Binginatigoot

So I'm a long time lurker on here and this is my first post. I've been using the search function for about everything now and I've done a lot to the car just looking at other posts on here. I was about to throw KYB's on the Integra when I read on here about Koni and ground control. So I went with that. Now it's finally time to ask a question.

My car: 1998 Intagra LS (B18B1), manual trans, no modifications other than viper alarm and koni/GC suspension (well, there is a dumb intake on it, but all vacuum lines are hooked up accordingly).

The problem is multi-faceted. For starters, when I first got the car I could turn the key and nothing would happen (not even the starter) for about 10 whole seconds and then the starter would instantly come to life and start the car (with ease). Never figured out why it took so long for the starter to actually start up. It's still doing this but now it's worse. Takes even longer for the starter to start up. My dash lights and everything power up just fine, it's just the starter that's giving me the trouble. About a month after getting the car the CEL came on and the code was for CKF sensor. I am in school for engineering and I did not have time to replace that so I just did this little trick with ECU wires to get through emissions, and goddamn it worked!

http://ff-squad.com/wp/?p=309

So everything was fine after I drove home from the emissions testing place and things continued to be "ok" for about a week. Now I am having hesitation problems when accelerating. Idling is perfectly fine, it's just when I really hit the gas (mainly in 2nd or 3rd gear WOT) there is a large stutter and the car shakes. It's almost as if the plug wires are really bad. I replaced the plug wires (NGK) and the cap and rotor. The problem got a tiny better (noticeably) but it is still there. It's still hesitating to rev up even when not under load (revving it up with my hand under the hood). I'm not sure if both of these problems are even related, so I'm asking to see if anyone else has had something like this happen. I have done the replace-everything-until-it's-fixed method and I just don't want to do that anymore. So at this point all these things are happening and the CKF bypass trick is still hooked up (ECU wires spliced). And remember, it drove just fine with no hesitation for about a week after I did the CKF bypass.

Nothing has been done since then besides replacing the plug wires and cap/rotor. I'm at a loss as to what I need to check next. The car used to be slammed, so I checked all the connections to make sure nothing was shaken loose, but everything is snug. I might buy a CKF sensor, undo the bypass trick, and install the CKF sensor and see if that does it, but I'm just not sure which problem is related to which, or if they're even related at all.... Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have the factory service manual and I'm currently going through that, but it seems to address the problems independently so I'll see how that goes. I also know the CEL may flash codes even though it's not lit up (by the way it went off after the CKF bypass and stayed off and is still off) so I'll check to see if there are any stored codes tomorrow.

Thanks again for reading and hopefully we can work this out.

fcm

Redo all your main grounds, DO NOT just eyeball them, [disconnect/clean/reconnect].

Batt. post and cable clamp, batt. to chassis, chassis to engine, thermostat ground(s), rad support to VC grounds. 94

Binginatigoot

I'm heading out there pretty soon to work on it. I'll locate the grounds and redo them and I'll report back what happens. Thanks!

Binginatigoot

Alright I just got done checking all the grounds. I sanded the contacting surfaces with a little bit of 500 grit sand paper to clean them up. I hooked everything back up and drove it. So far it's still having a lot of trouble accelerating. The idle is good, but as soon as it's under a load it stutters pretty bad just like before. I've had the same exact problem happen on my old corolla and replacing the plug wires fixed the problem 100%, and I've put new NGK plug wires on this car and the idle seemed a little more smooth, but it still has the same jerky acceleration problem. I'm not sure what to look into next at this point.

HondaPartsHero

Is the CEL still on?

Binginatigoot

Not at that point (right at my last post). However, I'd like to update the situation. Just like my other post said, I undid the FF-squad CKF bypass so now all my ECU wires are going to their corresponding factory locations. I believe the problem is fixed. No hesitation upon acceleration and the idle is beautiful. I'm not quite sure why I had MIL codes in the first place. I would think that after I undid the FF-squad bypass, the MIL code would come back... And it still might over time, but as of now, everything is running fine.

So that problem appears dormant, now for the starter issue, it's still there. When I try to start the car, I turn the key all the way (to start it) and nothing happens (no starter function) at all for about 10 seconds. Then, the starter cranks and cranks and it has never started the first try. I pull the key out, put it back in, and try it again. The second time I have to wait about 5 seconds and the starter kicks on and starts, but this time it starts the engine no problem. No repeated cranking on the second time. This problem is consistent. It always takes exactly two tries (two key inputs) to start the car. Never has it started in one shot. I'll do some more testing and troubleshooting when I get more time since my weekend is up. I'll report back when I figure out what's up with the starter.

Also, the CEL light is NOT currently on at this point. It was in the past BEFORE I did the CKF bypass. After the CKF bypass it went away and now that I have UNDID the bypass, it's STILL off. Something to think about there.... Anyways, thanks!

Binginatigoot

Update: I took it for a drive today and the hesitation came back unfortunately, but this time the CEL flashed me a code. I'm getting P1359, which should be the crank position sensor (in the distributor I think). I'll go to the helms manual and see if I can test that component individually. If not, maybe I'll have to replace the distributor. I'm not calling it a "dizzy." That's not for my generation.

fcm

Did you redo the thermostat ground(s)?

As for the starter problem, test for power on the starter lead at the starter...
https://honda-tech.com/forums/tech-misc-15/simple-diy-start-circuit-test-%5Bbypass-jump%5D-2961164/ 94