Sold a 91 b2oa to a friend and symptoms speak for itself. PULLED THE VALVE COVER OFF And both marks on cams line up perfectly. ALL FUSES ARE GOOD . Since its popping I know its getting fuel and spark. i'm guessing its the distributor or the cam sensor. Didn't have much time to go over it all. Any symptoms like these ever get posted/

Only time I've seen something like that is when the ignition timing is way off. Make sure the distributor is not installed 180 degrees off (yes it's possible to do that). Also verify the spark plug wire routing is correct. The distributor cap should be marked to show which cylinder each wire is for. #1 cylinder is on the timing belt side of the engine.

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1991 Prelude Si ALB 4WS
2017 Ram Rebel

So far the timing marks on the belt and cams are dead on.FLYWHEEL MARK IS RIGHT AT TDC. sO i'm guessing its either the distributor module shot. Also could be a clogged fuel filter or pump. Remember a shop had this for a while but gonna see if they put the dizzy 180 off. I noticed new wires on it. tHE SCREW ON THE THE ROTOR CAP IS INTACT.

Well it fires o.k. according to my timing light. So its either the fuel filter or pump. It primes cause I can hear the pump. Hope it isn't the main relay. USUALLY WHEN YOU TURN THE KEY TO on THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT GOES OUT LIKE IT DOES. iF IT DOESN'T THEN IT'S THE MAIN RELAY. Hopefully it's just the filter. Dizzy is in correctly.

NEW FILTER DIDN'T HELP. Also re soldered the main relay and swapped a good ecu in. Still no start. Must be either a clogged strainer or pump. Got them ordered. Will keep you guys posted.

Slow down and take a minute to re-assess the situation Les. Are you absolutely sure the ignition timing is correct? I'm not talking about the cam to crankshaft timing (timing belt). I'm talking about the ignition timing (distributor position). If you're sure about those, are you sure the spark plug wires are on correctly? I'm not sure you've narrowed it down to being a fuel issue judging by what you said you've done.

It sounds like you are kind of all over the place. Lets get back to basics...remember, an engine needs fuel, spark, and compression in order to run. But these need to occur at the correct time as well. You've verified that you have spark. Have you verified that you don't have fuel? Crank the engine over for 10 or 20 seconds. Pull out a spark plug and smell it to see if you are getting any fuel. If you have spark and fuel, do you have sufficient compression? Like I mentioned before, the only times I've heard an engine pop like you described is when the ignition timing is off. If it's popping you are definitely getting fuel. Whether it's enough is still in question.
But it won't pop if it's not getting any fuel at all.

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1991 Prelude Si ALB 4WS
2017 Ram Rebel

when I had the crank at tdc and cams were both pointing up and white line on flywheel was lined up on pointer, I took the dizzy out and double checked the installation. Rotor was pointing up ready to fire no. 1 wire. All wires are perfect.Now it doesn't pop at all anymore. Remember this car has 335,000 miles.I'm gonna spray some starter fluid in it and if it fires off then I'll know it isn't getting fuel. It's a JDM B20A that I put in at 286.000 miles so it's a young engine.

Kind of makes me wonder if you have more than one issue here since it's not popping at all anymore. Hopefully not. The starter fluid is a good idea. If you get it to fire with the ether then you'll at least know you can ignore everything but the fuel system. Best of luck.

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1991 Prelude Si ALB 4WS
2017 Ram Rebel

Starter fluid didn't work, I remember that when I cranked the engine with the timing light, I put it on the flywheel. I noticed it flashed at tdc instead of 15 degrees. Maybe the distributor is shot? Now it starts to fire only when I have the pedal all the way to the floor. Wonder if the throttle body has anything to do with ignition?

Finally started after holding it to the floor for a minute. Problem is that it feels like it's running on one cylinder.So either it's the distributor or the injectors. Is there a specific ohm range they should be in? Also won't idle with it running like that.Almost felt like my teeth were ready to fall out.was also wondering if the fuel injector resistor box is shot?

Some good news. After checking the compression which was 160-180 psi cold wide open throttle, I RE ADJUSTED VALVES. Now it started at full throttle but this time it felt like it ran on 2 or 3 cylinders. The good news is that it threw a code 9. No. 1 cylinder position. Guess I'll need to replace the cam position sensor. Also checked the fuel injector resistor and all were at about 6 ohms. It calls for 5-7 ohms. Wish me luck in the j-yard this weekend!

Glad to hear you're making progress. Sounds like you have decent compression. I'd like to see those two numbers be a little closer together but it's within acceptable parameters. Had you tried adjusting valve lash recently? It's unusual for the valve lash to be off enough to keep an engine from running. Good luck at the junkyard this weekend.

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1991 Prelude Si ALB 4WS
2017 Ram Rebel

yes After checking the compression I adjusted the valve lash on all. Some of the exhaust valves were pretty far out. So it's either the wiring for the cam sensor, a bad cam sensor, or maybe the idler pulley for the timing belt loosened up Which I doubt. After the engine warms up I'LL Let you know the compression readings.

I wouldn't run the engine if it's only firing on 2 or 3 cylinders. Besides that, you want to test compression when the engine is cold. I'm curious to hear if the cyl sensor makes a difference.

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1991 Prelude Si ALB 4WS
2017 Ram Rebel

Double checked the cam sprockets and found something interesting! Both cams were pointing straight up at TDC But the alignment holes aren,t the same. The exhaust cam looks 90 degrees off. Forgot to mention that when I took the valve cover off initially, I saw the cam sprocket loose. RE-tightened it up but guess the keyway fell out. I'll be busy in the morning.

Oh wow, yeah that would make it run like crap. In fact I'm surprised it even ran at all. Hopefully you didn't bend any valves. I'm wondering how the compression tested good too.

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1991 Prelude Si ALB 4WS
2017 Ram Rebel

Got the cam out and the front is toast. A piece sheared off but was held in place by the sprocket. Don't happen to have a B20 exhaust cam and sprocket do you? Guess I'll start hunting for one. I heard a b21 could be used, Just read that somewhere once.

No wonder why the cam position sensor was throwing a code!

Junkyards here are empty. lots of gen 2's and 4 and 5's but no gen 3's. ordered some off ebay. NOTICED IN THE Chiltons that both b20 and b21 had the same intake cam but the exhaust valve cam was different.

I wonder if the lobes on a B21 exhaust cam let the valves stay open a bit longer. I remember reading in the 80's folks were getting more torque by tweaking the exhaust portion of their engine.

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God's Not Dead

First off, yes I do have a spare b20a exhaust cam and sprocket. Let me know if you still need it.

As far as the cam interchangeability goes, you can use a b21a1 exhaust cam with no issues. I've read that you might actually see miniscule gains with it. I installed one on my previous 3rd gen, but didn't notice any difference. Again, according to the other forum, you should see modest gains with a b18b intake and b21a1 exhaust cam combination. The b18 intake cam needs to be machined a little on the sprocket end because it's slightly longer than the stock cam.

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1991 Prelude Si ALB 4WS
2017 Ram Rebel