Hi, I've got a '91 crx si (225xxx stock engine, rebuilt at some point) which i bought about 1/2 a year ago off someone who stored it in a barn for 5 years. after the normal quick fix up, i've been driving it happily for 4 months, before it started misfiring on me. it was leaking oil at the valve cover gasket and fouling the plugs, so i replaced that. it's got new plugs, plug wires, distributor cap and rotor, fuel filter. i cleaned out the throttle body 6 months ago when i got it, and haven't found any vacum leaks. here's the issue - car runs fine when it first starts up. but after about 20 miles when it's good and warmed up, any acceleration or low rpm driving will cause the car to misfire and the check engine light shows up. the light always disappears when i turn the car off - it only reappears after accelerating hard upon restart. since changing the valve cover gasket, the plugs still look good, not fouled, and do not show signs of oil, so i don't think the valve seals or piston rings are shot (yet).

i've done some reading on this site and it sounds like it might be a faulty map or engine coolant sensor. any other tips or ideas? i thought for awhile it might be the distributor itself, but why would it only falter after the engine has warmed up? i'm also wondering if the idle speed is just slightly off? anyone know what it's supposed to be for this car? I had the timing checked out at a local shop, they said it was fine.

thanks for any help!

jeff

 

What code are you getting?


The igniter is sensitive to heat.

around 730-830rpm with the headlights and cooling fan off.

 

I don't know how to check the code because every time i turn the car off, the light disappears (meaning, turn the car off, then turn the key to on without turning over, and the light is off). Is there a way to check it while it's running? Sorry, feel dumb asking that.

My idle speed is pretty close to 730 - 830, so that's probably not it.

Is the ignitor replacable by itself, or is it worth just replacing the whole distributor?

Thanks!

 

There is an LED on the ECU. You count the number of flashes. It will flash X number of times, then pause, then flash some more. You could have multiple codes, so it will flash a certain number of time, pause, then flash some other number of times, pause, etc. Say it flashes 4 times, pauses, then 4 more times. You have code 4. Say it flashes 4 times, pauses, then 6 times, pauses, then 4 times. You have code 4 and code 6.

You can replace the igniter by itself. About $65 from rock auto. Probably could find a working dizzy on CL or MNhondas.com for pretty cheap. A new one is rather expensive.

 

So I got the engine light to come on this morning on the way to work, found the ECU, and saw that the LED was blinking 9 times, pausing, then repeating. The code description I found for this is "#1 cylinder position". Is this indicative of a misfire, or is this pointing to a different problem?

Thanks!

 

Download the EF manual from honda hookup. It will walk you through the test procedure to see if the CPS is bad.