Hey guys, I'm at my wits end and I was wondering if anyone out there had gone through a similar experience with a 91 Civic Hatchback DX. I love the car! It's treated me pretty well for the past three years - that is, until the last month. Ironically enough, this is all happening just as I hit the 100k mile mark... anyway, I apologize for the faux pas of asking for help on my first post, but here goes:

91 Civic. Runs perfectly, with the exception of the air conditioning. One day while driving home on a particularly hot day, the check engine light comes on - followed by the battery light, then the oil light. The error code given on the ECU is 15 and 16 (ignition output signal and something to do with the fuel injection system). When the lights came on, I lost all acceleration, it was as if the engine shut itself off. There was a small click from the fuel relay board. This happened within the first five minutes of driving, everytime I drove the car. If I let it sit for a few minutes, it would start right back up and make it the rest of the trip no problem. It wasn't too inconvenient because I could predict down to the house I broke down in front of where it would die, and since it is manual I had plenty of time to get safely to the side. I even had a good book waiting in the passengers seat.

But I wanted to get it fixed. So I took it in for a runover by some mechanics. All in all, I wound up replacing the sparkplugs and the wires leading up to them, the battery, the timing belt, and the water pump. This was the first round.

This did not fix the problem.

Next I replaced the fuel relay board and the fuel filter.

This still did not fix the problem.

It was starting to get worse and I couldn't make the commute to work as reliably as I would like, so I took it to a different shop that was close to my home. They said it was a faulty fuel pump inasmuch as it only was putting out 20 pounds of pressure. I sighed and paid a very hefty amount to get that replaced.

This did not fix the problem either.

Starting to get frustrated, I took it back in and they apologized for the mishap. They replaced the distributor and the ignition switch... AND IT SEEMED TO BE FIXED. My engine would not shut off randomly anymore, and I did not receive the check engine light anymore. However, after a day or two of driving happily, I noticed that it was starting to idle very roughly. VERY. ROUGHLY. As in, it would shake when I came to a stop and sound like it was about to die. I tried to accelerate to keep the engine going, but there was no acceleration with the pedal depressed for the first few seconds. It would kick back in a few moments later, but this made life interesting with my long commute. It only seems to happen when I have to come to a stop after a drive. Then it began actually dying when I came to a stop, and refusing to come back to life for a few minutes. This seems to happen randomly - not every time I came to a stop, and it wouldn't happen if I put it in neutral and gunned the engine - but if I had to come to a controlled sudden stop (no gradual coasting to slow down), the engine would struggle then die.

So I took it back to the same mechanic. They said the fuel pump they put in there was faulty, and that they would get me a new one. Thankfully, it was for free due to it still being under warranty. Again, it drove fine for a few days...

And now it is dying again. When it dies, the battery light and the oil light come on. The engine seems to go in and out a bit when you pump the brake pedal while in neutral.

Any ideas? I have to make the 45 minute commute in a couple hours.. from what I've gleaned from the almighty internets so far, it might be the fuel pressure regulator, the distributor cap, or a leak in the vacuum system.

Thank in advance for your help! This is where you tell me how insufferably long the post is.

 

Well, it does sound like a fuel issue to me, but you've replaced some common problem parts already.

I'd test the FPR out to make sure it's within tolerance, I don't know the proper PSI output off the top of my head, so I won't throw any numbers out there. You may also want to pull your fuel injectors to make sure they're not dirty/clogged/stuck open.

Although, if you say the idle speed changes significantly when you pump the brakes, it could be a vacuum leak as well.

Lastly, are you getting a CEL any more when this happens?

 

I think the proper fuel output is between 35 - 40 for this model. Or at least that's what I've been told. Until last month (when this nightmare began) I was completely clueless regarding cars, so I suppose this whole ordeal is a blessing in disguise.

The mechanics claim that they tested the hell out of it after the second fuel pump went in, so I'm assuming that they would bring the pressure up to the optimal level. To answer your question, the CEL is not coming on now. After they replaced the Ignition Switch and Distributor, that problem stopped - just now it seems to have a worse problem.

I didn't have this problem until they replaced the Ignition Switch and the Distributor. Is there anything they may have forgotten to reset or tighten while replacing those parts that would affect this?

Thanks for the help by the way .

 

When was the last time you replaced the o2 sensor? I would change that and make sure you dont have a vaccum leak....

 

Shall do. I have not replaced that sensor since I have owned it, and I highly doubt the previous owner did anything of the sort.

Is there anyway to confirm that the vacuum is acting up? During one of the initial deaths (back before I replaced the ignition switch and the distributor), the brakes locked up as I tried to start the car again - someone told me this might be the vacuum. I'll definitely tell the mechanic to take a look. Thanks .

 

You can try to pinpoint a vacuum leak by spraying carb cleaner around your intake manifold, if your idle speed changes when you spray in a particular area, there's probably a leak there. Sometimes you can find the leak audibly as well.

 

Check all your grounds!