F20E36

Hello everyone I recently purchased a Tune Up kit for my 1996 Honda Civic CX (d16, non vtec). I was experiencing some issues with starting the car as the car would not crank over when I turned the key fully into the on position after turning the car off, I then got a CEL P0301. The tune up kit came with the distributor cap and rotor, NGK spark plugs (weren't initially gapped but I do have the tool so I gapped them to the appropriate specs), and NGK wires. After installing only the wires and cap I drove it around the street and on the highway and everything seemed good till I turned the car off and I was experiencing the same problem. I then installed the distributor rotor and spark plugs and also realized that I had forgot to install the fuel filter that also came with the tune up kit. After I finished installing additional parts (rotor, plugs and fuel filter) It almost feels like I'm towing a trailer, there is a severe loss of power when accelerating going straight and going up hill the power is almost non-existent even with the pedal all the way down.

- I checked all the wires everything seems to be fine, nothing pinched or leaking, Checked spark plug wires and everything seems to be plugged in in the correct order.
- after about 3000RPM in 2nd or 3rd gear the power seems to come back, anything below the car barely moves even with the pedal to the ground. I cleared the code after installing the wires and cap, it has not come back after that.

Any help would be appreciated, Im thinking after installing the new fuel filter could it have buggered up the cat? Cat looks to be original on the car and I have 375000km. I was thinking about purchasing some aftermarket headers and a non fouler, has anyone else had this issue?

**UPDATE
Looks like I messed up the firing order of the plugs, triple checked it and corrected it. Worked fine after thanks!

Former User

Still getting P0301 after resetting the ECU? If not, check/adjust the ignition timing.

F20E36

Hey Ron thanks for the quick response, this is a dumb question but does the timing need to be adjusted after you replace the cap and rotor? I was only experiencing an issue with the car not firing back up after I turned it off. This hesitation/slowdown issue is new and only started after I install the fuel filter, plugs and rotor. Im not entirely sure on how to check/adjust the ignition timing but I will do a search.

Former User

In the Engine/ignition system section of the FAQs sticky, you'll find a diagram that describes exactly how to set the ignition timing. You need a timing gun and a tachometer to verify the engine idles to spec (see also the Engine/Idle section).

F20E36

Thanks RonJ Will do!

White_EG1

So what did you gap the spark plugs to?

I believe NGK gaps them from factory, I never gap my platinum plugs and never had a problem.

I'd buy new plugs dont gap them and reset the ecu.

And if you put a mark where the rotor is when you take it off and match it to the new one your good.

0VMS_Racing

NGK plugs are pre-gaped from the factory. If you buy the correct part number for you engine the gap should be perfect. What plugs did you buy, copper, platinum, iridium? Platinum and Iridium can have issues if you are not really careful when gaping them. The Platinum and Iridium are just tiny discs that are on the tip of the center and sometimes ground electrodes. They can be knocked off if you are not careful, especially with the old school round gaping tool where you put the plug in the tool and just force it around the edge to get the correct gap, works for copper plugs, not Iridium or Platinum. If I was to take a guess the issue is with the gaping. Also the distributor could have been loose and when you changed the cap and rotor it moved a bit and now your timing is off. Check everything, maybe you knocked off a vacuum hose somewhere or something simple like that.

0VMS_Racing

Also double check the firing order...