i have a 89 crx HF w/obd0 b16. it's been running fine with no CEL's and then all of the sudden it'll go dead while i'm driving. the CEL will come on but not blink. the ecu doesn't flash any codes. usually i can just turn the key off then back on and it will start up fine and i can keep driving, but today it wouldn't start immediately. i'd have to try for a few seconds and then it'd fire up. also, my main relay clicks sometimes when it's about to go dead. like a fast clicking noise while the CEL is on, then it dies. so far it hasn't happened while i'm going over 20mph which is kinda weird. also, sometimes the car will seem to sputter at partial throttle until i floor it, but this is pretty rare. at first i thought that was the o2 sensors reversed but when i switched them it got worse, so i put em back.

so here's my symptoms

-car goes dead with solid CEL.
-usually starts right back up fine.
-ecu not flashing any cel's
-main relay clicking (tried another one, did the same thing)
-only happens a few times a day at low speeds
-sputtering sometimes at partial throttle.

anyone have any ideas about what i should start checking? the no cel part is weird...

 

Hmm your right the no cel code is weird. Haven't personally experienced this, if you let the car warm up for 5-10mins you should see if it still does it. Then reckon report back

 

ok so i went out and drove my car earlier. it was fine for the first 20 minutes but then it started sputtering at partial throttle. the car never went dead and the CEL never came on. it's the same feeling you get when you have the o2 wires hooked up wrong, except maybe a little worse. i guess it's possible that one of the o2's is going out..but it doesn't really explain why the car would go dead.

so i'm guessing that when the car isn't warmed up, it's in open loop mode, that's why it's running fine. when it does finally warm up, and enters closed loop, then maybe it's getting some wonky signal from one of the sensors. i just need to figure out what sensor is causing the problem..this is why the ecu is supposed to throw codes! why the hell is it not??

 

Have you done a cap & rotor lately? Plugs?

 

It is most likely much simpler than you are making it out to be. It always is.

When I did my first B swap (B20 in EG Coupe) I had this exact scenario. I was 18 at the time, my father a 30 year mechanic. We had diagnostic equipment hooked up, checking TPS signal, MAP, ignition, timing, etc. We were about to try another ECU...

Out of the blue I looked down at the top of the transmission and was blown away to discover it was simply a loose grounding point. Mind you this is the ground for the TPS, MAP, IACV I believe, key items to keep the car running. Tightened the bolt, never had a single issue for the next 2 years I drove the car.

Check all your grounds. If that's not the problem, move on to other electrical connections. Make sure everything is tight and plugged in solid. If you've made any splices or joins of your own, go back to these and make sure they are still OK.

Good luck my son.

 

good call, i've had problems with grounding this engine in the past. when i first swapped it i was getting a temp sensor cel that just wouldn't go away. i added an extra ground to it and the cel vanished. the weird part is that the engine ran fine when i took it out of my other car. i'll check my grounds and get back to ya.

 

nope, i haven't touched any of that yet. i'm gonna check my grounds, and do cap/rotor/plugs tomorrow when it's hopefully not snowing anymore.

 

Cap and rotor. Same thing happened to my buddy. I replaced them. Fine.

 

so i go buy a cap and rotor and wouldn't ya know it, the old rotor breaks off. now the metal insert from inside the old button is stuck on the distributor..and its snowing! ****ing awesome luck.