[Yeti Poacher]

Hi all! I am new to these forums but have some posts under my belt on bimmerforums under the same name in an effort to care for my 1994 325i which was my only car... until today! My friend just bought a 2008 Honda Fit and bequeathed her older Integra hatchback to me. I have owned a 1992 Integra in the past and am happy to have one again. Hoping to turn this one into the commuter car.

I drove it 1 mile from her house to mine then turned it off and cleaned the exterior, interior and bits of the engine bay. It was having overheating issues so I checked the dipstick, oil cap and under the valve cover for signs of coolant. I saw none. It did not overheat on the short drive but did make it halfway up the gauge. Not sure where this needle should be normally. Coolant level looked normal in the expansion tank. Some signs of coolant leaking near radiator hose. I suspect a sticky thermostat but did not inspect it today.

I went over what I cleaned in the bay and it was mainly oil residue and gunk on the body and hood. I did not see any loose wires or vacuum lines. Checked fuses and all were okay.

I was going to look for bubbling from radiator but now have something else to worry about :bash:

Why does it not start all of the sudden? I re-seated the coil packs and listened for the fuel pump whine and relay click. Everything seems normal. Lights come on and the instrument cluster lights up.

Please help!

 

[Hondacuraplanet]

As you know, the elements that cause an engine to run are spark, timing, fuel, and compression....in basic terms.

Since we can assume that timing and compression are there because the car drove to your house, let's work with spark and fuel.

A 1988 Integra won't have coil packs, it's got a single coil. Pull one of the spark plugs and ground it to the block. Do you have spark?

 

[Yeti Poacher]

Thanks for your advice!

I managed to start it after talking with the previous owner. She says that ever since she purchased it all she had to do to start it was turn the key for half a second and let go. I was holding the key in the ignition position which resulted in the engine turning with no effect.

Just turning the key as she suggested results in the car starting. I am not used to this and find it strange...

I topped off the coolant and bled the system. Drove to a car wash without overheating issues. Also I noticed that the A/C blower only works on off and high. Is this likely a bad resistor pack?

 

[S2K2K4]

That is kind of strange. But older cars often have quirks. I cant think of what would cause that one though. As far as the AC blower, does it have the same effects with the AC turned off (there's only one blower motor). I would imagine so but just checking. Tim do you know if there is a diagnostic procedure for the blower motor on a First Gen? My initial thoughs would be dirty/broken contacts in the HVAC unit for that slide switch but I've never run into the issue or researched it so I'm shooting in the dark. Also not too familiar with the platform as I've only owned 3rd gens.

 

[Hondacuraplanet]

There's a blower resistor on the left side of the blower box, but we can't get them anymore. I can't say that we saw issues with those, but at this stage of the game, anything's possible.

We DID see a ton of heater control cable replacements in first-gen Integras, and switch panel replacements though, of which only the latter could be suspect.

 

[Yeti Poacher]

Okay thanks to both of you!

I will poke around and see what I can find.

 

[Hondacuraplanet]

As an interesting aside, none of the first-gen Integras came to the dealerships with either A/C or radios. They were all dealer installed.

For the radios, each dealership had a board full of radios that you could try, similar to what used to be in electronics stores. You picked the radio you wanted before you took delivery

 

[Yeti Poacher]

That's pretty neat. Times have changed.

The stereo looks aftermarket. It is a Clarion with pale green LCD display. I suppose it could be original from the dealer though.