jeff989

Hi All,
Lately, my 90 Civic (1.5 standard hatchback) has been stalling. It started occuring on rare occasions while idle at an intersection. Upon starting to accelerate, it would stall. I would be able to start it again almost immediately, and with applying lots of gas, I could get it running again, and be on my way. The problem has gotten progressly worse, but has been intermittent. When it stalls, it appears not be getting enough gas. I only say this because if I pump the gas several times, I usally get it running. When the problem is occuring, I can pump the gas at intersections to prevent it from occurring, but it will still stumble when changing gears. It runs fine once it's in third / fourth gear. Currently, it's having a hard time even starting. Here's what I've had changed out (before and after I noticed the problem).

-- Before problem
--- a few months before the problem started occurring, I changed entire distributor (aftermarket, but seems good).

-- After problem
-- motor fan and radiator fan (because Honda said these were both going bad)
-- fuel filter
-- air filter
-- IACV (brand new one -- a whopping $265 -- ouch)
-- spark plugs and cables (ngk plugs / Duralast cables)
-- PCV valve

-- I've checked for the familiar "click" sound of the main relay (a few seconds after turning to position II), and could hear it clearly, but I only hear 1 click, not 2 (the click I hear seems to be at the end of the fuel pump action). I'm not sure if I can hear the fuel pump but I think I can (I hear a very slight squealing). The car makes six beeps during this time so it's kindof hard to hear.
-- When the ignition is in position II, and after the 6 beeps, the battery light, and the oil light are on (not sure if this is typical). They go off when turning the key all the way).
--No codes show on the ECU light in the passenger side floor (just see 1 when I turn the key, so the ECU appears to be working).
-- When the stalling occurred, I would see the battery light and the oil pressure light come on briefly, but NOT the Check Engine Light.
-- When the problem started occurring, the car was running very smoothly in general until it occurred (while idling).
-- I haven't yet had the fuel pressure checked.
-- I also have not had the alternator checked.
-- When doing a visual inspection, I did notice that a few of the fuel related hoses have some cracking. I wondered if that is a good indication of a vacuum leak. Is it possible to put some sealant on these to see if that is the issue. If so, any recommendations?
-- I noticed that what I believe to be the "engine ground wire" was broken. This wire assembly has 2 wires. One on the front of the engine that connects to the top of the engine, and the other wire connects from that position on the top of the engine to the car body). The part that was broken was the part that connects to from the front of the engine to the top of the engine. I asked Honda parts about ordering an "engine ground wire" and they said the guy said he's never heard of that before. I unscrewed the "front of the engine" screw to pull out the wire attachment (the metal ring part), and slipped the wire itself underneath the screw (not sure if this is OK to do like this).
-- this car has 324,000 miles on it, but the engine has had an overhaul at 275,000 (seals / valves), and has been running great ever since (until now of course)
-- The battery appears to have good charge when tested with "el cheapo" battery tester. The "alternator test" mode (testing with car running) also seems OK, but this is a $10 tester, so who knows how accurate it is.
-- If the voltage regular is bad, would I see a ECU code for this?
-Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.

Jeff





Modified by jeff989 at 9:18 AM 1/12/2008

jeff989

I took the battery out and gave it a full charge, then put it back in, but no luck. It doesn't seem to get very close to starting at all, just cranking. Could this be the ignition switch? Would the problem have started off by causing stalling issues, then later progressed to not starting?

Thanks for any thoughts.

jeff989

Things have gotten worse. I've been fortunate enough to borrow another car for the last week. When I tried starting the Honda a few days back, it wouldn't start. It had a less than healthy cranking sound (struggling to crank), and no real signs of the engine getting anywhere close to starting.
I tried starting it again today, and it doesn't make any starting noises. The dashboard lights all come on, and I can hear the fuel pump and a heatlhly click from the Main Relay at the end. The ECU doesn't display any lights other than the first "hello" light.
My first guess at this point is the Ignition Switch, however, I wanted to get other peoples thoughts on this before I replace it. The fact that the dashboard lights come on does kindof make me wonder, because from what I've been reading, the dashboard lights will typically not display anything when the Ignition Switch goes bad.
BTW, the battery itself is healthy. I took it out a few days back and gave it a full charge, and really haven't messed with the car much since then. Also, I've checked all the relevant fuses (both sets -- under dashboard, and the set near the battery).
Thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions on this.

jeff989

OK, at least the car starts again. The no start was the starter motor. I tapped it a few times with a hammer and it started right away.

-- I can tell the engine isn't really running good though.

-- One other thing I forgot to mention is that over the last 6+ months, when I start the car, I hear a liquid sound (from engine area). Does this mean that I may have air pockets in the cooling system? I've heard that can cause bad idling problems.

-- Also, what's the level of difficulty for changing out the thermostat?

-- The distributor is from Distributor King and is about 1 year old. A mechanic tested it out recently and said it appeared to be working fine. This was a day when the car wasn't acting up for some reason. The only reason I mention the distributor is because I've read that when the coil starts going bad, it seems as if you just run out of gas (idle slows and then the engine stops).

-- I'm going to try bleeding the coolant system later and perhaps investing in a thermostat.

jeff989

Finally resolved the issue.
The throttle body "gunk" was causing the stalling issue.
I bought a can of STP "Throttle Body Cleaner", and sprayed it into the throttle body while the car was running. It caused it to blow smoke for approximately 30 minutes, and ran great after this. I drove it around town afterwards with no issues.

It didn't take very much of the cleaner at all to do the job. I only sprayed out 10 sprays that were very small amounts. I probably used at total of 1/100 of the can (or less). Later on, I repeated the process, but didn't see any smoke the 2nd time, so I'm assuming the first time around cleaned it out pretty good.

tsep

thanks man! you saved the day

KLeSe

may have to try this method

Marquisl2

Im having the exact same problems with my 90 Honda hatchback 4 speed it's like when I put it in first gear and start it's ok but second gear through 3rd it starts putting like it's not getting gas or something then when I get in fourth it's ok but it's started off minor like I'll be going up the highway and it will start doing that well one day I pulled over and for some reason popped the latch to the gas tank and opened the cap and it relieved a bunch of pressure but it would only donut when I got close to a half a tank of gas now it's doing this sputter thing constantly it's hard to start sometimes and when it acts like she ain't gonna start I'll pump the gas a few which bc it is fuel injected it will start up but I've also been trying to figure out what's wrong with her I think it's probably either I need to give it a tune up or I think not the problem is probably with the fuel pressure may the. Fuel filter is clogged up or fuel part related problem but. Man if u figure it out please lmk cause it's really bothering cause I've never had this problem with a car like this that I can't atleast figure out what's wrong with it and this is also the first Honda I've own I've always bought Chevys so I'm not to familiar with working on Hondas so if anybody can figure out the problem please let me know and I do appreciate the help

Marquisl2

soundss like I'ma have to try this method first hopefully it works for me this is really bugging since my lil Honda is my car I drive back and forth to work and I do a lot of traveling need her to be running right so I'll check this out first of it doesn't work so I know of anything else it could be Ive never worked on a Honda I've only owned Chevys so not to familiar with Hondas so I can use as much help as possible of anyone has any suggestions

Former User

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