95civ928

hey guys, I bought a 95 honda civic lx with d15b7. Here are my symptoms:

Runs good when cold. No limp-mode when cold.

Runs rough when warm. The car bucks under load, has a significant loss of power, sometimes sputters a little bit at idle, and a pungent odor of fuel can be smelt from the exhaust, and sometimes inside the car while downshifting for uphills. Limp mode activates at 3500 rpm almost all the time when warm, but not always.

Car stalls at random points, usually under load. For example, today I was cruising at 2200 rpm and I felt a total loss of power from nowhere. You can downshift to keep the engine running, however there is no throttle response. If you pull in the clutch, the engine dies instantaneously. The engine will not want to start back up if ignition is still at 'II' position, sometimes. I have found that immediately turning the ignition to off and letting the fuel pump prime just once is enough to get a quick, guaranteed and trouble free start up rather than leaving it in 'II' and cranker wanking. This confuses me the most.

No CEL's. I think I'm around the ballpark of 300 miles to a tank. I don't really know what to do guys...this is my first honda and I'm pretty stumped.

Things I've done so far to try to fix the problem:

Changed fuel filter, radiator

Did the basic distributor test by removing one wire at a time and listening to the engine RPMs drop. All lowered the engine rpms and seemed to be working fine.

I still have to pull my pre-cat o2 sensor to see it my cat's clogged.

Could this be caused by an incorrectly bled cooling system? While replacing the radiator and using my honda repair manual that I downloaded online, the Engine Drain bolt and the Engine bleed bolt for the cooling system didn't seem to exist..at least on my car. I think I have the wrong manual somehow. I don't know. So I "bled" my radiator by simply letting the car idle and having the radiator cap closed to the first stop (no pressure).

Honestly guys, I have no idea what's wrong with my car. There are so many different components that I can think of that could all be causing this problem. It feels like a spark problem rather than fuel. It kind of feels like a bad o2 sensor. But the fact that it randomly cuts out makes me think TPS. I don't know where I should even begin...please, if anything comes to mind...let me know. This is my only car and I know if I keep driving around like this eventually something bad will happen. For the meantime I'll keep guessing and throwing parts in it but I'm on a very limited budget ATM and can barely afford the parts I'm throwing in. thanks guys.

Alpha Q

Its just a matter of testing everything you have listed.

Random loss of power suggest TPS, MAP and/or distributor

Fuel odor out of exhaust and low MPG suggest bad o2

If it were a sensor you should get a cell.
Hell it could be a bad ECU...

Sounds like you have more then one problem...

95civ928

the ecu's on the passenger side, underneath the carpet on the right side in a grey rectangle box? If that's the case I have a spare one...which means it was probably replaced and installed incorrectly. I'll do the basic ecu test but other than that I can't see it being the problem unless there is a loose connection, bad wire or bad ground going from the ecu.

I wanna try bleeding the cooling system again, at least from the engine side. I could not locate the engine drain bolt and bleed bolt. They didn't seem to exist from what the manual showed me...can you guys help me out with this? I also had a similar problem when replacing my fuel filter with the manual, it told me to turn the 6mm banjo bolt while holding the 12mm to relieve fuel pressure. There was no 6mm banjo bolt, only the 12. Even though it's a 92-95 manual, it sounds like it's for 96+ at least for the fuel filter.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Full tune up and check timing. Start there.

95civ928

So I've got an update. When I turn my ignition to 'II', the check engine light does NOT come on along with the fuel pump for two seconds. I guess this could mean either my CEL bulb is out or my ecu may be faulty...? If it's the bulb, I would still be able to pull codes outta this bitch at advanced auto or something if they registered? It is OBD1, they can still pull codes outta that, right? Thanks for all the replies guys.

95civ928

Also did the 95 lx's come with a maf sensor? I have a shitty ram air intake and there's no sensor going to it...maybe it's missing?

goblazers

I have a d15b7 also, so I can comment on the engine drain bolt location. It's behind the exhaust manifold cover, on the left side of the engine block facing from the front. It was easier for me to remove the manifold cover in order to remove the bolt, which was stuck pretty good.

As far as your stalling issue, I'd agree with what the others have said about checking the distributor cap+rotor, spark plugs/wires, etc. If you end up having to check the ignitor coil in the distributor, eric the car guy has a pretty good video on that. (I wish I'd seen it before I had mine replaced.)

Having said all that, if neither the CEL nor the fuel pump turn on when turning ignition to II, my guess is that's the first problem you should look at. I don't believe that you can get codes by any other method than the flashing CEL, but maybe I'm wrong.

95civ928

Ahh.. thank you for your input. you know what I was looking at that and figured no way, why would it be behind the manifold cover...and that cover sure looks like a royal pain


I believe my CEL does not work. I can hear my fuel pump run for two seconds when turning the ignition to 'II'.

I'm still wondering on the MAF issue..I know it has a MAP sensor does d15b7 also have a MAF to accompany or no? Because my intake has no MAF sensor.

goblazers

I'm pretty sure our 92-95 civics do not have a MAF sensor, only a MAP sensor.

Too bad the CEL doesn't seem to work. I'm not sure how hard it is to replace it, seems like it might be able to point you in the right direction.

Some of the symptoms on this site might be similar to your situation:
http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/start...ms.html#chugga

sohc-civic

yea.. they didnt start using the maf sensor untill 1996-2000+ shouldnt be that..
just get your codes checked and start from there. allot of the codes your going to get can be checked by measuring your input and output in ohms, or volts.
it will save you money if you can check the sensors. other than just replacing them.
good luck man im going through the same thing, cars stuck in limp.. ha bad luck

94EG8

'96 - '00 Civics didn't have a MAF sensor either.

OP unplug the O2 sensor and see how it runs.

95civ928

Bump


I removed my instrument panel today and found that there was no check engine light, so I took the seat belt one out and put it in the check engine socket. I pulled three codes:

4 CKP - crank position sensor
8 TDC - top dead centre sensor
9 CYP - cylinder sensor

And the SRS light was flashing too while it was reading codes.

So what am I looking at here? Could this be from my timing being off? I'm pretty stumped here, I don't really know what I should do from here..any input would be greatly appreciated.

Silvertune

I'd time it, that is put it at top dead center and retime time the rotor on the distributor. Otherwise try a crank position sensor. Try resetting the ECU and see which codes come back.

I have a similar issue with mine. Strong smell of gas at idle and it runs incredibly rough below 1000 rpm's and will stall on me if I turn the steering wheel without giving it gas. Above that however its totally fine and I get decent mileage. I found out its my ECU when I tried to pull the check engine codes and I can't even blip at me correctly, just sits there flickering away. It'd be the last thing to change if I were you but its something to consider and you check stuff.

95civ928

Sorry for the bump again but I was reading my manual on diagnostic for the 4 8 and 9 CEL codes. It says to connect the test harness to the main wire harness only, and not to the ecu. What does that mean, and what test harness are they talking about?

HondaPartsHero

Those codes pretty much indicate your distributor is shot but here is some troubleshooting. The test harness is a Honda diagnostic tool that plugs into your ECU connector and connects to your ECU that lets you test voltages easier but you don't need it you just need a voltmeter.

bigpunn421

i have the same exact problem. but my loss of power is under 3k rpm. above that and i have full power.

when its cold it drives great just like yours.

i turned the idle up so my car no longer stalls. but once it reaches operating temp the idle surges. and jumps down then up.

i have checked and changed everything except for the o2 sensor and the cps. some people think it could be my iac. i cleaned it and tried another used one and it didnt help.

also check the fitv if you have one under your throttle body

95civ928

Can you explain this in detail for me? Thank you.

edit: so I've been searching and searching, and this is all I got

Is he talking about the large plugs with a billion wires that go into the ECU?

HondaPartsHero

It's a test harness Honda sells, but most people just test the voltages at the ECU pins with a voltmeter like this

95civ928

So I will have to unbolt my ECU and do my tests from the connectors going into the ECU, in reference to the terminal locations?

So let's say I was checking resistance on the crank sensor. That means I would measure the resistance between B15 and B16 on the B connector going to the ECU, and if it's between 350-700 ohms, then check for continuity from B15 to body ground?

HondaPartsHero

Yep, but let me also tell you that the TDC/Crank/Cyl sensors are not serviceable or replaceable you'll more than likely have to replace the distributor even if one of these is bad.

95civ928

Okay, thank you for all of your help. I have a distributor that came with the car when I bought it, do you think I could simply unplug one distributor and plug in the other and run tests on it to see if it's good? If not, what do you guys think about cardone distributors?

HondaPartsHero

Yeah just try the other one and see how it runs