Hey guys, got a 99 Accord 4cyl, F23A1 that's been acting up. It started after I hosed down the engine bay with de-greaser. I noticed halfway through that my intake tube fell off a few mists of de-greaser got in there. After I also cleared my CEL which was for 1491 egr, a VTEC malfunction code and o2 sensor code. After all that. The car didn't want to start. After a few minutes of cranking over. It started to sputter then fired right up. Idled a little rough for a while then cleared up. As of now the car idles good and revs fine when not in motion. When moving its hesitant boggy slugish and no power what so ever. The smallest hills slow me down at high rpms. I also noticed my intake filter is SUPER boggy/throaty/loud sounding at all times unless i'm just barely giving it gas. I've replaced plugs wires cap rotor with no change. now i wouldn't imagine a few slight mists of de-greaser could do such a thing but I could be wrong, any ideas, suggestions? I've pressure washed plenty of honda motors with no issues aside from a little water in the dizzy on an older accord. Dried it out and everything was fine. Motor sounds completely healthy when not moving or under load no misfire nothing. I am completely stumped here

 

sounds like the water is shorting where the egr/02 sensors connect. The car would run rough without an 02 functioning properly and egr system. Also check for water in the spark plug boots. Better luck next time

 

I'll do some research on EGR system servicing and consider replacing the O2 Sensor. I've had faulty O2 sensors befire but never caused this big of an issue. The weird thing is I didn't even wash the engine. I got scared after the de-greaser incident that i didn't even want to touch water to it.. haha. and when i changed out the plugs and wires there was no oil no water no nothing in there. It is really weird. Like today after i got on it a little bit, the car wouldn't rev past 2,500 was like it a 2 step, when driving i couldn't get it past 4,000 rpms. I bought an IM Gasket set, so I'm thinking it might be a little overkill, but tomorrow, I'm going to tear off the intake manifold and go through and clean everything all the sensors, throttle body, fuel injectors in hopes that maybe that'll solve my issue. If that does nothing does anyone have any other ideas? I'm just completely stumped here. I guess prior to this i never really got on the car but I would find myself crawling up to 90MPH easily and unexpectedly now its a struggle to get to 75MPH. Would it make any sense that either a few mists of de-greaser in an intake manifold could do such a thing. Or is it possible/ever heard of that something like reading/clearing CEL's could cause the ecu to go haywire and create similar issues?

 

The way the car is acting reminds me a lot of an old Sentra SE-R I had that was stuck in limp mode due to a bad connection on the MAF plug. On these Honda's what sensors should i keep an eye out for that could cause such issues? I've owned my fair share of Honda's with bad IACV's and such but none that cause No power, hesitations, slow revving/rev limitations and my ungodly throaty intake sound. I'm down for any ideas anyone may have, radical or logical.

 

well check the obvious, all fuses and wiring, remove the dist cap and inspect it, check the wiring going to the vtec solenoid, it may be in a safe mode. The 4k is a safe mode because vtec is enabled around this point. If the computer doesnt have the function working correctly then the car wont allow you to continue on.

 

The three sound like stacked dominoes. One didn't tip which didn't allow the rest to go. The vtec kicks in with the increase in oil pressure(as I understand), creates more air flow, increase in air pressure for the egr to get proper (lift), then the O2 sensor detects the increase in oxygen in the exhaust. I bet the vtec system is your culprit. But its just an idea

 

And one last thing about something you said earlier sorry. If you're concerned about a vacuum or intake leak try starting the car and leaving it idle while misting some carb cleaner or starting fluid around areas you believe are leaking. You will nice an increase in rpm because the vapor will be sucked Into the motor and will combust

 

I've never understood why anyone would want to spray their electronics laden engine with water.

 

Being an auto detailer you get pretty used to washing engine bays.. lol and as far as everyone else's comments. The only thing that makes no difference when I unplug it is the egr valve. I removed it and cleaned out the 2 holes the best I could. Initially my intake cleaner wouldn't drain through the hole with Allen head bolt. After cleaning it drains through into the chamber. Unplugging the egr makes the hesitation go away but still no power. I am almost certain its fuel related some sort of fuel cut or a/f ratio is not correct. As of right now, not in motion, I can get the car to rev up to 5500 at 1/4 throttle. If I floor it my rpms drop down to 4,000. Someone said vtec solenoid could be the culprit. But I can still get past 4,000 by easing the gas pedal. Anything past 1/4 throttle is when it gets super boggy and my intake roars like the great white Buffalo. Its seriously stupid loud. The only recurring code that keeps coming is 1491. Which is insufficient egr valve lift. Can the egr valve be causing this problem? Do I need to replace the egr valve considering cleaning it made 0 difference. Also I've attempted to reset the ecu multiple times by disconnecting the negative terminal for a few minutes. Does that completely reset the ECU's learned fuel trims and what not. And Just to be 100% sure the egr valve is the cylinder shaped thing sort of by the thermostat housing with the plug out the top and has 2 passages gping to is one circular and one rectangular.Just making sure on this one cause I've never really had to mess with egr systems in the past.

 

Also thanks everyone for your prompt replies and lack of negative comments like most other forums have. I am proud to be a member. Its guys like you guys that make up the foundation of a quality forum board! Thumbs up!

 

Yeah this site is awesome, so many knowledgeable dudes -and a few dudettes- willing to take the time to explain this stuff to us noobs (even when we probably should've spent more time with the search function or Google). Y'all are great, you've saved so many people so much $$ at the mechanic!

Sorry I've got nothin to contribute, lol. Carry on, I hope you get this resolved without too much trouble.

 

Im confused. Did you pressure wash/use a garden hose on the motor or did you ONLY spray down the motor with a bottle of something like SImple Green?

If the problems occurred afterwards it should be obvious that either you have shorted out an electrical component or you sucked up water. If you had to crank the motor for "a few minutes" before it would start, my assumption is that you let alot of water into the motor and you have bent valves.

I agree with Holmes, I would never in my life pressure wash a motor. If you do, you need to cover everything electrical and air consuming in plastic beforehand.

 

No water touched the engine aside from the water that was in the de-greaser. Which is actually a very mild acid white wall tire cleaner. Auto magic brand. I don't think bent valves is the issue. But I can certainly look into it.

 

if the vtec code is still there your car will run in limp mode and wont rev past 4k...i wud pull the vtec solenoid and clean the filter

 

No Vtec code after clearing the only code that continually comes back is P1491 (Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valve Insufficient Lift). After clearing the codes I had to drive back home which was a 250 mile drive in which I revved past 4K a few times. After the 4 hour 250 mile drive the only code that was there was P1491. Since clearing neither the P1259 (Vtec System Malfunction) and P0135 (O2 Sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction Bank 1 Sensor 1) have yet to resurface. Unplugging the EGR Valve makes the hesitation go away still no power. What i'm assuming is either a fuel cut or overload when wide open throttle remains whether plugged in or unplugged. Maybe I can make a video to hopefully show the situation a little better. The oddest part is how loud my intake is. It was never this loud prior to this issue. It is seriously extremely loud it sounds like my exhaust, but I know it isn't. Again thanks for all the help. I will proceed to removing the upper intake manifold and throttle body cleaning all the sensors and intake ports. Is the Vtec solenoid located on the backside of the Intake?

 

Well after buying and replacing, the dizzy cap, rotor, plugs, wires, removing cleaning and giving an acid bath to upper intake plenum. Thorough throttle body cleaning and a cleaning of all the sensors. Egr removal and cleaning. The issue has been solved. It was a plugged cat. I disconnected my downpipe from my header and all issues went away. So a new cat is in my future. Thanks for all your guys help and hopefully if someone comes across this issue in the future that maybe they can save themselves a couple hundred and go straight for the cat to see if that's the issue.

 

thanks for the update this could help someone in the future

 

Air coming into motor/but no where to go=louder pissed off intake. Interesting!