joeshmo

Hey guys. I recently bought a 98 civic LX. The test drive was awesome, it was light, nimble and frugal. I got it home and it sat a month as I did other projects. Now it came time to start, the battery was dead. So I cleaned the terminals, jumped it and drove it home. At every stop-sign, it wanted to stall and I had to feather the gas pedal to prevent it from doing so. I figured it was just a tune-up problem so I:
Changed the oil and filter
Replaced the PCV valve
Replaced all 4 spark plugs
Removed, cleaned and re-assembled Throttle body and IACV and installed with a new gasket.

Now the car won't even run. Right after re-assembling the throttle body, I took it out and it had very little power, began missing after it warmed up and threw an engine code. It had a roaming idle from 1000 to 2500. I'm really not sure where to turn next. Right now the car runs ONLY if you remove one spark plug wire. It will not run on 4 plugs at all. 3 plugs it runs and idles at 400rpm and chugs and pops. Any Clues as to what I should do next? Thanks.

joeshmo

My first time taking apart the TB, I don't think I screwed the IACV back on tightly enough because I could impact engine idle speed by spraying cleaner on the IACV. But I took it off, torqued it down as well as I could and re-installed. Any tips would be great.

Something else worth noting: The engine threw the codes 0300-0304 and 1399 which are the misfire codes.

joeshmo

New issue: Engine starts after I let it sit like an hour. But it starts off really slow (200rpm). Then it "warms up" and begins cycling from 1000 to 2000 rpm. I tried unplugging the spark plugs from each cylinder and each made a difference in the cycle noise (with a plug removed, the engine would peak at like 1800rpm instead of 2000). So I can't really narrow it down to just one cylinder. Any other tips for bad starting and surging idle?

joeshmo

Back to not running. Engine turns over fine, catches for half a second, putts out the exhaust and dies again. I am truly at a loss. I did notice however (while it was running) that spraying carb cleaner on the IACV resulted in a higher idle. Is it possible for my IACV gasket to leak enough to cause the engine to run extremely rough with an erratic, surging idle or prevent the car from running at all?

Where should I go next? Fuel pressure reading? Vacuum reading? What do you guys think?

Former User

Check the distributor cap, rotor, and fuel filter.

Test the coil and ICM.

Check the mechanical timing.

joeshmo

Thank you! I'll do all these things tomorrow. I remember someone telling me once that I can check the dizzy cap by spraying with water. Is that true? And I'll just replace the fuel filter.

Former User

Just inspect the inside of the distributor. Post pictures if you are unsure what to look for.

joeshmo

Corrosion/rust on the Dist shaft right? Also, could a leaking TB gasket or IACV cause the engine not to run and backfire while trying to run? I figure if the TB gasket or IACV are leaking, they would make the engine run way too lean but I may be mistaken. And one more thing, could my idle screw be causing this trouble? Looks like the previous owner turned it ALL the way to the right (and I say this because it looks almost like it has had the head stripped a bit from a wrong sized screwdriver. What is a good starting point for the idle screw if you've got a non-starting engine?

Former User

Anywhere inside the distributor, but particularly the electrical contact points in the cap and on the rotor.

No.

Fix the idle screw, but look elsewhere. When the misfire/no-start problem is fixed, adjust the idle speed (see FAQs sticky).

joeshmo

Thanks much RonJ, you've been a big help. I'll post again tomorrow. Let's hope the distributor is the problem. If this doesn't solve it, I'm gonna remove the TB again and try sealing the IACV on with some form-a-gasket because I get the feeling it is leaking. Is it possible that I've squished the gasket by over-tightening the IACV and caused a leak? I did tighten it ALOT after it leaked the first time.

I'll check my timing too but I think (hope) that it is still fine.

Former User

You're off track here^.

If the cap, rotor, and interior of distributor look fine (post pictures), then focus on these:

joeshmo

Thanks RonJ, you've been very helpful. Will update tomorrow after testing the coil, ICM, Distributor and replacing the fuel filter.

joeshmo

Alright, here's the deal:
Today I took off my distributor and in the process of removing the cap, I destroyed the flat-head screw. So i drilled it out and replaced the entire car with a new one from napa. The old cap had moisture inside of it when I took it off, no good. Then I proceeded to clean the contact points on the distributor as they had turned green and looked worse for the wear. I cleaned using a very mild wire brush on my dremel and a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I then cleaned with contact cleaner, let dry and reinstalled the distributor. My first attempt, it took a few seconds to start up and it idled rough and then found an idle at around 1200, with the entire engine shaking but a solid idle nonetheless. Scratching my head, I found that I had installed the plugs in the wrong spots on the new cap and fixed that. Now I'm back to square one, with an idle surging between 1000-2000 constantly in a 3 second cycle. I tried to adjust the timing a bit by moving the distributor and just found that it would change where it idles (towards the front of the car and it would idle higher, back lower I think.)
Here is a pic of the distributor and cap before cleaning. You can see moisture and garbage in the old cap:


Now what do I do? Should I still try to replace the fuel filter?

joeshmo

Update: The engine won't stay constant on any speed. I just did the idle set procedure where you hold the engine at 3k rpm for 6 minutes. The engine speed fluctuated from 2750 to 3250, not really in a cycle, just fluctuating. I'm at a loss. Any help?

fleabag

Did you ever clean that IACV? Also take that battery of yours to autozone and have them charge it for free. You won't successfully charge a dead battery with the car's alternator unless you want to risk burning it out.

joeshmo

I cleaned the iacv and it definitely works (idle goes down when unplugged). The y7 doesn't have a fitv, and I trickle charged the battery just the other day but I'll do it again tonight because I have been cranking it a lot.

Fliptard

From the looks of it, I would replace the Cap and rotor, possibly even the coil. see if you can get a working dizzy off a friends car or something and try that first.

Former User

Don't look back. Just replace the cap and rotor. Also remove the rotor and leak cover and post a picture of the distributor internals.

joeshmo

Alright, I'll replace the rotor tomorrow. I already replaced the cap (I got the TEC model because it looked the same as what was on there. I'm hoping this was the correct choice.) It sounds like all the cylinders are firing fine, it just is looping between 1-2k RPM constantly. I haven't even dared to drive it like this yet. I get the feeling it will bog and stall or miss. Could a bad rotor (or coil or ICM) be causing my fluctuating idle/revs?

On a related note: It fluctuates no matter where the pedal is, not just at idle but fluctuation goes does considerably the higher I rev it.

Former User

This tells you that it's most likely an ignition system or fuel system problem. Start with the ignition system as it is the THE MOST COMMON cause of engine problems, consistent with the appearance of your cap.

joeshmo

So a vac leak would not cause a fluctuating idle and fluctuating resting rpm? I checked all the vac lines I could find by spraying them first with carb cleaner to no effect then with simplegreen, also to no effect and no bubbling.

So I should take off the dist again, remove the rotor and replace it and check the ICM while I'm in there? The rotor just pops off after I remove that screw, correct?

Former User

ONLY at idle or low rpm. If the problem persists when pressing the throttle pedal, then a vacuum leak is highly unlikely.

--->distributor cap and rotor, coil, ICM, distributor sensors, distributor corrosion, fuel filter, injectors, FPR, fuel pump...

joeshmo

Thanks, that is exactly what I needed to know. Tomorrow I'll replace the fuel filter, rotor and check my coil and ICM.

fleabag

Make sure you have cleaned/repaired all of your electrical grounds in your engine bay as that could cause the computer or sensors to report erroneous readings, or have weak spark, etc. Consult the helms manual for the location of all the electrical grounds.

joeshmo

I began the process today of doing this and I use my dremel to clean up the ground zone on the body and scrape some rust off of the washers. Is this the correct procedure? Any bolts that are totally gone I replace. I did the main ground (from body to battery) and several others in the front passenger side region. I read somewhere about a ground, g101 which is on the waterneck or close to it supposedly. I'll look it up in my manual.

Should I apply di-electric grease or something to these bolts?

Also, wouldn't bad grounds generally cause a CEL? I don't have any ATM but when I do they are the misfire codes.