Not sure if this is the right part of forum but here we go.... I am on a trip to pick up my 2year old and the car was driving fine when all of a sudden It starts sputtering and jerking and tries to stall out. Sitting on the side of the road the car will idle (some roughness and jerks) but sputters and dies if you give it gas. i looked under the car and the CAT is glowing orangeish red. Ive got it somewhere now checking things out and the timing is good, its getting spark (new distributor changed in less than 6 months), and its getting fuel( checked from pump all the way to fuel rail). This is my first honda and i am in a bind on time... Would a clogged CAT cause it not to run? Or has anyone else had this problem? I was cruising at 70-75 and no problems...it was very sudden.

 

glogged cat is a no bueno situation. not sure if it would cause your sudden symptoms though. how many miles are on your cat? you could try taking it off and trying it out. but the glowing of the cat means its very plugged and needs replaced anyways....

 

70-80 thousand I'm sure. its just confusing what happened. It was extremly sudden. She has been driving perfect. No problems, only a little vibration from heat sheild, then bam it hits on the ro it causuad for a 6 hour trip. I know back pressure can cause problems but haven't heard of it causing that type of problem. Was hoping someone else might have had something similar happen.

 

Yes - a clogged catalytic converter could easily cause the symptoms you describe. If you can, double check the distributor rotor screw didn't fall out/rotor didn't strip. Other than that drop the exhaust before the cat and see how it runs then. You could also take out the O2 sensor to verify - but if it's the cat it probably wouldn't get you home. Your cat should NEVER be "glowing" - if it is, it's almost guaranteed to have failed.

 

I am gonna drop the cat today and possibly take care of th u2 sensor. Ty guys for the replies. I will keep posted.

 

The O2 sensor would be an alternative to dropping the catalytic converter... just so you know.

 

I'm interested to see how this pans out...

 

honestly I'm wanting to see how this pans out too. I dropped the cat and disconnected to O2 sensor and it didn't seem to help. It still idles just a little rough but i think that is what ever is causing it to sputter and die is the reason its rough. It acts like it is starving for for air or gas when i give it throttle and backfires. Fuel pressure is great from pump to rail.. is there a way to test the injectors without a noid light or ohm meter?

 

or better yet can i make temp noid light?

 

When I said pull the O2 I just meant out of the bung - and not disconnected... and not in tandem with dropping the cat... It's not going to run perfect open down pipe anyways. Regardless - you can OHM out the injectors or make a simple noid light with a LED/resistor.

Did you check the rotor or not? It's a common problem on this and is extremely easy to check. You also could have jumped a tooth on the timing which is probable. This isn't as easy to check since you have to remove the valve cover (which is still extremely easy). The key being it is backfiring.

 

my timing belt jumped a tooth once as well, would sputter and shake horribly and die, and wouldnt start very easily. this could be your issue as well. BUT. your glowing cat need to be addressed also.

like N3va said, try with the O2 sensor just pulled out, dont disconnect it though. Or just drop the cat, not both. one or the other.

 

Well problem is fixed. I took alot into consideration and thank everyone for the help. so a break down on what i did to fix the problem. I did a lot of reading and learning and found out that having the shop manual fo0r your vehicle is the way to go. I removed the CAT which was part of "A" problem because of the partial clog and back pressure but not the cause of my ultimate breakdown. I did as i was told and checked O2 sensor, rotor button, wires, plugs, fuel pressure and injectors (which a simple homemade test light let me know the pusles were in range...hard to see but audible enough for the basic tests) and the whole vac system which really sucks on this engine. It was N3va3vaSatisfi3d that got me thinking about the distributor aspect of the car. I decided to check to make sure i was getting current where it was needed on all the wires for the distributor. My problem was caused by a partial break in one of the wires from my main harness to the distributor. It was allowing an intermittent pulse of energy but not enough to keep it firing as it should. Now my baby is back together and running like TINK TINK in the olympics. Thank you again to everyone that gave me input because i was able to diagnose and foresee a few things I can do preventative maintenance to keep her running good. Hard to believe i bought this car for 200 dollars from a guy that had it sitting in a pasture and put a fuse in it to get it running 20 minutes after he signed the title. No i didnt rob him, just got lucky.

 

Glad to hear it, man. Good price for the Civic, too!

 

glad you got it figured out. And ya, 200 for that? i wish i could stumble across one for that price. i've wanted one ever since i seen this video.... i'm sure you've seen it, it's been around for a while

http://youtu.be/q7ZzqBPz4sY

 

I dont mean to thread jack but my car over heats when im on the freeway only its a 89 civic hatch std, what color was the wire if you can recall?

 

1.) Why not just make your own thread then?
2.) Your problem has clearly NOTHING to do with this thread.
4.) I skipped 3 to make the list shorter.
5.) When is the last time you checked your coolant/oil?

 

I don't remember what color wire but I'll look and see. But honestly I don't think the color wire for my distributor would help you. I would look into your fans cutting on at the proper temp if it's over heating on the hwy or your air flow through the front end since it's an air cooled system.