nateasham

Hi all I bought myself a new civic on the jan 28. It's a 2000 coupe with d16y7. 5 spd. A dx I belive. I bought it because I was tired of my auto 2000 si. Anyhow it doesn't have a tach so I swapped the cluster from my auto si into the new one. as soon as I turned the key to on. But car still off. The CEL flashes steady and constant. At about 1 second intervals with no fluctuation. Does it after start and While driving as well. I didn't have time to check for codes before work. But I didn't think it should flash. Anything specific I should try or do I check codes. Old cluster threw no CEL light and I know it worked. Si cluster wasn't lit up in the auto si iether.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Before anyone ***** bricks, OP is Canadian. Their SI is our EX.

A flashing CEL generally means a misfire. Pull the codes. Reset the ECU. See if it continues.

nateasham

Ya Canada got a sh*t si. Really it makes no sense cause we have the ex here too. And they're identical. Anyhow back to the topic.

Will check codes when I get home today.
Although I must say missfure sounds like a reasonable culprit.

When I filled up the tank I used an STP brand fuel system cleaner. (I use one every 6 months on all my cars never had an issue). About 30 mins later I started to get a hesitation in acceleration. And a bad stuttering. Almost sounds like a Lopey cam muscle car. After a few moments it does sometimes kick up in power to normal. It has continually gotten worse since.

I'm guessing it's related to the fuel system. Prolly a clog somewhere. I'll check codes then go from there. Dizzy, plugs and wires can be used off of my d16y8 auto to check it isn't thise if it is a misfire. Correct.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Could be a couple of things, but I wouldn't worry about the cluster - if it's misfiring, the cluster wouldn't cause that. How many miles does your car have on it? When was the last time you did plugs, wires, cap, and rotor? Once we pinpoint which cylinder is misfiring, we can start diagnosing it. If you don't already have one, pick up a spark tester. They look like this:

nateasham

I just bought the car on the 28th. No maintenance records. 255,000 Km. Haven't done anything other than the cluster swap and fuel system cleaner. My auto civic had the dizzy, cap, rotor, wires and plugs all done 2-3 years ago. I can swap those to test if they'll work.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Oh ew. I'd almost wager the cost of four spark plugs that the ones in your current engine were never changed, and are going to come out all fucked up and black.

nateasham

So I borowed a shops code reader. Only shows one code. P0135. Manual says "O2 sensor heater circuit malfunction. Bank 1 sensor 1"

don't know if I should have it not but I started it. Was still sounding like crap. and CEL was flashing strady still. No other codes showed up.

I read fuse 15 is often related so I'm rechecking all fuses at this time too.

I have new ngk plugs to put in but don't want to waste new plugs. Till its a good time too.

nateasham

Fuse #15 under dash was good. Had to replace about 12 random other fuses though.

Under hood fuses were all good. I don't have a relay in the spot labled "mg clutch relay" and "condenser fan relay" no ac though

Testing O2 sensor
Heater circuit : 15 ohms
Chassis side clip has power connection. With key on, engine off.
Ground seems to be broken. Not getting signal. Could just be I screwed up the test.

Reset codes. Ran car. Got same code back. I do smell gas like a flooded lawn mower does.

I have 2 clips that my O2 looks like it could go in. Side by side. From some reading it may have been in the wrong clip. Does it matter? How do I know which clip is right. I know which I disconected it from. Which doesn't seem to get a 12v ground signal with key on.

I also tested the spark plug wire resistance. The Shortest wire is
7.2ohms then
8.35
10.3
And the Longest 12-35 ohms as I moved the wire.
Cap n rotor is all powdery white.
Spark plugs are stuck good. Can't get em out.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Yep, so they've probably never been changed. That's unfortunate. Give this a try. Run the engine to let it get warm, shut it off, then try removing the spark plugs with the engine still warm. If that doesn't work, get a can of WD40, spray a little bit down the spark plug holes every 30 minutes for a few hours, then try removing them.

nateasham

Plugs out. One good soak of WD-40 and a geantle push on a breaker bar. And man are they nasty. 2 closest to the dizzy are the worst. Soaked, black, smells like gas. ill get a pic up soon. Plug wires got 1999 on em.

So my thoughts.
New wires
New cap
New rotor
I got new plugs.
New fuel filter. Just cause I bet it's old too.
Anything else I should do before firing it up? What about the code? Clear it after and try again?

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Yep, after you've done a FULL tune-up, clear the codes and give her a run. Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, fuel, and air filters. Make sure to get OEM parts. They'll be a little more expensive, but they'll last another 15 years, as compared to "OEM equivalent" parts, which will give you anywhere from 6 months to 3 years. The air filter you can get away with a FRAM, but everything else, OEM is best.

nateasham

here they are. In order from left to right. Closest to the dizzy to furthest.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

The two on the right don't look horrible, but they needed to be replaced. The two on the left....well, the far left, it's a minor miracle if it was even firing at all, and the second from the left, firing consistently. I'd say there's a REALLY good chance that's what was causing your problems, right there

nateasham

Ok plugs, wires, cap n rotor all replaced. Cleaned k&n air filter. Couldn't do fuel filter cause it seems my wrenches grew legs. Will try to find a set tomorrow after work.

Stepped in. Cranked it. Heard a loud metallic snap. The car jumped like an inch and dropped. I thought I broke an axle somehow at first even tho I was in nuetral. Turns out I forgot my socket on the crank bolt when I had to rotate the dizzy. Nothing seems broken. REMOVED socket and Started it up just to see what's up.

Much better running. Puffed something awefull till I revved it good once. Still cel. Ran it for 5 minutes. Did not drive just let get warm. Light didn't go away. Will have to grab code reader again. I need to buy a cheap one. (Ya I'm too lazy to just jump it. And count flashes.)

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Did you reset the ECU before starting the car to clear codes?

nateasham

Battery was disconected for over an hour. Do I need to still pull the fuse.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

It wouldn't hurt. I like to pull the fuse, try to start the car (clears power from the caps, makes sure it's totally reset), reinstall fuse, and turn key to ON(II) to see if the CEL stays solid. If it stays solid before you actually start the car, then either you have a sensor code, or you didn't clear the CEL.

Matt_EH3

It it's a 2000, chances are that the code did not clear with the battery unplugged or with the fuse pulled. You should clear it with an OBDII reader to be sure, especially if the ECU detected a misfire.

Codes can end up clearing themselves after a few cycles of driving around, but I have a feeling that you'll be in limp mode (i.e. running very rich with a very low rev limiter) after getting a misfire, which makes the car nearly impossible do drive.

Also, if the code you read said you had a bad O2 sensor, you should look into re-testing that ground that you said may be bad. This will also have an impact on how your car runs when it is idling.

nateasham

Ok I'll continue to check out that ground. Where would that wire terminate? There is a second clip next to the one my O2 is plugged into. What is this clip? Which one(with which color wires.) should I be plugged into? If my O2 was plugged into the wrong wire would I have had more than just the O2 heater circuit code.

nateasham

Cleared cel. Turned key to ON(II). cel came on for check, and went out. Stayed out for 2-3 minutes. I started the car. Ran about 30 seconds before getting cel again. I can't wait for my own code reader to arrive I hate having to wait to borrow one durring business hours which is what I work.

Following the procedure I found for testing the O2 heater circuit.
15 ohms at the heater element.
12v signal on the positive side of the harness.
No signal in the ground.

How do I continue from here. That's where the last diagnostic left me. You have open ground. Where's it ground to? Can I just run a simple ground wire to chassis from the sensor?

Side note. I'll replace these grounds as they just suck and are nasty too.
Chassis to batery.
Motor to chassis.
Transmission to chassis.