car sputters. loss of power..
 

i have a 95 ls in my civic and its been sitting for like a month cause the battery was dead.. well before i got a new battery i cleaned the engine bay with degreaser and water.. when i got the new battery car started fine drove it for the day everything was fine next day got in it and it started sputtering... i would push on the gas and it kinda sounded like a wrx.. it would just sputter and slowly get up to speed.. since then ive change my wires, cap, and rotor.. i just replaced the plugs like 3000 miles ago. it ran excellent for a day or two but now its doing it again.. anyone have any ideas on what i can check next.. i would appreciate it! thanks!

if it's been sitting for a month i would say the gas is bad...syphon out what you can and mix in good fresh gas in to top it off...

Re: car sputters. loss of power.. (Scud)
 

maybe check your fuel pump. is it priming when you turn on the car?

Re: car sputters. loss of power.. (ZE12O)
 

ok ill try the gas thing.. and yes the fuel pump does prime when i turn the car on.. its just weird.. i drove it last night for a half an hour was about to pull into my apt when it started sputtering again.. anymore input would be great.. thanks!

Re: (lmike6453)
 

Gas wouldn't go bad after just 1 month.

Re: (ac_attak)
 

did you pull out your spark plugs to see if you got water/degreaser in there?? happened to my cousin where he just sprayed water all over his engine without covering the valve cover, distributor etc.. and didn't let it air out. so we had to get a compressor and blow out all the water. after that ran fine. or not!! https://honda-tech.com/forums/images...s/emsmilep.gif

Re: car sputters. loss of power.. (Scud)
 

Did you cover your distributor when you washed it? If not and you turned it on wet, it probably caused it to short out.

Re: car sputters. loss of power.. (Kr0n1k)
 

just wondering would a bad pcv valve cause this?

Re: car sputters. loss of power.. (Scud)
 

Check my thread, your problem sounds just like mine huh?

Does it jerk like crazy when you hit the gas?

Mine cuts out and the tach drops to 0 RPM if i hold the gas past 3K RPM or so.

Re: car sputters. loss of power.. (Kr0n1k)
 

yea it does.. mine doesnt cut out but it shakes and sputters like a mofo.. and also it doesnt do it all the time.. i just went down and drove it around the parking lot and it was normal.. im confused.. im a little low on cash so i havent been working on it but if i ever figure out what it is i will def let you know.

Re: car sputters. loss of power.. (Scud)
 

Did you ever fix this? My car just started doing this.

Re: car sputters. loss of power.. (guymosiris)
 

bump this shyt up...my b18c1 does this once in awhile...its annoying...

Re: car sputters. loss of power.. (mouab18c1)
 

dude it's probably just the fuel filter from sitting so long, all the stufff in it probably just hardened up.

Re: car sputters. loss of power.. (Scrapin4DR)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Scrapin4DR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">dude it's probably just the fuel filter from sitting so long, all the stufff in it probably just hardened up.</TD></TR></TABLE>


could be huh? http://is.rely.net/1-92-30008-l-au16...EFX98SjN8A.gif

Re: car sputters. loss of power.. (mouab18c1)
 

My alternator connection on the battery was loose, like barely holding on. I tightened it up, and it hasnt sputtered all day. I hope this was it.

Re: car sputters. loss of power.. (guymosiris)
 

I don't think it's bad fuel, my car sits over winter and theres been time when i haven't started it for months... as for the fuel filter maybe change it if it hasn't been changed in a while but I have my doubts... the next thing I would guess (since you replaced all the tune-up stuff) would be distributor or a sensor... keep us updated

Re: car sputters. loss of power..
 

I'm having the same problem as Scud described at the start of this thread. Like Scud, my problem is intermittent and began AFTER I did a degrease in the engine bay. From what I gather, the most common culprits are water damage to the distributor, spark plugs and spark plug wires. Scud mentioned replacing the wires and distributor cap + rotor and still having the issue after those actions. Was it the spark plugs?

I found another thread on Honda-Tech basically describing the same thing, the common link being a pressure wash in the engine bay before the symptoms began. Unfortunately, like this thread, the original poster never described if their problem was resolved, and if so, how it was resolved.

As for me, I had a mechanic dry the spark plugs and distributor with compressed air. Unfortunately, this did not cure the problem as I have experienced the sputtering and loss of power recently (several weeks after degrease). Any ideas as to what may be causing this? There is no CEL light or any other indicator when this happens and it happens intermittently.

Re: car sputters. loss of power..
 

check tps:

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-...hread-2830131/

also could be coil or icm getting ready to bite the dust.
electrical stuff can can die then start working again.
you will for sure need a coil/icm/cap/rotor/wires/plugs/tps/fuel pump eventually.
that isn't throwing parts at it, it's called the universe favors the prepared mind. 8)

Re: car sputters. loss of power.. (ZE12O)
 

has happened to me twice on cars that have sat for a long time.

Re: car sputters. loss of power..
 

God damn it, old thread!!!

Re: car sputters. loss of power..
 

GOT HIM!!!! :tobes

Re: car sputters. loss of power..
 

I never understood why people care if it's an old thread. I found this thread by searching Google and it was the most on-topic one for my issue. It didn't really matter that is was 10+ years old because it described the exact same thing that was occurring to me. Maybe 10 years from now someone will find this and the "new" posts are what solves their issue? I always thought that was a strength of the forums, not a weakness.

Re: car sputters. loss of power..
 

Because you could of just made your own thread or kept searching, I'm pretty sure you did no searching because you don't even know what spark plugs are..

Try unplugging the Battery to reset the ECU, most likely when you pressure washed the engine you damaged a sensor and made the wires pull out of the plug housing, go through every single plug and push in the wires so they have solid contact when plugged back in, Double check the Map sensor! check the wires going to the plug housing as well as remove the map sensor, when you remove the map sensor check the condition of the small O ring, replace if its flat, Take a piece of napkin and roll it very thin and insert the napkin inside the vacuum nipple twisting as you insert, this will soak any OIL, or water that makes its way in the Map sensor causing intermediate issues. You would be surprised what you find in the map sensor especially oil! replace the spark plugs there not that expensive.

I don't recommend using a pressure washer, it can damage the engine wire harness/ plugs which cause these issues, if you do use a pressure washer use it in certain areas and avoid the harness and or use low pressure not high pressure.

Re: car sputters. loss of power..
 

LOL, I did plenty of searching. That's how I found a 10 year old thread. Also, you should re-read what I wrote. I didn't say "what are spark plugs".

Despite that, your advice is helpful. Thanks for that.