vegas hoe

this is a few posts from another site so it is kinda all over the place
cliff notes about half way down the post

so i just picked up a 90 std hatch.
put about 300 miles on it and it ran great.

when i was at 1/4 tank i went to the gas station and the car died at the light to pull in to the gas station.
just kinda sputtered a few times and stalled out.

it started right back up with no problem then died again in less than a few seconds.
started it back up and held the rpms around 1500 and it kept running. got $10 worth of gas.
drove home 3 miles with no problems.
today i checked out the cap and rotor cause my wife's civic did something similar when her rotor screw was falling out.
cap and rotor both looked like hell.
so i figured i'd replace them and the sparkplugs. also i replaced the radiator cap cause it was broke.

today i drive to the gas station to make sure the tank wasn't empty and when i was about 2 blocks from the station the car sputtered like it was gonna die again. the rpms felt like they were around 300-400 rpms
so i gassed it and drove home again.

only time i've seen something like this is when my alternator went bad on my first car, but when i check it's around 14.4 volts so it's charging fine.

i checked the timing and it was at 16*btdc, so i figured i'd set it at 18*btdc.
i looked in the crx workshop manual and it said to jump the plug and then adjust the dizzy.
so i did that, but after i advanced it all the way i was still getting 16*btdc
i moved it back to line up with the mark on the dizzy (scribed a line before moving) after i put it back at the line it was at 12*btdc.
so i advanced it all the way again and i get 16*btdc and if i rev it up a little (2k rpms it sounds like it's misfiring every now and then.
i'm not 100% sure my timing light is working correct, but it was the last time i used it a month ago.


cliff notes:

just bought a 90 std hatch
d15b1 engine dpfi obd0
sputtered and then stalled at a stop light
started back up no problem
stalled again
started up no problem
held rpms around 1500 and got gas
drove home fine
replaced

• cap
• rotor
• spark plugs
• radiator cap

almost stalled again at stop light
rpms drop to what feels like 300-400
alternator charging @14.4 volts
car was not out of gas
timing cannot be set to 18*btdc, best i can get is 16*btdc
if i rev to 2k rpms it feels like a misfire
no cel

has not stalled in my driveway.

i was gonna replace the fuel filter today, but didn't bring enough cash to the parts store.

also when we went to buy the car there was a code 15, couldn't remember what a code 15 was so we left and looked it up online.
ignition output signal.
then went back and bought the car.

now it's not throwing that code anymore and i followed the flow chart in the crx workshop manual. i am getting battery voltage at the 2 pin connector for the dizzy.

is there anyway to make a cel not come on.
i know that the cel light is working cause it comes on when i turn the car on. there are no cels according to flashing light on the ecu.

just thinking that the guy was kinda shady so he might have done something to keep the cel from flashing on the ecu

the whole dizzy looks like hell.
there is rust? oxidation? or something all over it, even inside it.
the cap i took off looked horrible, the pin that goes into the coil looked burnt.
i just can't afford a new one especially if it won't fix it.

i've never had a honda die and not throw a code

here are pics of what it looks like under the cap

old cap i cleaned it up really good, but you can see the pin that goes in the coil is burnt on the end


not sure what this is, but it's covered in something


coil looks semi new, but connections look corroded


ignitor looks decent also, but looks don't matter



so does this sound like the dizzy needs to be replaced?
it's been a couple years since i've had a honda, but i remember the ignitors and coils going bad on them.

dephtone

Was there any dust maybe looked like reddish/brown brake dust or something to that extent? I really can;t tell from the pictures.

From what you are saying I would put my bet on the dizzy itself, got any friends with a spare distributor that you can try out?

Code 15 usually means new distributor, but when code 15 throws you know it, it backfires through the intake manifold and it just runs like crap in general. So either it was a fluke CEL or someone fixed a wire that might have been loose or replaced the ignitor.

vegas hoe

i can't find anyone local to me with one of these dualpoint dizzys.
found a few used ones for sale, but i really don't have the money to throw parts at the problem hoping it gets fixed.

it hasn't thrown any codes since the 15 it had when we bought it.
drove 300 miles in it and it ran great. then all of a sudden it stalls and now it feels like a misfire.

4drEF

Really sounds like the ignitor is starting to go bad.
They do fail and you can replace them without getting a whole new distributor.

Before that, I would OHM out the spark plug wires and make sure they are in good working order.
Also get some steel wool or some super fine grit sand paper and clean up all the corrosion inside the distributor.

vegas hoe

could you post a link or instructions on how to check the plug wires, i'm sure they need to be replaced to.
i was gonna take the dizzy off and clean it up really good.

i was gonna replace the whole distributor instead of just the ignitor, just cause of how it looked under the cap.
ignitors are $65 at autozone so that is better than $200 for a complete distributor, but still i don't want to just throw parts at it.

4drEF

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you...ark_plug_wires

vegas hoe

so i pull out the plug wires to test them and the metal connectors that clip on the end of the spark plug stayed on the plugs 3 out of 4.

that's not good, but being the smart *** i am i pulled the clips off the plugs and stuck the plug wires back in without them. ran just a little bit worse than it was.
i'm thinking my wires are bad.
either way i gotta replace the wires, i'll be buying a new set tonight.

before i broke the wires i took the distributor out and tried to clean it up as much as i could. made sure all the connections inside were good.
put it back on and i still couldn't get the timing dead on. best i could get was 16* btdc, and that was with the distributor advanced as much as possible.
i am going to pull the timing cover off to make sure it didn't jump a tooth or something stupid

it's funny cause my wife had a 91 4dr with the dpfi motor in it and it had something similar happen, but hers was throwing a cel. mine isn't throwing a cel. i unplugged the idle air control valve and it threw a code #14 so i know that the cel is working. i was starting to think the guy i bought it from did something so i couldn't see the cel


also it when i first start my car the alternator is only charging at 12.xx volts not the 14.xx that it usually is at. it seems like about a min or 2 till it's at 14.xx volts

4drEF

just checking - you ARE putting a jumper in the connector under the dash to disable the electronic timing advance when setting the timing, right?

vegas hoe

yeah, i am doing that.
i'm not sure why the timing is off so much, maybe the dizzy is bad.
gonna hit up a junkyard tomorrow to see if i can get one cheap.

when i checked the timing the first time it was 16* btdc and the dizzy was pretty much centered, now i gotta have it all the way advanced to get it at 16* btdc
my scrib mark is 12* btdc now.

vegas hoe

ok so i just replaced the spark plug wires, i knew it wouldn't fix it. however they were broke so might as well fix them.
it's still got a strange misfire/bog when i hold my foot steady on the throttle. i haven't tried to drive it yet, i'll probably go for a short drive tonight.
i took a video and i'm uploading it to youtube so you can hear what it's doing.
it's taking forever to upload.
once it's up i'll post it and tell you what you are hearing.
it idles great, but if i rev it a little and hold it steady the rpms rise and fall. when they fall it sounds like a misfire not just the rpms falling

vegas hoe

ok here is the video, it's not very loud. it was taken with a digi cam not a video camera...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC14MK61y9Q

you can skip ahead to 1:05
1:06-1:22 you can hear the idle going up and down, i am holding the rpms around 1500rpm. so it's not the normal bouncing idle.
1:22-1:30 is idle, you can hear it's idling good
1:30-154 i'm holding the throttle down at 1500rpms again, you can hear it bog/misfire. when it bogs down it feels like 300 rpms. the car feels like it's gonna die, but it just bounces back up to 1500.

now i don't have a tach so i'm not 100% sure on the rpms, but that is a good estimate

dragoness75

hi i had a problem similar to this the idle up and down and sometimes i had to press the gas at a light to keep rpms at a grand. I removed the idle control valve and cleaned it ( antifreeze runs through and the screen gets clogged) . If i didnt keep my foot on the gas it would stall but it was crazy how it only did that sometimes. Never cinsistent either cause it happened with ac on/ off morning and afternoon never knew when it would start idling wierd. Id try this its free to check and clean it so.. It should be right beside your idle adj. Good luck

vegas hoe

thanks for the post, but i already cleaned and replaced the iacv.

vegas hoe

update:

so the car has been running decent, random misfires and hiccups.
then 2 days ago it died on me for good.
turns out the ignitor was going bad and finally crapped out.
so i replaced the whole dizzy, now it's running great.

~sp33~

Happy ending