frostdragon1

i have a 93 del sol 1.6 vtec with a short ram intake the rest is stock. the issues im having is that when mid day the car will start hiccuping really hard about 1/2 -3/4 way home on the interstate doing 80 and once it starts it will continue and get worse no matter what speed or gear. i usally have to press in clutch and cut the engine while i coast turn it on after a few seconds and i kick start the car it will go away for some varying time but start again. other issue is that unless my car is idleing at about 950 -1000 rpm my oil light will start rapidly flashing and go away when given gas or driving. i replaced the radiator, water pump, wires, head gasket, intake gasket, exaust gasket last weak...plugs where fine and all. was getting a cel for the vtec and iat but i just replaced both and now no cel when this occurs (every day). also my be unrelated but upon turning car on in the morning car wont fire over and pump wont prime with a solid cel. i litterly have to wait for the car to want to start by waiting for the pump to prime then cel turns off and instantly starts and drives with a small lack of power. like i cant get past 5k rpm in 4th doing 80-85. vtec still dosnt seem to kick in either. think the oil light is do to overheating may have caused the rod bearings to wear? any thoughts? also the oil has low pressure so it might not be helping to cool engine like its supposed to. oil pump is good as it spues out of the v-tec when i replaced to see if pump was working.

virgineg6

You never mentioned, have you checked your oil level?

delsolintegra

I have a 93 del sol si auto that had a no start problem for a while.(Fuel pump wouldn't prime)
I tried many things like main relay, thermostat housing ground, fuel pump, pgm-fi relay, ignition switch. Turns out it was the ECU. I borrowed another ECU and I got fuel pump to prime and it immediately started. Turns out my ECU had got wet the outside cover was badly oxidized. I don't know if it's due to the del sol having targa roof leaks but after I got a used ECu from the junkyard I replaced it with some plastic sheet loosely placed over the ECU to keep it dry but not so tight to lock in heat and cook it. I also bought some
3M Silicon Paste from NAPA to coat the targa roof seals to try to waterproof them better. The ECU being 18 years old it just might be time to replace it.

frostdragon1

oil level is fine, actually had to add a quart to see if the pressure indacator lamp would shut off but no such luck could come my way lol. @ delsolintegra, ive been fearing a ecu issue, the problem is the junkyard around here get all the civics stripped within a few hours of arrival so its hard to get anything i need. on top of that they are expensive even for a refurbished one.

Former User

I edited your title to mention the problems. Try resoldering the main relay.

zacheryleatherw

Sounds like your oil pump went out.

virgineg6

If the oil pump went out the light would stay on, oil pressure sensor might be going out. Inspect the wiring from the pressure sensor to the cluster a wire can be chaffed and making contact to ground, vibration from the engine can cause the light to flicker.

frostdragon1

thanks for all help, oil pump is working fine i checked to see if pressure was present when i replaced v-tec solonid. inspected all wires and didnt see any dammage or corrosion and have already re grounded entire engine bay. i have broke down and baught new main and rod bearings under the assumption they may have accessive wear when the engine was over heating so badly.waiting for them to arrive so i can rebuild the lower half of the engine. sigh, if this dosnt repair the issues then i might have a computer issue and just need to replace it as well. also baught a new timing belt to TDC the engine when im done with the repair... as far as the relay i compleatly replaced it and it still is malfuctioning with the priming and solid cell. seems it only works when it wants to. thanks to all for input on my issues.

frostdragon1

sorry hadnt been on for awhile lot going on as of lately. finnaly got back under the car today, repalced the main and rod bearings which where so badly worn down they where missing chunks of metal which ended up in the oil sump screen blocking oil from flowing in turn causing more dammage. cleaned all that out got the tranny back up with new clutch and did the steering and supention too. all new ball joints fully ajustable springs and camber ajusters on the upper controll arm. another new timing belt, and all i have to do is break the engine free cause the new bearings have a firm grip on the crankshaft and get oil thru the crankshaft to do the timing and see how she runs from there.

frostdragon1

post rebuild, bearings where SHOT!!! replaced timed and oonce the ecu decided it was ready to start then car ran fine...except it still over heats.everything in the cooling system is working as it should idk whats wrong with it?

delsolintegra

Make sure thermostat is OK. Not blocked.
Is the radiator OK? Fins blocked or loose? Radiator cap?
When the car is running is the top radiator hose especially hard (pressurized) could be a head gasket problem?

frostdragon1

took thermostat out and over heating gone, ecu replaced was the no start issue. but test drove and power was very lacking till about half way up the rpm gauge then when i got home idle was so low allmost stalled any thoughts?

delsolintegra

clean your IACV valve with carburator cleaner. See FAQ's.
Take it off with 2 bolts (12mm)
Tilt it and take off the 2 coolant lines and electrical connection.
Don't lose the figure 8 shaped gasket.
Shoot cleaner thru both holes till it runs clear.Clean the screen. Let it dry.
Put some 3M silicon grease on the figure 8 gasket when you reassemble.
Rehook it up and you can pull your ECU fuse to reset the computer.
You can also unscrew the high idle screw on the throttle body and clean it.
This should cure the hot engine idle condition.
If you have a cold engine idle condition clean the FITV. See FAQ's

strategy400

I'd be wanting to lay my hands on an oil pressure gauge at the first opportunity and connect it to the sender port and check the oil pressure to specs.

Oil pressure and coolant temperature are priority 1!

Also, your car isn't going to run properly with no thermostat. It will run in constant warm-up mode.

frostdragon1

it will do that even here in fl when its like 85 in december? it was to my understanding that the thermostat only controlls the coolant flow during warm up by blocking the flow till the engine got hot enough to heat up the spring causing it to open for cooling in the radiator. i dint know the engine would ajust the idle due to the temp of the coolant. even if so it warms up int the same amount of time as when the thermostat was in it just dosnt over heat any more. so i will clean out the iacv which i belive i did when the engine was apart but no harm in trying again. and will look up what the fitv is so i can clean it too just as precaution and elimination. is there any way that the timing belt could be off a tooth or something? i timed tdc and made sure to line up all marks but idk if one tooth is easy to mess up cause the cam would turn over completly if i put too much turn into trying to line up the marks.and idk why but after the new bearings i hear a winding type noise when the engine is reved.
thanks all

frostdragon1

soon i hopefully will have it all fixed up lol need my DD back

frostdragon1

ok cleaned my tb iacv and ajusted the fitv with new gasket. reset the "base idle" as per instructions but set too high now car runs around 2000 rpm and i cant seem to get it back down any thoughts?

frostdragon1

also i dont see or hear of any vaccume leaks

frostdragon1

any one know what could be happening?