gary1954

I am at a complete loss and was wondering if there is actually a resolution to the problem with my engine, I cannot afford to keep taking the car to be “looked at” and pay shop fees, ex-wife saw to that.

1994 Honda Accord LX Coupe.
F22B2 engine
Automatic transmission

The misadventure with my 1994 Honda Accord LX coupe, it was operating as designed (it was running Great) until the “Check Engine” light came on. I jumped the SRS system to get the OBD code flash.
The code indicated a bad EGR valve. Replaced valve; cleared the computer and re-started engine.
Check Engine light came on.
I took the vehicle to a reputable mechanic who determined that the number one exhaust valve was stuck open.
I took the vehicle to another “reputable” mechanic, Automotive Services” who determined that the number one exhaust valve was stuck open

The head was reworked and re-installed on the block, new water pump and timing stiff installed, and the rest of the engine reassembled.
Engine cold, ran great. Transmission Shift Lock went Tango Uniform, used the key to unlock the shift. On the drive home the D4 Light begins to blink and when placed in park, the engine began to idle up and down 500-RPM and the idle air control valve was replaced. All vacuum lines were checked for leaks, none found.

I jumped the SRS system to get the OBD code flash. It indicated that the Top Dead Center sensor was the problem. Took the car back, the mechanic said either the distributor was bad but the TCU had to be replaced. Distributor and TCU replaced. D4 did not come back on, but the engine continued to huff and puff.

I took the car to a mechanic I have been doing business with off and on for over twenty years. The engine was checked and determined to be out of time.
Returned to the “mechanic” that did the engine work, said the engine was not out of time.
Took the car to the mechanic that said that the valve was stuck open and he determined that the engine timing was off.
Returned the car to the mechanic that did the engine work and told him/them that two independent mechanics determined the car was out of timing.
The mechanic at Automotive Services pulled everything off the engine and reset all timing to marks as specified and showed me the timing settings, all were on the marks. Reassemble, car runs great until warmed, then begins the huff and puff. they would "look at it" again for another grand.

Got the Car home
So I started unplugging stuff. One at a time I disconnected and reconnected
The cannon plug on the temperature control sensors separately ….nope still huffing and puffing as with a bad Idle Air Control Valve.
Disconnected the Throttle Position Sensor. …nope, that wasn’t it.
Disconnected the MAP on top of the Throttle body. Engine ran smooth like old times
Cleared the Check Engine light
Replaced both the MAP and the TPS sensors, started it up and the engine RPM immediately went to 2,000. Check Engine light and D4 started blinking. Disconnected the MAP, engine calmed down like normal.but now seems to be misfiring...oh joy
Jumped the port and it coded TPS again…No way.

WTF is going on? I’m at my wits end on this. Like I mentioned earlier, the car ran like a new one until the #1 exhaust valve stuck open. Best option now unless I can get some help here is to scrap the car part by part and hope I can get some cash back.

Rebuilt head
Replaced
fuel pump and filter
Distributor
Transmission Control Module
Idle Air Control valve 4 times
Throttle position sensor three times
Manifold Air Pressure sensor
Checked vacuum lines

This issue is driving me nuts.

Any ideas?
Bad ECU?

Kind regards,

Gary1954

MAD_MIKE

It is highly unlikely that all those electrical components would go Tango Uniform in such short order. There are plenty of guys here on the board with very high mileage cars with nary a component replaced.

Albeit there is a bad, missing, loose ground on the engine that is SNAFU.

Verify engine(cam cover) side engine mount. There should be a three terminal bonding jumper that bolts to the engine mount on both the car and engine side, with a longer leg that bolts to the valve cover.
Verify the main harness ground is attached. At the opposite end from the throttle body of the intake manifold where all the vacuum lines attach there will be a 10mm head bolt that bonds the harness grounds to the engine. It may be hard to see as the master cylinder, power steering hose and fuel line are all in that area.
Verify the main battery to transmission ground is not damaged. Follow the negative cable, it may disappear under hte battery tray and hard to see by the radiator hose, but there is a bracket at the corner of the transmission that is where the main negative cable attaches to. There is also a stubby ground cable from the negative wire that bolts to the radiator support above the headlight near the battery.

The first two grounds would have been disconnected when removing the cylinder head.

gary1954

Thanks Mad Mike, I checked the grounds thsy are good and tight, I think I'm screwed

MAD_MIKE

If you are half capable of plugging in an extension cord, you are more than capable of working on a Honda. They are the LEGO of cars.
I would suggest simply checking the harness for any damage, verify all the connections are clean and tight. Look for any loose or missing pins in the main harness connections. Just be wary, some of the tabs require you to pull or push to release them from the metal tabs and to disconnect them. Check for any loose wire connections that may be coming out of the connectors themselves. If you know how to use a volt meter you can check the voltage outputs to verify that the input, signal and ground are all correct. Check you PM.

Since the only problem the car had before was just the dead cylinder/stuck valve, the mechanic that replaced it needs to fix it. You've gone from a simple mechanical issue to multiple electrical issues that were not there before. Since the engine harness needs to be removed to remove the head this is on whomever replaced the head. Any competent shop would take the car back and figure out the issue.

gary1954

well they will look at it for additional cost. Right now I let people know that I wouldn't let them change the air in my tires.