Tonight at work I noticed my 98 Civic EX was idling like ****, and then a little bit after that, it started misfiring and losing power, while the CEL was blinking steadily. It was really bad below 2500 rpms, and it ran a little better/smoother higher than 2500. It misfired during idling, acceleration at any throttle angle, and sometimes even during cruising while holding a constant speed. Then, all of the sudden, it would disappear for a few minutes, and run absolutely perfectly. After this, I checked the plug wires, since these sorry *** Bosch wires have failed me before, but they were all attached to the plugs just fine. It would alternate running like ****, and running fine, all night long. I got the random misfire code, and a misfire code for the first three cylinders, never #4, so I would doubt it's the dizzy or cap. At the end of the night, however, I got a code p1002 which I can not find the translation for anywhere online. I've been meaning to do a tuneup for quite a while now, since it's been a little over 30k, but what should I do to try and diagnose this?

 

Measure the fuel pressure and also test the coil and ICM.

 

check your spark plugs

 

I'll do this tomorrow, and might just replace all of them anyway since it's been over 30k city miles since the last tuneup.

How do I test the coil and Ignition whatever module? I've been thinking about buying a compression tester since it's been burning oil for a little while now, I'll do that tomorrow also.

 

AutoZone can test the Ignition Control Module. Here's how to test the coil:

 

Ron, man I got to give it to you, you are one of the most helpful people I have ever encountered on the internet.

Thanks a bunch man.

 

Thanks for the advice, but does not compute. Is this a part of the distributor, and if so, do I have to take it out to get it tested?

 

Yes to both.

Definitely also compression test the cylinders, as you mentioned, given the oil consumption and the three cylinder random misfire indicated by the CEL codes.

 

I've been meaning to get a valve adjustment for quite a while now. Could that be a culprit?

 

That's also a possibility. Are the valve noisy?

 

Yes. Could they be sticking or something?

I just bought some OEM wires and new spark plugs, results after I get done eating and replace them.

 

K, just replaced the wires and pulgs. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, but when I started it up and drove it initially in the parking lot, it was running like ***. But now that I replaced the stuff, for the time being, it's running perfectly. I'm about to take a close-up pic of the plugs and host them, even though to me they look okay. Oh and I rechecked the codes, and the last one was p0002.

 

plug one(starting at the driver/belt side):


Plug two:


Plug three:


Plug four:


They are kind of white, and the edges of the bottom of the threaded part are pitch black, is this normal?

 

Plugs look normal to me. If you keep getting the problem, run a compression test, if it checks out, then it's something wrong with the ignition system.

 

Welp the car was fine for several miles after the plug/wire replacement, but it eventually went back to basically running on three cylinders(the #1 cylinder was the prevalent culprit, and I never got any codes at all besides the typical misfire codes) more often than not. One thing I noticed, is that under engine braking with no load, it sounded and decelerated exactly like it normally would, even during episodes of shitty running, which I would think means that it is building sufficient compression, but I am going to a friend's to do a test anyway.

Since I've never messed with a distributor before, will I be able to just take it off, bring it to Autozone, and get it back in the same position to slap it right back on the head? Or will they have to spin it in order to test it?

 

Take a sharpie and make a mark so when you put the distributor back on, all you gotta do is line up the marks.

 

Before replacing the entire distributor ($$), remove the distributor cap and rotor and carefully inspect them for wear and corrosion. You may find that the problem lies with these ignition components.

 

I just went out to test the resistance of the injectors, and the #1 injector clip was loose I'm gonna go into Valvoline and whoop some ***. The night of my previous oil change, an ignition wire mysteriously popped off the plug. Now an injector clip unclips itself? I should key his car, it's always the same guy that brags about the GSR he supposedly bought off some old lady for a price too good to be true; he always tries peddling me crap I don't need so he can make some commission. I think I'm going to ask the company to give me oil change certificates for somewhere else from now on.