My First Car

[mac_shinobi]

Just got my first car yesterday - Honda Civic 1.4i 1996

 

Freedom

[chrbb]

Nice, enjoy it!

[SYNACK]

Nice, I had a '96 Dommani which is kind of like a 1.6L SOHC Civic with a differnt body on it which was very hardy and took all the punishment that I dished out to it requireing very little mantinence. They are good cars.

[mac_shinobi]

ok tried to go home yesterday afternoon around 5pm started my car which started fine and tried to reverse and it cut out, started it up again and though ok maybe not enough revs so gave it more revs when reversing and within 5 seconds or so it cut out and after that would not start after that.

 

The recovery guy reckoned it would be the fuel pump, the fuel line or the distributor ( really narrows it down - NOT ! )

 

The battery aint run out and I didnt leave lights on ( with it being the middle of summer and all ) and I only used it at lunch time to wind the windows down ( electric windows ) and turned it off straight away ) and the same again to wind them back up and turned the car off and locked it after lunch )

 

Just wondering if one of you guys could try and help me out with figuring out what it is.

 

Been running really nice before it broke down so not really making sense.

[powdarrmonkey]

ok tried to go home yesterday afternoon around 5pm started my car which started fine and tried to reverse and it cut out, started it up again and though ok maybe not enough revs so gave it more revs when reversing and within 5 seconds or so it cut out and after that would not start after that.

 

The recovery guy reckoned it would be the fuel pump, the fuel line or the distributor ( really narrows it down - NOT ! )

 

The battery aint run out and I didnt leave lights on ( with it being the middle of summer and all ) and I only used it at lunch time to wind the windows down ( electric windows ) and turned it off straight away ) and the same again to wind them back up and turned the car off and locked it after lunch )

 

Just wondering if one of you guys could try and help me out with figuring out what it is.

 

Been running really nice before it broke down so not really making sense.

 

Reminds me of trouble we had once upon a time in an Audi 80 (I think I was about 9, that's how long ago!) where the filter on the fuel line clogged and blocked up all the fuel. The recovery guy just pulled the filter off and blew it out himself, so maybe that's something easy you can try to start off with.

 

 

(disclaimer: I'm not a mechanic and I was very young, so I don't know if he isolated the fuel first )

[mac_shinobi]

Reminds me of trouble we had once upon a time in an Audi 80 (I think I was about 9, that's how long ago!) where the filter on the fuel line clogged and blocked up all the fuel. The recovery guy just pulled the filter off and blew it out himself, so maybe that's something easy you can try to start off with.

 

 

(disclaimer: I'm not a mechanic and I was very young, so I don't know if he isolated the fuel first )

 

Bearing in mind that I am hopeless with engines / mechanics I have no idea where the filter would be or what it would look like and I did not get a manual with the car ( 1996 P reg honda civic 1.4i )

[ahuxham]

Very odd indeed. Does your car whine when you first start it? Like the fuel pumps turning on but doing nothing? Does the car move and drive in first gear? Can you turn it on an it stays on just idling? Reversing straight or turning when reversing? (Power steering pumps tend to nick all power when doing low-speed manoeuvres)

 

On a side note, my car ran out of petrol the other day, 400yards infront of a garage as well, was not impressed either, was trying to get home and had sat in Glastonbury traffic for almost two hours. One of the hardships of working less than a mile away from Glastonbury, and having to drive through it all

[mac_shinobi]

Very odd indeed. Does your car whine when you first start it? Like the fuel pumps turning on but doing nothing? Does the car move and drive in first gear? Can you turn it on an it stays on just idling? Reversing straight or turning when reversing? (Power steering pumps tend to nick all power when doing low-speed manoeuvres)

 

On a side note, my car ran out of petrol the other day, 400yards infront of a garage as well, was not impressed either, was trying to get home and had sat in Glastonbury traffic for almost two hours. One of the hardships of working less than a mile away from Glastonbury, and having to drive through it all

 

I don't hear a whining

 

No to the engine idling or being able to drive in first gear

 

Can't reverse or make the car move at all.

 

Have a quarter of a tank left of petrol so there is petrol in there

 

Ive never heard a fuel pump working and so not sure about the whining sound you are reffering to - are there any other tests I could do to make sure the fuel pump is or is not the issue ?

 

the fuel pump in a carwould the whining sound or sound that its not working be audiable and noticable

to me it just sounds like its trying to turn over but cant get any further then that

[powdarrmonkey]

Other idea - my first car, Citroen AX, went through a stage of stalling unless it was choked and revved high - turned out to be the ignition amplifier, whatever that is. Garage job though

[tmcd35]

Reminds me of a very similar problem I had with my Civic. I bought in Manchester and drove it back to Norwich. Fine all the way until the first of the Thetford roundabouts (on the A11 a few miles south of Norwich - so almost home!) and it just cut out.

 

Finally got it going, I think it cut out once more before I got home. It then happened regularly for a few weeks - usually on roundabouts

 

The problem suddenly went away and the car was pretty much fine until someone totaled it

 

It seemed to clear up just after I discovered the manual chock and how to use it properly

 

You don't, by any chance, have a manual chock that you are not using correctly?

[JJonas]

do you mean a manual choke?

[tmcd35]

do you mean a manual choke?

 

Yeah - got into IT so I didn't have to learn to spell. Problem is I'm also too lazy to be bothered with the smell chequer

[mac_shinobi]

what do you mean manual choke ?

[JJonas]

you will have a small handle that you can pull out somewhere in the vicinity of the driving position most likely under the steering column. This lets more fuel into the engine for when the engine is cold after the engine has heated up you would push this handle back in. Otherwise the car might stall as the fuel floods the carburettor.

[chrbb]

Does it have a warrenty?

Was it used daily before you bought it?

Have you let the petrol run right down?

My son's fiesta had similar symptoms, he'd run the car on empty and dirt from the fuel tank clogged up the filter, my husband was on constant call out to rescue him by cleaning out the filter for about a month. (Then it got stolen and torched, so the problem ended )

[stu]

Does it have a warrenty?

Was it used daily before you bought it?

Have you let the petrol run right down?

My son's fiesta had similar symptoms, he'd run the car on empty and dirt from the fuel tank clogged up the filter, my husband was on constant call out to rescue him by cleaning out the filter for about a month. (Then it got stolen and torched, so the problem ended )

 

Was that the same day your husband came home covered in soot with huge grin on his face and no eyebrows?

[tobyhacker]

When you started it to wind down the windows did you only have the engine running for a few seconds? As if I do that with my car I have terrible problems starting it next time because the engine gets flooded with too much fuel (I think - I'm not great with cars)

 

So I always make sure I leave it running for a few minutes that way I have no problems! Could it be something like this?

[OutToLunch]

If I can find it, I have a Haynes manual for that model of Civic lurking somewhere. I had the same 1.4/1996/P and it was a lovely car till someone drove a Mercedes into the side of it and wrote it off... Would be happy to send it in your direction if it turns up.

[mac_shinobi]

Does it have a warrenty?

Was it used daily before you bought it?

Have you let the petrol run right down?

My son's fiesta had similar symptoms, he'd run the car on empty and dirt from the fuel tank clogged up the filter, my husband was on constant call out to rescue him by cleaning out the filter for about a month. (Then it got stolen and torched, so the problem ended )

 

I havent had a chance to run the fuel down because it stopped working when it got to 1/4 of a tank and dont really want to pay for more fuel when it wont even start / turn over

[mac_shinobi]

If I can find it, I have a Haynes manual for that model of Civic lurking somewhere. I had the same 1.4/1996/P and it was a lovely car till someone drove a Mercedes into the side of it and wrote it off... Would be happy to send it in your direction if it turns up.

 

 

Cheers that would be a great help !!

[mac_shinobi]

When you started it to wind down the windows did you only have the engine running for a few seconds? As if I do that with my car I have terrible problems starting it next time because the engine gets flooded with too much fuel (I think - I'm not great with cars)

 

So I always make sure I leave it running for a few minutes that way I have no problems! Could it be something like this?

 

I didnt turn the engine on to wind the windows up / down - Just enough to make the lights light up in the dash etc and the same to wind them back down again.

 

I did wait a few minutes before trying in between each time but thanks for the tip

[Mandy]

I used to have a car that did that! I had the spark plugs changed - about £20, and put more oil in. Worked a treat!!

 

Have you had the car serviced recently? Maybe it needs an oil/filter change?

[mac_shinobi]

I used to have a car that did that! I had the spark plugs changed - about £20, and put more oil in. Worked a treat!!

 

Have you had the car serviced recently? Maybe it needs an oil/filter change?

 

It just had its MOT done recently before purchasing ( 12 months MOT ) and about 10 months tax.

 

Not sure if that counts for anything

[Mandy]

MOT is for the bigger things - like chassis, brakes, tyres etc..

 

You should have a service done yearly, they will change the oil/filter, spark plugs, clean up the engine etc.. Will generally make you car run nicer.

 

Did the car come with a service history? Do you know the last time a full service, A/A was done?

[mac_shinobi]

MOT is for the bigger things - like chassis, brakes, tyres etc..

 

You should have a service done yearly, they will change the oil/filter, spark plugs, clean up the engine etc.. Will generally make you car run nicer.

 

Did the car come with a service history? Do you know the last time a full service, A/A was done?

 

paper work is at home so will check that out when I get home this eve but a service sounds like a good idea - hopefully not too expensive