. It's a four speed switch, so with one probe on the "hot" I put it to each prong. When I touched the correct prong my reading would go from 1. to .300 or somewhere in that region. I tested each one of the four speeds, and each time I touched the correct prong my reading would change to what's listed above.

Any ideas???

I have a 1996 S10 4.3L and I have noticed that when I accelerate slowly it'll hesitate a lot. If I floor it, it'll accelerate like it should ... and it will idle fine. While maintaining 25 - 65 mph I can sit and watch my motor drop 50 - 100 rpm's. It does it consistently enough that it caused my check engine light to come on.

My wife has rode with me, and she says that she doesn't notice the surge, hesitation, skipping, so it's real subtle. The time I notice it the most is when I'm slowly taking off from a stop or a really low speed.

Any ideas? It doesn't feel like it's misfiring from the plugs or plug wires, but I could easily be wrong. I haven't found out what the code is for the check engine light either.

I just bought a 74 XL 100 a couple of days ago, so I'm not sure about any previous problems. The bike will start and idle fine, but it doesn't respond to me twisting the throttle. It usually bog's down and cuts off. I also just replaced the spark plug because it was fouled out.

It seems to start fine, but it just won't go anywhere. The previous owner mentioned that he just installed a new carb. He bought it from the Honda dealership, and the name brand of it starts with a "K". He said that it wouldn't start for him and he thought the carb needed adjustment ... but he didn't know how to do it, and that's why he was selling it.

I haven't checked the valves like someone mentioned before ... could that be issue? I'm new to bikes so I'm not sure what gremlins normally pop up. Any ideas?

I just bought a 1974 honda xl 100 dirt bike and it's not starting. The previous owner said that he bought and installed a new Honda carb on it, but didn't know how to tune it.

Is this something easy to do? Is there anywhere I can look for information on how to do this?

Okay, my newest issue is I'm leaking antifreeze from my motor. It took me about two hours to locate the leak, but I think I know what the problem is ... I'm just hoping I'm wrong, so I figured I'd ask.

The leak is really small and it's coming from where the valve cover meets the block. It's right underneath the A/C compressor, so I can't exactly see the fluid coming out, but I know that's where it's coming out at. So the fluid is running from the front to the rear along the motor where the head, and valve cover meet. And if your standing in front of the truck looking at the motor, it's running down the front right side of the motor.

It is not the thermostat housing or any hoses ... check them all really good. So I'm thinking it's the head gasket (ouch!!). Does this sound correct? If it is, anyone wanna take a guess at how much it's going to cost?

I know I also have a bad lifter, so if it is the gasket, it'll be a good time to replace it too.

If that turns out to be it is there anything else that I should look at or replace while the motor is torn apart?

Has anyone ever heard of a who doo stick? I have no idea how it's spelled, so I typed it out the way it sounds.

I have two uncles that love to play practical jokes so I'm guessing this is one of them.

There is this thin wooden stick they have that has a small propeller looking thing nailed into the end of it. The stick is probably 10 inch's long and is ribbed about half way down.

They rub the "who doo" stick and the propeller looking thing will start to spin. They'll tell the person looking on to say the word "who doo" and once the person says it, the blade stops spinning, and goes in the opposite direction. You can say all the words you want to, but only saying "who doo" will make the spinning switch directions.

I've tried using the stick a bunch, but I can't even get the propeller/blade thing to spin. I'm sure this is a joke that they are thoroughly enjoying at my expense, but I can't figure out how it works.

Any ideas???

I have a 1996 S10 and the third door is having some issues. The door handle is no longer working. I've removed the handle portion and it appears that there are two rods; one which controls the top latch and the other controls the bottom latch. I ordered a new handle and it's identical to the factory one, but from my research online; it appears that it'll break before too long as well.

I have seen where people install aluminum handles instead of the factory plastic ones. But my problem is that the rod that controls the bottom latch has come loose and isn't working anymore. I can pull on the rod that controls the top latch and I'll feel the latch come loose, but not the bottom one.

From what I've seen this is a common problem. Has anyone had a problem similar to this ... or know how to solve this problem???

I have a 1996 S10 with the 4.3L V6. I just bought it used, so I'm not sure of all the pre-existing conditions. I think this one just started though.

My temperature gauge shows my water temp ranging from 180ish all the way up to 225ish. I can't imagine that I have a thermostat that'll allow the water temp to go that high, but the temp gauge never maxes out. It'll heat up to around 215 and hang there for a little bit then it'll increase up to 220 and then it'll drop all the way back to 170 -180. The cycle keeps repeating itself.

I also don't have any heat blowing through the vents. I can also hear a funny noise coming from the area that my heater core is in. It sounds like water squishing around.

Also the air that blows inside the cab only blows through the defrost vents, I can put the selector on floor and the others, but it'll only blow on the windshield.

Any idea's ???