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All stock M/T 96 Civic HX. Throwing a p0302 (cylinder 2 misfire) code. Did a compression test, 180-190 across. Pulled distributor cap, nothing excessively worn or obviously burnt. Next step in chasing this down?
misfire is audible at idle, can be felt at all ranges of acceleration. it isn't bad enough to cause severe drivability issues, the car is able to maintain freeway speeds and accelerate decently enough. cleared code, came back within 5 minutes at idle. unsure as to age and condition of both, i just picked this car up. i do have a spare ngk wireset i will throw at it tomorrow, as well as new plugs for peace of mind.
bought it for my brother, but he needs at least a sedan/hatch for his job. i already have a buyer lined up, but i told him i'd straighten it out first. i'm glad its going where it is, guy has zero interest in modifying it.
plugs did not look awesome, and were bosch. swapped them with ngk, and at the same time replaced the 6-10" too long bosch wires with denso. runs much better, ran at idle for an hour and drove 15 miles, code has not returned.
no beer yet. guy drove it home, said the cel popped back on about halfway there. given as there were no other codes before, i'd guess its back. ill be taking a look tuesday, any ideas in the meantime?
came back with a multiple misfire code, as well as 3 of 4 cylinders with misfire codes stored. i pulled the cap, cleaned the contact points inside (had white oxide on them all), cleaned the rotor/button. Drove it appx 25 miles city/fwy mix, accelerating under load, speeds up to 90mph, revs as high as 4.5-5k. No light back on, made the trip back to the new owner's house, still no light. Seems like the fix was 25 cents worth of sand paper, lol.
bought it for my brother, but he needs at least a sedan/hatch for his job. i already have a buyer lined up, but i told him i'd straighten it out first. i'm glad its going where it is, guy has zero interest in modifying it.
I'm glad you've gotten it fixed, the hx is my favorite platform. Random side note but the drum assembly is a lighter weight than the drum used on dx models. They did this and kept the smaller dx brake pads and rotors in front to increase fuel effecieny along with a light weight flywheel
its back on today. i'm not playing games with it anymore, ordering a used oem distributor. (i'd stick my dick in an outlet before buying a parts store reman'd unit)
ive looked around, and can't find a definitive answer as to why the y7/y8 distributor is different from the y5. anyone know?
I had to jump in here.. I have an hx (d16y5). The difference in the distributors is that the y5 has a hitachi distributor where the y7/y8 have one from tec. Differences are many, different ignition coil, different icm/igniter, different cap/rotor. Ok but why? Honda was using it because of the vtec-e differences. I've dug and dug for info and that's what I've found so far. If you can actually find a good aftermarket part, let me know, all of them are junk. The richporter I had just left me stranded, igniter died, then I open it up and the main seal was just starting to get a little wet, the shaft is already shifting! 2 years old!
Cardone, world power systems, autoline, all junk. The richporter at least lasted 2 years.. unbelievable junk out there. So I'm looking for something else! Honda discontinued the HX's distributor and housing but I'm in the process of trying to find another source. If I am successful I'll post it up for other HX owners.
^ Check the EGR valve and chamber for carbon build up.
will do. should also mention that even with the cel on when it came back, it was running MUCH better than it was prior to plugs/wires. ran even better with the cleaned cap/rotor. i will check the valve, but if its still misfire codes, i am leaning towards distributor. it appears to be original, and was under strain for who knows how long with the bad plugs/wires/cap.
Random misfire certainly can be caused by a bad coil or ICM. However, for the D16Y5 engine, random misfire is commonly caused by a carbon-clogged EGR chamber and EGR valve, so inspecting them is worthwhile.
"I have an hx (d16y5). The difference in the distributors is that the y5 has a hitachi distributor where the y7/y8 have one from tec. Differences are many, different ignition coil, different icm/igniter, different cap/rotor. Ok but why? Honda was using it because of the vtec-e differences. I've dug and dug for info and that's what I've found so far."
so yes it's very different than the tec model distributor in the rest of the civic line-up. Even the ignition coilNot the ignition coil..I meant the ckp, cyp, and tdc specification is different (700-1000ohms) compared to the tec 350-700ohms. I can go on and on. Way different because of the application (vtec-e).
EDIT: I misspoke, this is what I get for posting late at night when I'm tired! Ignition coil specs.. no, it should read CKP, CYP and TDC sensor specifications..
Last edited by oneheadlight; 05-20-2016 at 06:39 AM.
Reason: correction of paragraph..
it's very different than the tec model distributor in the rest of the civic line-up. Even the ignition coil specification is different (700-1000ohms) compared to the tec 350-700ohms.
thanks, yeah I know the service manual and if you go into the part about the three sensors built into the distributor they only list the TEC specifications for the ckp, tdc, cyp sensors. It's on page 11-112 of my service manual.
They are incorrect for the hitachi specs. How do I know this? Had to do a lot of digging and talk to the master techs at the Honda dealer who called Honda. So the real spec is 700-1000 ohms for the sensors inside the Hitachi distributor.
I kept reading this site and everyone said that it has to be 350-700ohms, but I was reading 810ohms thinking it was bad. Nope, bad information. And like I said the service manual didn't even include it! so I'm putting the real info out here so others can find it and not think that a Hitachi distributor's sensors are bad. Can't compare the tec model to the Hitatchi.. way different.
ok I just saw my MISTAKE.. I said "ignition coil" I have corrected it. I meant the sensors, which I just explained and I've fixed my post.
05-13-2016, 05:46 PM
'96 Civic HX p0302
