rfdean

I have a 2000 honda civic 16y5 (i believe). I recently ran the clutch system out of fluid so the clutch felt like it was "slipping", my bad, but I bled it and all was good until tonight when it feels like it slips all the time! I don't know if these problems are connected or isolated. The car now, which I love as a member of my own family, has no power and feels like it is running on only a few cylinders, it wreaks of gas when I put my nose near the exhaust pipe, and when it idles it seems like it is popping, or misfiring, as if one of the cylinders is not working. The check engine light is on and blinking, but I don't have a code reader. Any help that y'all could give me would be greatly appreciated.
I don't work on my honda much (never had to), but I'm pretty good with my diesel Merc. So im not totally lost, just slightly lost. Is my car dead and gone or is there something I can do?

Texas4door

D16Y5 hmm?
That's the lean-burn motor using VTEC-E to get better fuel economy...

I know that motor usually runs on basically 12 valves instead of 16 at lower rpm's to conserve fuel, but your is using WAY too much fuel atm

I wonder if for some reason your VTEC-E is malfunctioning and keeping all the valves open at once, but that sounds stupid just typing it as that system is activated by oil pressure anyways
But you say you have a weird idle?
AND a bad gas smell?
I wonder if your cat has gone bad...
Get on down to an O'Reilly's or an Autozone tomorrow and have them check the codes for free-much easier to help without having to grasp at straws...

Your clutch slips out of gear all the time, you say?
Heh, wish I knew more about manual tranny's than I knew about Honda motors atm...

From what I can tell, that hydraulic clutch provides the transfer of motion needed to engage and reengage the clutch and the transmission
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4597886...utch-work.html

But if you get air bubbles in it from running it low or having a leak, it'll feel like crap and be all loose and spongy, just like air in brake lines, but idk if that could cause the clutch to slip like that
oO

Can someone with more experience with manual Honda tranny's help out here please?
^^;;

Hopefully the guys/gals here at H-Tech can help ya get this figured out!

98civdx

Check the timing. Any tune ups recently? Have you removed and inspected the plugs? Is it getting spark at all 4?

Check the clutch fuild again, also check for leaks. It's possible you need a new clutch, but lets focus on one thing at a time.. Clutches are easy.

rfdean

Sorry... It's a 16y7. It's not a V-TEC. Its at about 160000 miles now and I had a tune-up and valve adjustment at about 140000, So I will check the plugs.

KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) right?

Former User

Start with the basics.

PULL THE CEL CODES. See CEL sticky at the top.

Also inspect the spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, and rotor.

apexi_rsx

if the CEL is blinking this means an engine misfire. try a compression test.your getting lack or spark/fuel or compression to show a misfire.

Former User

Agreed^, but it's critically important to pull the codes to know if specific cylinders are misfiring versus random misfires and to know whether additional informative codes are thrown.

Texas4door

Oh, well if it's a Y7 that definitely simplifies things a bit
^^

Any luck so far?

rfdean

I got my hands on a code reader today and here is what it found.
P0302 #2 misfire
P0301 #1 misfire
P0300 Random misfire
and P1399 which I can't find out exactly what it means...

I pulled the plug wires from each cylinder while it was running and it didn't seem like any one of them was obviously causing the problem. The idle went down pretty good for each one. I checked for spark on all of the wires, no problems. The plugs were a little corroded but I have seen worse.

I drove the car home this morning and it was really sluggish, the engine light would blink while driving and stay on steady at idle, and it sounds like a little tug boat or a steam engine, Puff...Puff...Puff...Puff...Puff...

Could it be the catalytic converter, I keep seeing that coming up on threads in reference to code P1399...

Thanks for all this help...I really didn't expect it!

Former User

Your ECU is registering random misfires.

Never remove a spark plug wire with the engine running or cranking. This test runs a very high risk for blowing the coil.

Was spark bright white at all 4 spark plugs?

When was the last tune up? Have you inspected the plugs, wires, cap, and rotor? What are their conditions?

rfdean

The last tune up was 8/10/2010 at 144214 miles, so over a year ago and it could use a tuneup. Got the plugs, distributor cap, and rotor all replaced at that time. I just took off the cap and nothing looks worn or anything. It is all relatively new. Maybe I'm missing something? How exactly would you be able to tell if the rotor was worn?
The plugs are a little corroded, but like I said, I have seen worse. They could be changed. Should I just give a tuneup and go from there?

Former User

Post pictures of the spark plugs. Inspect the contact points inside the cap and on the edge of the rotor. Look for wear and corrosion.

If all looks fine, Ohm test the coil and have an auto parts store test the ICM.

When was the fuel filter last replaced?

rfdean

fuel filter was replaced at the last tuneup.
Okay...Inside the distributor...there is a bit of white corrosion on each of the four contact points. The rotor looks a little worn. I don't Think I can upload pics but I am just going to change the plugs either way.

Texas4door

That P1399 is an ignition system malfunction
If it sounds like it's chugging, it may be misfiring due to that corrosion inside the Cap
Change/clean that cap and rotor and see how it goes!

If that does't work, your coil may be on its way out, especially if it's the original one with that many miles on it (mine died at ~120k miles)

If THAT doesn't work, the tubes your spark plugs go down into may be corroded badly enough that the plugs don't ground correctly inside the tube...but they'd have to be REALLY corroded for that to happen...

Then again, it may just be your plugs...
Remember to gap them boogers correctly cuz that "pregapped from the box" claim is a load of crap!

Former User

No, it's a general random misfire code, not just for the ignition system.

Texas4door

Oh, derp, thought it was specific
Nvm then ^^;

apexi_rsx

clean the contact points on the cap with a flat screwdriver or small wire brush. and reset the codes and see if that helps any kind of corrosion will rob hp and make it run poorly in higher rpms.

rfdean

Okay, it needed a tune-up. Sorry to waste everyone's time, but thanks for all the help! I replaced all the plugs, plug wires, rotor and dist cap, and it runs like a champ now, no hesitation. I would have never thought that the lack of a tuneup could make this car run so poorly. I assume that when the ECU encounters a misfire or multiple misfires then it , basically, modifies how the engine operates in hopes of saving other engine components such as the cat? Anyways, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Jimster480

yea this happens sometimes with shoddy quality aftermarket parts. They go bad very fast compared to the originals.