efyou

hows it going everyone, ive acquired a 94 civic ex coupe for free from my friend because it never ran right doing this problem. now i consider myself to be a decently rounded honda guy and usually can figure out what the problem is but this car its a mystery to me. heres whats going on.

z6 vtec 5 speed, stock except for full exhaust
-tach sometimes inaccurate at first until it "catches"
-wont start on first crank, usually on second time you try(never had a honda do this)
-battery has been dead and recharged a bunch of times from sitting(maybe this is root of my problems?)
-maybe has moisture in gas(again)
-will rev to the moon in neutral but under load it runs like i've clipped all the spark plug wires unless its feeling nice and runs ok for a minute

i have done the following to this car:
new fuel filter
new head gasket
new thermostat
new ngk spark plugs from honda
new napa distributor, cap, rotor, wires
changed the oil with mobil 1 synthetic and honda filter
added thicker valve cover to chassis ground cable
valve adjustment

im lost as far as what else it could be, it throws codes if it sputters which i forget what they were now but im about to go check them again and post. any ideas? thanks in advance

efyou

hmmm well actually upon further inspection ive noticed when flooring it in neutral theres a slight hesistation from about 1k to 2.5k then it clears up.

i played with the ignition timing because it was just centered so i tried retarding it first and the sputtering was more noticable, so i advanced the distributor all the way and it seemed to smooth it out, took it for a test run and it was going fine and then all of a sudden it bogged a bit and threw a cel, so i drove it back home and checked the codes and it was:

1 and 41 which is o2 sensor related, WHICH upon even further inspection saw that the o2 sensor wiring has been tampered with as there is 4 crimp connectors on the 4 wires, could this be the issue or do you think the o2 is bad? or is the gas just super bad right now and is why its throwing the code?

streethondar

Form my own experience, if that O2 sensor is bad that car will spit and run rough. Apparently an O2 sensor on a honda is a import part. Replace the 02 sensor and see what happens. It might just clear it up. OReilly Auto has them for $55.99 + tax

Good luck brotha!

efyou

Ok well after a new oxygen sensor, car still runs the same, now I'm getting code 1,17,41, and yes I reset the ecu after I replaced the oxygen sensor. The easy way to trigger the problem is by turning a corner in second and giving it heavy throttle, then it just sputters all the way up to 4k then clears up. I don't get it, if I'm light on the throttle all the time like a grandma I don't see the issue but if I'm trying to get on the highway giving it any kind of gas it runs like ***. What could this be? why would it throw a code for something I just replaced? Im also aware that tge code 17 is the vss, which there has never been anytging wrong with the speedo reading, but maybe the ecu reads my speed wrong somehow and is giving wrong amounts of fuel and timing under heavy throttle with load or just too much timing because my fuell pump seems like its on its way out so its messing everything up. Who knows someone chime in please. Thanks in advance

19crx93

my 93 was doing the same and i changed the main relay with also controls the fule injection might want to look in to that.

efyou

Well I've found an alien gray wire as part of my engine harness going to one wire of my o2 sensor and then the same kind going from that wir thru the firewall, so my investigation ensues

Former User

Fix the O2 sensor wires for both the sensor and heater element. That's likely where your problem is.

If you don't have any speedo problems, check the VSS wire that runs to the ECU.

efyou

well checked continuity in the o2 sensor wiring and its good, still doing the same stuff, now the throttle seems to be sticking lol good lord. ronj do you have a link to good wiring diagrams to i can check the vss wire? thanks. i made a video of what was going on i just need to upload it in a second

efyou

a lil idea what im talking about with the cel, @4:10



heres the throttle sticking

efyou

bump

efyou

nobody?

SchuittD16

Are you running p28?

my car does the same thing, ive done almost everything you have, i think i have a bad headgasket, but i still have always bogged below roughly 3k, at 3200 car wakes up and goes....I think alot of it has to do with the fact that we want more out our single cam engine....The codes, no clue, i would see if you can find an uncut engine harness for that car and swap it out, sounds like yours is pretty cut up.

efyou

ok minor update, heres a mind boggler here...so i take off my fitv cuz i havent cleaned it and i figured why not, so i take it off, go to open it up...SNAP...broke the small bolt on the end. i figured oh well might as well clean it lol so i take it all apart clean it up real nice, and i guess from the part being hot when i took it off to it being cold after spraying the carb cleaner on it made the part shrink a bit cuz i went to put the threaded plastic cap back in and it when half a turn and got stuck and would not move one way or the other.

so its my daily so i said f it ill deal with it later i know the consequences of this lol. so insert the classic honda idle from 1 to 2k up and down. but heres the kicker....i can beat the hell out of this car now without any bogging or hesitation...someone please tell me how the hell that makes sense at all lol

efyou

Well looks like I spoke too soon, I starting having the same problem again even with the fitv being messed up, so I ended up getting another one and my idles bavk to normal but my throttle is sticking every once in awhile, and here's the final kicker here, threw a check engine light while driving on the highway, code 1 again, code 7 tps, thats new, and code 43 which is fuel supply system. I'm gonna check the tps with a multimeter to check the ohms reading, but other than that I don't even know what to try anymore, how am I still having code 1 when I've triple checked wiring and have a new o2 sensor, any thoughts ?

chinochanginc

if you mix up the tps and map sensor plugs the car will run like a$$

JDM215

bumpp cuz i had the same problem before had no idea what it was

efyou

i've read about that, and i can't see how its even possible to do that on my harness, neither will reach the other one, i can try switching them for the hell of it lol im open for anything at this point. it runs fine every once in a while i just dont get why it can't run that nice all the time

Former User

Don't swap the connectors until you check whether the wire colors match to the sensors. Post the wire colors in your MAP and TPS connectors.

EG1PJT

How old is the clutch? Cause it could be that no really sure cause it wouldnt make sense for the CEL codes but it would for the slipping your talking about in the acceleration.

efyou

Thanks for the input but its not slipping on acceleration. Well I checked the tps and the test results are: .5016volts at idle and 4.487 at WOT which rules that out as being faulty, I will now check the fuel system for low pressure or leaky/dirty/faulty injectors

nahnah05

have you looked into maybe a bad catalytic converter. when there is too much back pressure it will start to choke the engine. unndet light loads it will be ok but too much and it will misfire and sputter. you said you had a full exhaust put on it. is that with the converter or just from there back. im not for sure what the codes are. but if you have an efficiency code from the o2 sensors thats usually what it is. p0420 is the obdII code im not for sure about before that

efyou

I have a header and full exhaust , I've checked for a clogged cat but it was fine

EJ1_Ex

iTrader: (1)

check your injectors.. Make sure all the plugs are plugged in. I ran into a similar problem before. I didn't have the injector clip so it was loose and under vtec it ran like ****!

efyou

ok well injectors were fine, clips were attached. butttttt i did find something, i checked my fuel pressure....23-26 psi at any given time whether it be idle or gouging the throttle, so i guess its safe to say my fuel pump is on its way out....ill keep ya posted

efyou

well so far so good, installed a walbro 255 today after work and it seems to actually move now lol, this car isn't actually all that slow now that its running good. sweet! thanks everyone for the help and suggestions.