I have a 1997 Honda Accord 2.2l SOHC VTEC. My car will not go past 4000 rpms in any gears. I do have a check engine light and I've taken it to a Honda mechanic. They told me it was the distributor, so I changed it. This didn't have any effect. So they told me to change it again, with to results. There is plenty of oil in the engine, but I do have low compression on some of the cylinders. Cylinder 4 have 94 psi, while cylinder 1 have 181 psi.

Any help would be greatly appreciated



(Note: I apologies for my english. I'm from Norway)

 

To be honest we might need a little more information.

What happens when you get to 4000 rpms?
What codes do you have? (not what the mechanic said, go to advanced auto and get a
free code reading from them.)
Mileage of car?
Any other things added, or fixed recently?

 

When you hit 4k, does it quit revving completely like it is hitting fuel cut? May be in limp mode. A CEL code is sort important to a correct diagnosis.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-accord-1990-2002-2/check-engine-light-codes-cel-diagnostic-trouble-codes-dtc-malfunction-indicator-light-mil-1490107/

 

Yup its in limp mode happen to me. Had a leaking intake gasket. Check fuel pressure. Check oil pressure. Fill a spray bottle with water n spray around the injectors spray where the intake meets the head. And spray your throttle body also spray all your vacum hoses n listen for a change in idle.

 

I'd be more concerned with that.

 

I agree with the upper statement!! Youy def do not have enough compression so there for you will not be able to rev to its highest!!!

 

- When I hit 4000 rpms the car will act like it's hit the rev limiter. It just won't rev any further.

- The guys at Honda told me it was a distributor code. But I don't belive them after replacing it twice..

- The car has about 114 miles on it.

- I have changed a muffler, steering column lock, air filter and spark plugs twice.


Regarding the low compression ratio. I know it's a big problem, but how do I fix it?
I have considered changing the head gasket, but will that make any difference?

Thank you for helping me out! It's being greatly appriciated

 

I have the same problem. For other reason I replace the motor but used the same throttle body and tps sensor and the problem get worst because rev limits at 3,000 rpm.
I think there is a problem with tps.

 

^ This.

OP, you're in LIMP mode.

 

Calibrate your TPS.

 

I heard this problem is called a limp mode and is a prevention to avoid an engine damage. Can be caused for several reasons like sensors fault or Throttle problems, distributor or other. Not necessary for just one reason. For this the first step must be a scan for a CEL code error to identify what caused the limp mode.

 

do you have a lumpy idle? does it seem like your engine's only running on two or three cylinders? does your engine run smooth in cold idle?

 

When the engine is cold the idle is good and steady at about 1000 rpms. But when the engine gains average temperature the idle goes bad. It will jump between 1000 and 500 rpms. It does seem like the engine not running on all cylinders.

But the thing is when you drive the car it's an absolute pleassure! The acceleration is very good, until you reach 4000 rpms. Then it reacts like this: (This is not my video or car, I just stumbled upon this video on Youtube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u2CmNuMsBc

I don't know where to get my codes read. You guys have been mentioning AutoZone. But I live in Norway and there is not such thing here.

 

if it sounds exactly like that i would suspect leaking intake gasket. too much air going into what ever cylinder/cylinders. fill a spray bottle with water and spray around where the intake meets the head. top and bottom and listen for idle change. if it doesnt change move to your injectors spray around those. then move to your throttle body. spray around that area. if it doesnt next spray the rest of the parts on the intake. iacv fitv iab anywhere where you think there might be a gasket. you could also use carb cleaner. i would use carb cleaner only on a cold engine tho. not when its hot. spray carb cleaner in all those areas and listen for idle change. if no idle change move to a leak down test its inexpensive diy on how to make one http://www.hondatuningmagazine.com/t...ing/index.html

 

I did spray around the intake manifold and throttle body with water, but there was no change in idle. I sprayed water inside the red lines.





I have posted two videos on youtube showing my problem in much more detail. In number 1 I show a rough idle and the rev limit problem. If you listen closely you may hear the idle is very strange.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVcmxU_YgjM


In this second video I showed a small consern regarding start up. The engine will crank a couple of times before starting. This wasn't a problem earlier, but has developed. Sometimes, in cold weather, I will not be able to start it at all. The ignition will just turn over without so much of a crank from the engine. I also show the exhaust coming out. As you can see it's quite clear, just a tad of white smoke. Just visible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfdCtFsO5qE

I also tried an experiment. I took of the radiator cap (when engine was cold) and started it up. Then I checked for bubbles or water to squirt. But there was none. Does that rule out a leaking head gasket? I also checked the coolant, and it was kind of dark in the bottom of the container. The tube is slightly green from what I assume is coolant. I have a picture here.

 

http://www.ehow.com/how_2214653_read-obd2-codes.html post the code you get here then well help you with a diagnoses. How cold was it out when you saw the white smoke?

 

I would guess about 50-60 Fahrenheit. But the smoke was barely visible. I could barely see it.
I will try to get my codes read. That is my number one priority. I'm planning on getting a OBDII reader.

 

At that temp I would expect white smoke too. Rule out headgasket. https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-2001-2005-78/get-engine-code-without-scanner-2900091/

 

So head gasket is ruled out. I now have to read the code, but I can't find the port. I've heard it's supposed to be behind the ashtray, but in my car there is no such thing behind it.

 

I tried this the other day; on my good engine, I revved it, just to make sure it would go to redline. Then, while it's still idling, I pulled one of the injector connectors off. Then I revved it again, and that's when the engine lowered its redline to ~4000rpm. The CEL came on as well. The disconnect sensed by the ECU cause it to put the engine in the so-called "LIMP" mode. I plugged the injector back in, started the car up, and the car revved back to its 6250 redline.

not sure if that helps with anything, but just thought I'd share.

 

I don't understand why you're putting so much work into this car when you already said it has a bad cylinder. That alone would make the car idle out of whack. This assumes you did the compression test correctly.

 

so then tell me why my clients 93 civic with a DEAD cylinder revs to redline and it hardly idles wrong almost steady 800 rmp

 

I have not fixed my problem yet. But recently I have noticed a very low tapping/clicking noise coming from the engine when I press the throttle. When idling or driving without me pressing the pedal, there is no such noise. My first thought is there might be a problem with some of the valves. What do you guys think?

 

if you have a check engine light for any of the distributor sensors then you will not be able to rev past 4k rpm, no matter how good or bad your engine is.

 

It depends on how dead that cylinder is. If it's anything like this guys, it's basically not putting out any power.