I can't find the signature thing, so I'll just put my car info up here:
1994 Accord EX 2.2L VTEC AT

I'm pretty new to DIY. Put in a new radiator not too long ago, and this last weekend I decided I would do a little tune-up: Oil change/filter, new plugs & wires, and new dist. cap and rotor.

I pulled the plugs and wires, and removed the cap and rotor. Upon further inspection I decided not to replace the cap and rotor as neither looked very worn.

I followed all the specs in my Chilton's guide as best I could and was going fine until I got to the plug wire firing order. The picture of the dist. cap made it tough to tell how it was oriented, and overzealous noob that I am, I didn't mark them beforehand. After some searching on the web I found some clearer diagrams and the marking for the 1st cylinder on the dist. cap. I think I have the right order now, but though engine sounds like it's almost going to fire a couple times, still won't actually get going. Here's the breakdown of the timeline.

1.) Pulled wires and plugs. Removed Dist. cap & rotor.
2.) Replaced dist. cap & rotor. Did not change rotor position.
3.) Installed plugs.
4.) Installed wires in WRONG order.
5.) Attempted to start.
6.) Changed order.
7.) Attempted to start.
8.) Repeated #6 & #7 in various combinations until my battery died.
9.) Charged battery overnight.
10.) Repeated #8.
11.) Put original wires and plugs back to see if maybe I'd bought wrong parts.
12.) Repeated #8.
13.) Joined this forum.

I know that:
1.) My battery works. Tried starting it from a jump too. No dice.
2.) Starter's working.

I'm pretty sure that:
1.) I have the right wire placement now 1-3-4-2: 1 going from the mark (A1) on the cap which is also the furthest from the front of the car (matches my roommates '93 accord also)
2.) Plugs are getting a spark based on the singeing on the tips
3.) Fuel is getting to the plugs. Can smell it on them, and can actually smell it sitting in the driver's seat trying to start it.
4.) Car is generally not in that great of shape. Just passed 250,000 miles.

So, I'm at a loss. It worked before I "fixed" it. Did I kill it?

Any help is much appreciated.

-Drew

 

Are those spark plug leads arranged in CW rotation 1-3-4-2? If counter-clockwise, rearrange.

If yes, then timing or fuel supply.

If you have a timing light check for flash on light w/ pickup attached to any lead. No timing flash means no spark.

Listen carefully, when you turn keyswitch to On. You should hear a couple of clicks under the dash and fuel pump in tank buzz for 2-3 secs, and go off. Check engine light should go off w/ pump.

Post your findings for additional help.

good luck

 

here is a diagram, for the correct wire placement, refer to this and double check work.

make sure all wires are completely seated and that you put the rotor back in the same position


note that the top picture of the dizzy cap is the one you want to compare to. the bottom one is for the non-vtec engine

 

Texas: I don't have a timing light. I didn't hear clicks this time except for the check engine light going off and on. I could hear the fuel pump running. I'm pretty sure they're clockwise unless I've gone completely dyslexic, which is possible...

Tek: Thanks for the diagrams, they're way clearer than the ones I had. Double checked the wires again, but still no luck.

I made a short video of what I've got so far and how it sounds when I'm trying to start it. Not sure if the quality's good enough to hear but if you wanna check out that'd be awesome.

Thanks again for the help.

YouTube - ‪The Sights and Sounds of my Not Starting 94 Accord EX 2.2L VTEC AT‬‏

 

Do you have gas in the car? Not trying to be funny. I helped someone before where the car was out of gas and it sounded like that.

Edit: Just re-read your post that you smelled fuel.

 

From the video, you have it in the right firing order, 1-3-4-2. Also, that bump in the cap should be between 3 and 4, so you have them in the right order.

This shouldn't make a difference, but the longest spark plug wire is for #1. The shortest for #4.

Did you try to start the car with the distributor cap removed? Did you check that you didn't lose the spring that sat on the post of the coil? Did you unplug anything inside of the distributor?

 

Didn't try to start without the cap, but I didn't notice a spring at all. Is it possible it "sprung" away when I removed the rotor and I just somehow didn't see it? I didn't touch anything in the distributor itself, just the cap and rotor.

 

The distributor looks new. Was distributor removed or replaced during maintenance?

Remove cap and make sure the spring in the cap is in place.

Check that blk/yel wire to the distributor has 12v when keyswitch is turned to On.

good luck

 

That could be my issue. I don't recall seeing any spring in the process. Should I have in the process of removing the rotor? I'm sure it must have been in there before hand because the car was running. I'm just wondering if I dumped it out trying to get the cap off and never even saw it. Is the order cap---->spring----->rotor? If so, it's somewhere in the engine or on the ground, lol!

 

That order is correct. The spring comes with a distributor cap. I can't remember if it could easily fall out. It is simple enough to check. Just look in the cap where the big post of the coil should connect to the cap.