1995 Civic EX, bone stock

I changed the fuel pump because it was bad. Also changed fuel filter and fuel pressure regulator while I was at it.

Driving to work this morning, when I would press on the accelerator, it wouldn't respond. I'll downshift, it'll respond a bit but continue to not do anything. I ended up cruising off to the side. Shut it off and it wouldn't start. Checked for spark, had spark. Figured it was still gas related. Road ranger came by, we put gas in and it started up. What can be the problem? My gas gauge read half a tank too.

 

Could be a few things...
Does you pressure regulator have a pressure gauge? What's your fuel pressure? Was the inside of the tank clean when you removed the pump? How much fuel was in the tank when you replaced the pump, a half tank worth?

Could be a bad fuel gauge or a faulty signal sending unit.

 

Thanks for the reply. No, no pressure gauge, it's stock. Tank was clean. Probably a quarter left? A bit more perhaps, but less than half a tank.

How can I troubleshoot bad fuel gauge and faulty signal? Test another cluster and?

I remember doing this on a 98 Civic that read full tank all the time haha.

 

Bump. Pos left me stranded again. Put gas and boom. Turned on. Less than a mile away it started acting up again.

As of now, it's idling, I took it for a drive a few times and it acted up again. It's like the gas pedal goes dead (since it does nothing), it continues to slow down by itself and the **** revives and now the gas pedal works. It is so strange.

 

Check tps.

 

Funny you mention that. Thing is, I disconnected the TPS while it was idling and nothing changed. I even drove the car and noticed no difference. I don't have a TPS CEL code though. Can the sensor still be faulty? I even tried to calibrate it and the multimeter read absolutely nothing.

 

Ok even though you already replaced the fuel pump I still say check fuel pressure regulator. This is where you will need a fuel pressure gauge.

 

Are you saying your TPS is not putting out the bare minimum of 0.48 volts when the key is in the on position while the throttle is fully closed (no pressure on gas pedal)?? And you are not getting a TPS CEL whether the tps is connected or not?

Does your CEL light up for the 2-3 seconds when you first turn the key to the on position?

 

OP YOU NEED TO VARIFY THAT THE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR IS ACTUALLY WORKING. AND MAKE SURE YOUR TPS VOLTAGES ARE WITHIN SPEC

 

Okay, I turned in into the "on" position, red is positive and green is negative and it DOES NOT ready anything. The multimeter works as well.

How can I verify the regulator is working? Can I rent a tool to test the pressure?

 

Thanks for the help guys. I really appreciate it.

Also, if the tps was bad, wouldn't it idle like crazy the moment the car is on? Mind you, the car starts acting funny after being driven for some time.

 

Also, I'm supposed to get reading on the tps even while NOT on WOT, correct?

I just tried CT and not WOT.

 

This is to help you figure out the TPS:

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-crx-ef-civic-1988-1991-3/official-honda-tps-wiring-calibration-thread-2830131/

Also remember that the red wire with throttle fully closed is LESS than 1 volt so you need to set your multimeter to 2 volt (2000 mV) scale or at the absolute most 20 volt scale

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the TPS should read .48 volts at CT, 4.5 volts at WOT, and it sends voltage for every position in between - which is how the ECU knows what throttle you're giving it, and can respond accordingly.

I don't know how the car would respond without a TPS. Interesting you were able to drive around without it. I would not be surprised at all though if it DID appear to drive normally, but then every once in a while the ECU would throw a fit.

However, if your accelerator pedal is just not doing anything, I would double check everything in between the pedal and the throttle body. How's the deflection on the throttle cable connection?

Then again, maybe the ecu isn't sending fuel at certain times because it thinks you're idling even when you're driving at speed. (as it's not receiving voltage)

***

Note, I'm just thinking "out loud" here.

My bet is bad TPS, or bad connection to the TPS. Easy part to find at the wreckers dirt cheap.

 

Take a picture to verify the tps....

edit: I'm leaning towards the main relay for this issue.

 

Man, the setting on my multimeter is a bit difficult. I'll get a pic and show where I put it. I'm a bit new to working with it. I will double check it tomorrow. I don't even remember it reading anything to be honest man.

 

I have another relay. I shall swap right now! Take a picture of what exactly sir?

 

tps...

 

to verify if you're using your mulitmeter correctly, set it to the 20 volt scale (if you can on your multimeter), and measure the voltage in your battery. (connect the red lead to the positive and black lead to the negative)

Should show... somewhere between 12 and 14 volts? (I don't remember off the top of my head what proper battery readings are, but it's somewhere around there)

But it will show you if you are using your multimeter correctly and if you've got it set to the right scale.

 

I believe I am using it correctly because I was using it to read the resistance on the tank float, and I was getting readings. So, question. If it really was the tps, wouldn't it run and idle like *** all the time?

 

If your tps was off a little it will probably jerk the car, if your tps was off by alot than you'd be dumping fuel and burning white smoke, smelling gas out of your tail pipe.

I had this situation on Sunday, hense why it came to mind if you checked your tps. Check the soldering on both relays, check your ignition wiring coming out of your key cylinder, check all of your grounds especially the one on the thermostat housing, which after reading this I'm sure you check that first.

 

When I get back home, I will take pics of the current main relay on the car and the one I have as an extra. Grounds are good. Examined them yesterday.

 

This is the one that was on the car.

 

Tried another main relay and problem still happens. I am going to troubleshoot the tps again.

 

Troubleshooted the TPS and I got the .5 in CT and 4.51 in WOT. I checked for any dead spots and it wasn't too drastic as I was messing with the throttle. Any other ideas?