termite1r

Hey everyone I have 1998 Civic lx and sometimes the gas pedal seems to get a little stiff. Also every morning i start the car it cranks a couple times and then turns on. After that no matter how long I dont drive it during the day when i come back it cranks once or twice and then starts right up. but the next day its te same thing in the morning. Im thinking it might have to do with the cold weather because during summer it wouldn't do that. Does anyone know what could cause this?

jbpnoman

Batteries lose their ability to hold charge from aging. Cold weather exacerbates the problem. That's where I would start on your hunt to hard starting. As for the stiff pedal, check your throttle cable tension, and maybe give your throttle body rotor a little love with some WD40.

termite1r

Thanks I'll look into it

termite1r

I have fixed the hard pedal problem but am still trying to figure out tje starting one. Sorry about the long wait.

.Honda

I really would check the battery as suggested. I actually just replaced my battery for the same symptoms as yours and my problem was fixed.

Lugzilla

Wow, thats a very long wait ahahaha. For a vehicle in the winter time, you want a battery with the highest cold cranking amps available for your vehicle. Everything is so cold and the oil is so thick initially that the starter has to work harder to turn the motor over and start.

termite1r

Yes it was haha. The problem has actually been reversed believe it or not. Now it starts up but when i turn it off and come back to it later it wont start. This happens occasionally. I started another thread on it. I changed Ignition coil, cap and rotor and main relay. I have fuel delivery as well and i know distributor is fine as well as starter. Next step ima do is check grounds to see if thats it.

TomCat39

You changed the coil, cap and rotor but didn't swap your spark plugs? Anytime I do a cap and rotor I do plugs to keep it all fresh. plugs are cheap.

termite1r

Thats going on tomorrow morning @tomcat and ima double check the cables too

termite1r

Ok so an update. I have changed my spark plugs and from their condition i am assuming they were part of the problem. I will include a picture. As for the cables they seem fine but i will change those in the next couple of days.

TomCat39

By the looks the plugs look like it's burning right, tan in color, no cracks and not fouled. It does look like the gap is a bit excessive but that's typical wear over time. Makes the coil work harder.

Overall, looks like the motor is running decently by the looks of the plugs.

The over gap could make it harder to start when cold. Let us know if the new plugs gapped has helped out your start ups.

termite1r

The car runs smoother and so far no problems when starting the car. I am still going to change the spark plug wires to make sure. And i am also going to change the battery cables as they are pretty worn out and seem to loose contact with battery terminal even after tightening. I also found out that there was a recall on this model civic having to do with the ignition mechanism by the steering wheel and idk if the previous owner took it in to get fixed so ima double check that.

Hondahg

Actually oil is thin when its cold to help it get to the top of the engine upon start up and it gets thicker as it warms to provide better protection.