Hello guys and gals.
My 1996 Civic CX has a bone stock motor and just last night it ran. We changed the head gasket without taking the intake mani off and when we put the head back on, the car would not start and stay running. It would start then die instantly.
PLEASE HELP A YOUNG MAN SUCCEED IN HIS RACING CAREER!

 

Make sure everything is connected up correctly (wires and hoses). Check fuses etc. Check main relay.

Can you here the fuel pump run when you turn the key on (but not start engine)? If so, check for spark. If you have fuel and spark, do compression and or leak down test.

 

make sure tps/map sensor plugs are not mixed up. Try switching them. Often happens to people, happened to me, worst part is that it wont throw a cel either.

 

We have fuel, we can hear the pump running, and there is fuel going through the filter, we have spark.. we checked that already. And the worst part of it all, nothing was disconnected. And there is absolutely no power to ANY of the fuses, under the dash or under the hood.. And the car ran just last night...

 

Did you check like 10x if timing is right?
Firing order?

 

If the timing wasnt right, would it still start then die?

 

I skipped a tooth once, it ran like a bag of ****. Didn't idle for long till i stopped and shut it off. If timing was significantly off, you could have bent a valve and now you have no compression due to propped valve.

 

Both the timing mark on the cam gear and the crank gear are lined up. after one cycle, the marks are dead on.. Maybe off by one tooth. I will check the compression tomorrow. I hope like hell that i dont have a bent valve...

 

1 tooth wont/shouldn't cause anything serious.

Have you checked the firing order?

 

My dad isnt home right now, and i dont know where his compression tester is. We will do that when he gets home.
D-series.org, doesnt help like this board does. They just say, "GTFO", "Dont touch a car again"... etc.. Once again, thanks guys!
And the firing order, we will also check that when my dad gets home..

 

just make sure the wires are in this order

 

Well, this was an odd one. My neighbor, who is smart when it comes to wiring, was helping us and we were working on it for hours. We had to re-route the main power wire to the starter and then run another wire to the under hood fuse block.. Now, the problem is solved. Thanks for your help guys!

 

So your wiring coincidently gave up on you whilst working on the head.
Interesting.
Glad you got it resolved.

 

Trust me.. We were wondering the same thing. We ran the car all year so far and then all of a sudden, this? My dad almost lost it cuz this car has what i like to call them "issues" that need to be solved..
Once again, thanks guys!

 

Glad the problem is solved.

 

Thanks. But we are still going to look into why it just quit. And do it right!

 

pulling up on the head, without the harness disconnected, prolly pulled the harness away/across the starter and possibly ground it out or just cut/split it etc. things get damaged when you work on cars, it's inevitable. More so when you try to cut corners.

 

That makes absolute sense!

Amen!