Help Me Troubleshoot This B*tch... - Honda Prelude Forum

Ludeykrus · 05-27-2004, 01:54 PM

Here's a copy and paste of a previous message, for background info:

"So I've gotten to work on my Prelude today, finally.
It did not crank, and I started troubleshooting. I checked the spark, and the plugs and wires were good. I checked the ground straps going between the valve cover, motor mount, and unibody, and sanded it all down so it was definitely getting a good ground. I then moved on to fuel.

If I pull the service bolt on the fuel rail and turn the key on, it spurts fuel, so her fuel pump is fine. I pulled the injectors stuck my multimeter in one of the injector's plugs. I turned the ignition key to ON I got voltage.....a buddy of mine said that's normal, since the injectors use a switched-ground system. So I gave the injectors some juice by running some wires from the points to the battery, and they clicked. BUT one of them clicked much louder than the others.....I assume they're all good since they all clicked. I then put a test light into the harness to see if it pulsed when I cranked the car, and it didn't....but I'm not sure if it may just be that my test light won't show a Honda's pulses, and I couldn't get my multimeter to work right.

So I grab my Helm's and start troubleshooting. One big thing I noticed right off the bat was that MIL light was not coming on for 2 seconds when I turned the key to ON. I checked the METER fuse, and it was fine. So the Helm's says there is a problem in the wire to the dash light.

So anyone got any ideas as to why it is not cranking? I might actually have a MIL, but I just don't know........

Argh! "

So I pulled the dash apart today and it turns out that someone who had previously worked on my car had taken the CEL bulb out! So I swapped in the one from the brake light and I had a code. I checked it, and all I was getting was #21 - VTEC. Well duh!

So I still have nothing to go on. Everything looks hooked up correctly, I can't think of anything I may have missed. It just keeps turnin over and over, but never firing up.

I'm stumped.

Ludeykrus · 05-27-2004, 05:29 PM

I went and started checkin over things, and I found out that I didn't connect the grounding bracket from the battery ground cable to the tranny housing, but that didn't change anything.

Argh, summer's here and I'm single and frustrated......I'm about ready to pay someone else to fix this *****.....

Ludeykrus · 05-27-2004, 08:00 PM

So I got my Mustang-building cousin in the garage tonight and we started brainstorming. I pulled the valve cover and looked at the cam markings, and they were set correctly.

We then pulled the distributor cap and noticed that the distributor rotor is not pointing at the #1 wire, as it should; instead, it is pointing about 40-50 degrees counterclockwise!!!

The only thing I can think of is this: maybe I got the exhaust and intake cams swapped. They both have a groove cut in the end for the distributor; therefore, they both would bolt up to the dizzy.

How can I determine which cam is which on the H22? My H23 has it labeled on the cam, but I don't see it on my H22 cams...

4thGenReady2Go · 05-27-2004, 08:33 PM

about it not cranking at all, is your starter good?

irishpilot · 05-28-2004, 12:10 AM

bump for the situation...sorry no help?

why were the cams out?

I thought only the exhaust cam had a cut for the dizzy

Ludeykrus · 05-28-2004, 06:42 AM

It cranks, as in it turns over, it just doesn't fire up. It spins and spins and spins.....just it won't run.

The cams were out to replace the valve stem seals.

And I also didn't think they would have the groove for the dizzy in the intake cam, but apparently I was wrong!

How do I tell which cam is which?