Mychal71

1999 accord lx auto, 4cyl. auto. 217,000 miles on her.

The car at start up has been running rough/sputtering for a few minutes until it gets warmed up. Then it runs fine. The check engine light came on a few weeks ago so I pulled the codes.

When I go to pull the codes I get a 73 and a 74 then the CEL blinks non stop until I turn the ignition off.

Over the last month the CEL will come on and start blinking also while driving, then eventually just go to where it just stays on solid.

The wires, plugs, O2 sensors, cap and rotor have been replaced about 15K ago. The timing belt is probably a little over due for sure.

Other than this the car runs great.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
thank yoiu.

poorman212

Recheck the plugs. Have you looked into cleaning the egr ports.

FF for Life

A blinking CEL means you have a potential cat converter damage situation (fuel is being delivered and not burn). Pull your plugs and find out what is giving you a no-spark condition.

Mychal71

I pulled the plugs and they look to be fine, tannish in color. Pulled both 02 sensors, rear is good front looks to be little off color.

Cleaning the EGR ports, no I havent looked into that....

See_Bye

You have a bad valve or no spark in one cylinder. The blinking means there misfiring. You will notice that you will have no power and it will run rough. This just happen to mine a couple months ago

Mychal71

so is there a way to fix this or keep it from happening again? Is it a sign the engine is on its way out? how do i tell if its a bad valve or just no spark? what would cause this problem? This doesnt sound good....

phootbag

The blinking Check Engine Light means the vehicle is misfiring so severely that the catalytic converter can be damaged. It doesn't mean there is no spark, it doesn't mean there is no fuel. It doesn't mean there is a burned valve. It doesn't mean the headgasket is bad. It means there is a bad misfire. You need to have the misfire diagnosed. At this point, besides rechecking your previous work, there is nothing that you have said that points in any particular direction. You need to start from square one.

Mychal71

okay...I know you said to start from square one....is this something I should just take to a mechanic? If not, where would I start with trying to figure out what is causing the misfire...I mean what kind of things would cause this to happen?
thanks for the help!!

h0p3l355dork

The last time I had a blinking CEL was when one of my spark plugs exploded out of the engine and I was without one (hence a 'misfire') Seems to me that maybe one of your your spark plugs is not firing. (Without the spark plug there, it ran really rough) Maybe the plugs are fine but the wires going to the plug might be damaged thus not causing a spark.

Mychal71

hmmm.... guess I'll start off by changin out the set of spark plug wires and see if that changes anything.
thanks for the help

acmeotally

My GF's car just had the same issue. It was a 96 though. It had an EGR code and two misfire codes. It ran really rough and the CEL blinked. I cleaned the egr ports which took 2hrs MAX and it drives great now no CEL for two months. The best part about this fix is it its free.

Steve Z

If you want to check to see if you have a bad valve, you would need a compression gauge or have a leakdown test done. As Acmeotally and Poorman suggested, the EGR ports are a pretty easy to see and fix. If the plug wires don't fix it go to the EGR ports.

jdmcertified909

that rattle sound could also be your cat converter. last month my honda did the same thing. i started hearing a rattle sound right under where the shift know is. ended up being the cat. that hesitation that you talk about could be clogged egr ports. check fuel pressure. now at night park the car somewhere really dark. open the hood and check for voltage leaks. also have your igniter checked. my dads 1990 honda accord ex was having hesitations and ended up being the igniter.

jdmcertified909

1.
Igniter Check
* 1

Remove the Accord's distributor cap, rotor and inner cover. Disconnect the wires from the igniter.
* 2

Use a voltmeter to check for voltage between the black/yellow wire and the ground. Battery voltage should be present when you turn the ignition to "On." Check the black/yellow wire between the ignition switch and igniter if no voltage is present.
* 3

Check for voltage between the green wire and ground with the ignition switch on. Check the ignition coil and the green wire between the coil and igniter if there is no voltage.
* 4

Turn the ignition switch off. Check the yellow/green wire for continuity between the engine control module and igniter. Do the same for the BLU 1 wire between the tachometer and igniter.
* 5

Replace the igniter if all the wiring checks out and a problem still exists.
Ignition Coil Test on a VTEC Engine
* 1

Turn the Accord's ignition off and remove the distributor cap. Remove the screws holding the black/yellow wire (connecting the primary positive terminal) and blue wire (connecting the primary negative terminal).
* 2

Test the resistance between the primary positive and negative terminals with an ohmmeter. It should be between 0.4 and 0.6 ohms.
* 3

Observe the resistance between the primary positive terminal and the secondary terminal. It should be 22,000 to 34,000 ohms.
* 4

Replace the coil if any of the tests fail.
Ignition Coil Test on Other Engines
* 1

Unplug the primary and secondary wiring connectors from the Accord's ignition coil while the ignition is off.
* 2

Connect an ohmmeter to terminals A and B on the primary connector (A and C on a V-6 engine). The resistance should be between 0.6 and 0.8 ohms.
* 3

Measure the resistance with the ohmmeter between terminal A and the secondary terminal. It should be between 14,000 and 22,000 ohms.
* 4

Test at terminals A and C (A and B on a V-6 engine). Make sure there is continuity.
* 5

Replace the coil if any of the conditions aren't met.


Read more: How to Troubleshoot the Ignition System in a Honda Accord | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4509373_trou...#ixzz1WBCOSdeE

jdmcertified909

sorry for posting so much. with that much millage i would sea foam that engine. did it to all three of my cars. now i feel smooth acceleration. smooth and responsive. better gas millage. now my car idles real clean. at your local auto zone might cost you like 11 bucks a bottle. at star auto parts it cost me 7 bucks no tax. if you dont know how to do it there is videos on youtube on how to sea foam a car properly. just please do not do it if your not sure how to you can hydrolock your motor. so please use youtube.

exb18c1

So from what I understood the car runs funny only when it's cold?If after warm up it it runs normally that means the ignition is O.K. and timing is o.k .
How long does it take to run normally?What is the codes you have got right now?

Mychal71

okay, swapped out the plug wires finally and still the same thing. Yes the car runs rough, like its going to die for about 30-60 seconds once it is started....then it smooths out and runs fine.

Lost Again

Do a leak down test.

Mychal71

is a leak down test something I can do myself?

As for cleaning the EGR ports, I think I'll give that a shot. I looked in the FAQ section and noticed they have a write up for up to 97 accords, and then a write up for 98-2002 V6 accords. I have a 98 4cyl. accord. Is there a write up for this model? Also is there anything I need to get before I start (parts, gaskets, etc)

thanks!!!!!!!!!!

Lost Again

Yes, I think I've seen places that rent the tool, you'll need to buy the fluid.

Coolant could be leaking into the cyl's when cold, off. This would cause rough idle on the initial start up, then it clears up after the coolant is burned, pushed out, ect.

Mychal71

hmmmm....the car at random will get low on coolant and I can never find where its going....oil looks fine,....no wet spots in the drive way.....you might be on to something. And I shut the car off and start it right back up its fine....its only when it sits for a while it idles rough for a few seconds...

what fluid are you talking about that i need to buy? Is this the only way to tell if coolant is leaking into the cylinders?

what causes this to happen? What part of the engine is bad? is this going to get worse fast? time for a new car?

Mychal71

anyone?

redbull-1

Since your car is OBD-II, I suggest you get the car scanned for trouble codes. OBD-II trouble codes can be more specific as there are more codes. Yes, what you originally posted refers to misfire in cylinder 3 and 4; however, OBD-II can give more codes.

As far as the EGR ports, if you also had a P0401 code or other EGR related codes, then I would be more in line to suspect that to be a culprit; however, right now everything is a guess as more diagnosis, etc. is needed. It could even be fuel related such as fuel injector, etc. A compression test or leak down test would definitely help in diagnosis and help rule certain things out. If you do get an EGR code like P0401, then this thread shows info. regarding cleaning the EGR port(s) on your 1999 4 cylinder, which is different than earlier Accords:

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-accord-1990-2002-2/f23a4-ulev-2691467/

Your misfire is intermittent, as the engine misfires and runs rough when cold but then smooth as it warms up. Refer to this link as it actually has good reading:

http://www.aa1car.com/library/misfire.htm

Lost Again

A leak down test "kit" is what i was talking about. I've seen them at AZ and other places for ~$25 dollars, call around....try to google "leak down test" and see what comes up....yes that is where my thought was based upon your description.

However, redbull-1 has some very great advise as well....more test are needed.

bily27

I am having the same issue with my 6th gen accord V6. Same blinking CEL with OBD codes showing multi cylinder misfires. I haven't done the EGR port improvement, so I do have to clean the EGR port every 4months or so to prevent clogging. I just cleaned my intake manifold and EGR valve, and turned my car on with the same issues. The car still shutters when at idle and has significant power loss while driving. I have checked all hoses and sensor connections to ensure nothing has came lose.

Leak down test and Compression tests should only be necessary if their were issues with specific cylinders, but all cylinder misfires should mean there is something electrical effecting the cars performance including timing. Any thoughts or suggestions?