Lately my starts have been really rough, and struggles to catch, and remain idling.

The fuel pump turns on, car turns over fine but doesn't want to run by itself...if that makes sense?

New factory plugs, fuel filter, timing has been triple checked by Acura, new grounds and terminals cleaned, compression is good, swapped in a different starter, battery is over 12V when starting up, injectors have been cleaned and flowed, fuel pressure is 42psi, no CEL's.



Dumb me I forgot to turn the dash lights on but you can hear everything fine, even my pre-workout metal tunes

Doesn't sound like a main relay problem, because the fuel pump kicks on...

Suggestions?

 

do a leak down test, check for bent valves.

 

Did a leak down test, all within spec.

Last thing to change is the distributor? Weak spark causing the hesitation?

 

When you say that Acura has checked the timing, are you referring to both ignition and cam timing? The fact that no CEL's pop up strongly suggest that it's a mechanical issue (ie cam timing) rather than being related to a sensor. Not saying that it is or isn't, just suggesting a troubleshooting route.

You can disable the fuel pump and crank the car while checking for quality of spark at the plugs (pull out and ground one at a time to the head). I wouldn't waste my money on a new distributor just yet, though a new cap and rotor certainly worth break the bank or hurt things at this point. Inspect your wires while you're at it. There are ways to check the distributor/ignitor as well using only a multimeter (search).

Did this start happening soon after getting new gas? What was done or what changed around the time it started happening? Post your mileage also.

 

Acura checked both ignition and cam timing. They said the ignition timing was slightly off and advanced it 5 degrees. The cam timing has been checked 3 times by different Acura techs.
I recently bought a brand new rotor and cap from Acura and ran fine with them in for a while. They are about 3 months old.

Ill do a resistance check on my wires, but they are new oem wires as well...

Didn't happen after getting new gas, happened slowly and progressively got worse and worse. Wasn't just an over night thing.

I brought up a separate issue of getting very bad mileage in this thread https://honda-tech.com/forums/acura-integra-type-r-8/horrible-fuel-comsumption-2920189/

Seems like my spark isn't strong enough which is leading to the break up on start ups and leading to poor mileage?

Ill check my helms manual for testing and checking the distributor. Any specific tests you recommend besides disabling the fuel pump and checking the spark plugs against the head?

 

The disrtibutor is famous for causing the problem your having when its acting up could be any of the internal parts not just cap and rotor.. good luck homie

 

My R is going through the same issues. It's mainly after the car sits for an extended period of time or if I go to a few places only a couple miles apart and have to start and stop the engine. I have a thread too and have replaced many of the parts mentioned.

 

Sounds very similar!

Did you clean the IACV?

Im getting really fed up and buying a newer distributor tomorrow, and ill have replaced almost everything! Ill report back when I get it installed and the timing checked on it again.

 

does it smoke after it starts? i couldnt tell how much it was hesitating when started. ive seen an injector getting stuck cause similar situation, the cylinder gets a bunch of fuel in it when the cars off and has trouble starting because its flooded

 

Haven't gotten around to it, most likely will tackle that this weekend!

 

Any updates on this? I still find it strange that missfire codes were not tripped. Hope the new distributor turns out to be the fix!

 

I just got them cleaned and flowed...Guess it could happen...
I can try swapping back over to my other injectors.

Picked up the distributor but waiting for a shop to install it properly with a timing gun. Hoping for today.

 

switch with someone to see if it is before u buy disrtibutor

 

Already bought one. You can find them locally for $80....why not...

 

Swapped in a new distributor, checked the ignition timing, replaced O2 sensor.

Rough starts remain...wtf...

Is there anything left?

 

ECU fuse? Is it possible that it's losing its "mind" everytime you shut it off, so it's relearning the maps from default?

Steve

 

No clue...If I shut it off and start it right back up, its fine. As soon as it sits for longer than a few minutes it struggles.

 

How old are your spark plugs?
What did you gap them to?
You said that the fuel pressure was checked with a mechanical gauge, correct?
It sounds like it's starving for fuel. Almost like my cold E85 starts.

 

Stock plugs, stock gap. NGK 11's.

Mechanical gauge has been on for a couple weeks and reads 42psi while idling.

Im going to double check the plug gaps. Don't see how they could have expanded over time...but its worth a look.

 

Checked the plugs and they were all at .044" or 1.1.
Even swapped them out to another set at the same gap. No change.

 

Check your oil pump bro. It might be taking a **** on u. Kinda sounds like what was happening to my R. Take the the valve cover off and see if oil is squirting up there. Hope this helps

 

If the oil pump was going, I would be having other serious issues as well with the car.

Also checked my TPS voltage and was .522 closed and 4.68 open.

 

Picked up a p06 chipped ecu with a stock itr map on it, trying it out this morning...

Running out of ideas...

 

How did it run?

 

Not well... It's not the ECU