Hi,
Well last time I came here I did not have any problem I have one now. I recently put a cool air intake, before this my car (1988 honda crx Dx) was running normal now at idle I get this shaking from the engine. I checked all the mounts holding the engine to the car one was missing a bolt and I replaced the bolt, but still the shaking continues.

Here is what happens:
I start the car as it sits in idle it shakes, when I take the tac to 1K rpm or higher it stops shaking. Then after I have normally driven it for about 5 10 mins the check engine light comes on and stays on as well as there is small loss of power I can feel. When I turn off the car and let it sit for 30mins and restart the car again after 10mins of driving the same thing happens again. Now this only happens when I am coming from work not when I go to work in the morning. My guess is some how this is related to the temperature of the air as well as some other issue. It is about 100 F where I live when I come home the engine temp is normal.

If any of you have seen something like this with your cars please share.

Thanks

 

if you throwing a CEL, do you know what it is?

 

Sorry what is CEL?

 

I got it your talking about computer codes. No not at this point, I am still looking for a decent meter which goes down to 1988. Let me restate that I am looking for friend with a meter which goes back to 1988, everyone seems to have 1996 and up.

 

check engine light on the ecu...your car is obd-0 and doesn't require a scanner...find yourself a ecu trouble code table on this site and check your cel for the code to diagnose the problem

 

ya you dont need a scanner. you just count the blinks on the ecu.

 

Thanks I will look into it.

 

here's a link to help you find out your ecu troubles...!!!
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/%5Bfaq%5D-ecu-codes-everyone-682412/

 

Hi Guys,
All this is very good info, but i looked under my passanger kicker panel did not find any ecu. car is 1988 crx dx. what i did find was behind the glove box was blower etc. and there was a metal plate bolted to the fire call, like a gold/copper color i am sure this was not a ecu. is it located somewhere else?

 

ecu is behind that gold cover, you should be able to see the light blinking

 

Found it. It was under the metal plate.

 

I took out the ECU and I checked out that link in the post but my ecu does not look like the one on the website. I have B16 plug on my with two other connectors and no gray plug. what are alternaltives?

 

Alright so I checked the ECU code. there is a small window on the ecu which has a red led which flashes. it flashes every one second so i think it is either telling me #1 O2 sensor or a miss fire in one of the cylinders if I keep counting the flashes it adds up to about 70+.

I know I have oil in one of two cylinders and I am seeing oil at the bottom of the distributor cap. I will look into this and post back thanks for your help.

 

I went and changed the O2 sensor and cleaned up the spark plugs and put them back in. Again same issue, this time though I turn the car off and pulled out on of the spark plug wires leaving only 3 to fire. Started the car and noticed that before and after pulling out the wire there was no difference. Also I noticed there was oil on the bottom of the distributor cap, I looked around could not find where it was coming from, head gasket looked fine so my guess it the O-ring which might be allowing oil into the distributor some where causing a miss fire. It is 109F outside, gona have to get back to it some other time.
Thanks for your help.

PS i still have no clue what the ECU out put for error is. It just keeps blinking every 1 second continuously.

 

That is definitely Code-1. You can get aftermarket O2 sensors for cheap. I think I got a Denso one for $28. You will need a special socket to remove/install it though so the cost goes up a little. New O2 sensor should come with some special high-temp anti sieze goo. Use it...

BTW: Defniitely check out the distirbutor first. If your running on 3 cylinders, you will definitely get weird O2 readings that will trigger a ECU Code cause raw air/fuel is running right out into the exhaust.

 

My '91 DX used to do this on occasion. I think it actually stopped after I installed my CAI. Those crazy Hondas.

 

I checked the spark plugs they all spark. gdh what is CAI? stand for. One thing is for sure I got plenty of white smoke. but I normally just put this additive in and it reduces it. Also the car is now doing small hick ups from lower to higher rpm it is no longer a smooth acceleration. the hick ups are small but they are there.

 

Um CAI is COLD AIR INTAKE, HA HA. FUNNY. get some choke cleaner and spray clean the throttle body insides and also get map sensor cleaner usually they are the same solution. Sounds like a sensor that can't properly adjust to the new volume of intake. Sensors are very sensitive sometimes. Sensor=Sensitive, jaja. Could be alternator going bad for loss of power? Too much oil? You have white smoke, think that means your running lean...
Could be a faulty fuel pump. WHich causes unstable fuel delivery creating shaking. Then when more gas is applied it's enough to stabilize your combustion and allow it to run closer to normal, but still not flowing well enough causing lack of power? Just a few thoughts a few angles to approach your situation from.

Test the associated components. Try this turn your key to the on position but don't start the car just turn it to on so the fuel system can pressurize for about 1 min. Then start the car, see if the engine shakes then. If it doesn't turn off and turn back on without waiting a minute, if it starts shaking your fuel pump is probably faulty

 

Thanks bsivoljr for the tips I will look into this.

 

Yeah, Cold Air Intake. Sorry, I'm not usually an abbreviator, but I got lazy.

 

Alright finally had sometime to work on the car.
1. I had a leak down test and compression test done, both passed.
2. White smoke is now gone, I do not know where it went, but I do not see it.
3. I still smell burning fuel and also the car is putting out black smoke and still shaking at idle.
Here is what I have discovered. I borrowed a timing light and used it to see if the timing was off, but I could not get the light to flash more then two times a min. Then I took out the spark plugs and they were "covered in black power" type substance, do not know what this might be, but I know it is causing the spark to die out which is why the timing light was not flashing. From trouble shooting looks like it only takes a few mins for this black power to build up onto the spark plugs, after starting the engine, this causes spark to go down, which causes irregular movement of pistons causing the car to shake. I can not explain what this black power is and what it is caused by. I know over time spark plugs turn black, but these are new plugs which went bad in days. Do any of you know what is the cause of the black power? I think symptoms caused by this black power are turning on of the engine check light, which is the result of O2 sensor being triggered.

Thanks,

 

Do you mean powder?

Could be caused by a faulty distributor, a break in the high tension cable that leads from the distributor to your spark plug or it could just be a loose connection.

The black powder is the remainder of poor ignition, basically just carbon deposits.

 

Yes powder not power I should proof read before I submit. I changed all the cables from the distributor to the spark plug, they are new. I believe there is no wire from the coil to the distributor since it is all just one unit. I will take apart the distributor next just check things out. Thanks

 

Conclusion:

Problems 1. Shaking at Idle 2. excessive smoke Gray/black 3. Loss of mpg 4. excessive smell of fuel.

Issues found:
1. No thermostat in the car. Once a thermostat was place in the car the #4 reduced by 50%, #3 saw improvements.

2. Air hose going from intake to a sensor on the fire wall (not sure what this one is called) was leaking. Once hose was replaced #1 stopped all together #2 reduced by 80% #3 improved by 25% #4 reduced significantly (I think the exhaust system has a bad gasket or leak so I do still get some smell) but not of rich fuel.


Thank you,

 

That's your map sensor. It controls the fuel maps in the car and would've caused the car to run rich. This would've been the sole problem for # 1,2,3 and 4.

No thermostat will just cause the car to take forever to warm up, and possibly overheat during heavy driving.