Genie.S

Hello all,

I am new to this forum so please correct me on any format or information issues.

Today I was driving about 50km/hr when suddenly I had no acceleration power, my speedometer went flat and my steering was like trying to move an anvil through wet cement. Could still shift but no change in rpm or acceleration from 3rd to 1st. Engine light is on (has been since i bought it a month ago, first time experiencing this problem). When I turned the car off and on again it did fix the problem (wondering now if it is temporary). The guy i bought it from did do an engine swap at one point but was just a less-used version of the same stock '97 DX engine. I have no idea where to start and would appreciate Any info!

fcm

Check power steering pump, is the belt still there, is pump pulley still turning? 94

97hb

What was cel on for?

Genie.S

Don't know what cel was on for, previous owner didn't know and i wasnt about to pay $175 for someone to just Look at it.

wunfstgsr

sounds like the power steering belt ripped away or the pump seized causing stiff steering. The igntition timing may be off or even worse the cam skipped teeth on the belt and your mech timing is off causing the loss in power..

97hb

Jump the blue connector under the passenger side dash by the ecu. Count the flashes of the cel for the code.

mk378

Don't expect proper performance from any car with the CEL on. You can also buy an OBDII scanner. It gives more detailed results than the jumper blink method. Check the "fuse 15" problem.

The power steering is purely mechanical. As long as the engine is turning at all, you should have power steering. So, considering that any used car will often have more than one problem, check the fluid level. Be careful what kind of fluid you add, a lot of generic fluid is not suitable for the seals in the Honda system. If it did run out of fluid you probably have a leak at the end of the rack which is going to leak out again.

Genie.S

Thank you guys for all of your help!

Little update, checked the car out, all belts are in place and still in great shape, power steering fluid is clean and at perfect level.

Have not yet checked on the cel error code, will post that asap.

Genie.S

Hello Again!

Thank you all again for helping me, I found out it is the O2 sensor that is causing the engine light to come on. The previous problem involving loss of power has not yet repeated itself and the steering has also been good. I just got back from BC a couple days ago and it made the whole trip avg. 120-130km/h without a hitch.

Once again thanks and look for more of my threads, I may just blow something up yet!