-no check engine light
-timing is ok
-will rev freely in neutral
-can drive about a city block before it starts being unable to get over 1800-2200 rpm. but then does not go away. restarting the car erases the problem for 2 more minutes.
-swapped in a good coil/ignitor, brand new cap rotor (easter is stopping me from getting plugs/wires)
-cooling system is bled perfectly

what could it be? give me things to troubleshoot.

**updated**
-swapped igniter, coil, cap, rotor, plugs, wires. no change.
-swapped thermoswitch, and thermostat which was bad and re-bled the system. no change.

the car runs fine for about 1/2 a block or a block or more even. then suddenly i can't rev over 1800 to 2000 rpm.

i thought it was starving for fuel so i let it return to idle to try to buld some more pressure but that did nothing.

then i realized that if i shut the car off, then restart it immediately, it will be fine again for a while. meaning, if it starts acting up, turning the key off then on again allows it to drive for another 30 seconds or minute. (keep in mind the car will idle fine indefinitely). i don't even have to come to a complete stop, that's how fast we are talking between 'fine' and 'not fine'

today i'm going to test and clean the tps, the iacv, swap injectors etc. tomorrow i'm going to replace plugs, wires and main relay. suggestions are welcome.

**update:
tested every sensor i could today, all were within spec
tps - 5v from ecm. signal voltage ranges smoothly from .5 to 4.5v as you open the throttle.
map - 5v from ecm. vacuum needed to test it further, not sure how to do this
iat - 5v from ecm. @roughly 40f 4.5 ohm @ roughly 70f 2ohm
ect - 5v from ecm @roughly 40f 4.5 ohm
iacv - 12v from ecm, clicks with voltage applied, cleaned and unplugging it causes car to nearly stall out.

disty
ckp 350 ohm
tdc 350 ohm
cyp 350 ohm

cleaned all 3 grounds 1-valve cover 2-tranny 3-next to thermostat housing
there should be no more grounds than this right?

tomorrow when stores open again i'll buy and install a main relay.

*update*

absolutely no difference.

guys this car is ruining my life. I have so many other things to do including running a business that i just don't have the time to be screwing with it anymore. H-E-L-P

 

Had the exact same problem for a month. It was the main relay under the dash. It comes and goes also, it was hard to diagonise.

 

main relay or it could be your ignition coil going bad

 

thanks guys. relay is not something i've tried yet.

mind you the motor and ecm are installed in a 2000 civic. i assume it's the same thing though.

 

same thing happened to my friend. turned out to be the coil.

 

swapped coil and ignitor off y8 disty. it still did it, but then stopped and was fine around the block a few times.. intermittent problem FTL.

 

are dizzy and coils the same thing? anywho, dizzys sometimes take up to a month to finally go out.

 

coil is an internal piece of a dizzy

 

-swapped igniter, coil, cap, rotor (cant get plugs or wires due to easter). no change.
-swapped thermoswitch, and thermostat which was bad and re-bled the system. no change.

the car runs fine for about 1/2 a block or a block or more even. then suddenly i can't rev over 1800 to 2000 rpm.

i thought it was starving for fuel so i let it return to idle to try to buld some more pressure but that did nothing.

then i realized that if i shut the car off, then restart it immediately, it will be fine again for a while. meaning, if it starts acting up, turning the key off then on again allows it to drive for another 30 seconds or minute. (keep in mind the car will idle fine indefinitely). i don't even have to come to a complete stop, that's how fast we are talking between 'fine' and 'not fine'

today i'm going to test and clean the tps, the iacv, swap injectors etc. tomorrow i'm going to replace plugs, wires and main relay. suggestions are welcome.

 

Try swapping out th main relay

 

I'm not sure how the main relay would prevent it from revving over 1800. Can someone elaborate on this to satisfy my own curiosity?

 

i don't know. i assume it would prevent the fuel pump from getting enough current to adequetly supply the motor?

in any case, it wasn't my problem,

BUMP for a car that is ruining my life.

 

One of the not so good thing is that Honda have all their cars run on only ONE relay, which is this main relay that we are talking about. There are times when an old relay had is old and the capacitors leak and won't hold charge. This gives you problems like you have.

Fortunatly I found out by going back to the dealer. They check for 30 min without other causes and they think it's the main relay. I got charged under $200 for the diagonistic and the replacement of the unit. Ever since I replaced it, I have no more problem at all.

Also to note that this is an intermit problem. I have drove it more then 2 weeks with rev problem twice on highway (it was bad). Finally gave up and brought it to dealer and changed the part.