Hi All,

Please may someone assist me in a problem I have with my Honda.

Basically I have had the EML on for a while and the codes are P1259 & P0420.

I changed the plugs and did a service in January and the can ran fine even with the EML on but recently the car has started jerking heavy and losing all power, if I switch the car off and on again it works fine for a few minutes or more but it will do this frequently.

As the car is on UK plates in Spain it is worth nothing and the car is in poor condition. (Cost £300 but got from York to Spain no trouble due to my Jaguar blowing it’s turbo D’oh!)

I would just like it to be drivable for a few more weeks until I pick up my next car.

The exhaust is also blowing from the back box.

Due to the difficulty in getting parts here at the moment can anyone suggest any temporary fixes ?

Thank You

Daryl

 

Very interesting combo of codes. I am going to try to answer from the perspective you said, which is to get the car to limp along and not go on and on for a permanent fix unless it's super cheap.

For the VTEC, I read that it can be a few things....but I'm guessing you don't want to spend money on it....so...what happens if you unplug the VTEC solenoid. I know you will still get an error, but does it at least drive and not stall? I'm hoping that having it unplugged will let it run in a dimished but functional mode.
Also, check the oil pressure, as this can also generate the error, according to honda. It's possible this is something else.

For the catalytic convertor issue, it's less likely to be something a new O2 sensor could fix, and more likely the convertor is bad and possible clogged. The super cheap answer is to take off the catalytic convertor and punch a hole through the honeycomb inside and empty it out. Still won't fix the error, but it will open the airflow and see if that was clogged. Obviously, this is an emissions no-no, but I offer it since this car is only going to be on the road for a short bit and is the cheapest answer. The correct answer would be to replace the cat. I would get an ebay with OEM fit so you can simply drop out the old one and put in the new one.

Hopefully people don't start flaming for talking about the cat, I know people take their cats off all the time. Not my thing, but it doesn't mean the option doesn't exist why I bring it up.

Good luck, I've been there when my car was on its' last legs and I need to limp it along.

 

Thank you so much

I will try the suggestions tomorrow.

 

To clarify, the VTEC is the first thing to try, only mess around with the cat if the other idea doesn't work.

Another variation (but a very noisy one) if it is the cat, you could unhook the cat and jsut drive with no cat or muffler for a short bit to see if that fixes it. Obviously it will be very loud while you are testing

 

Just a quick follow up, I did the vtec solenoid and the car was still jumping all over after a few meters still.

So today I changed the oil and cleaned all the electric connections and switches I could see and the car is driving noticeably better.

Only needs to hang on a few more weeks 👌

 

I suspect the cat meow is plugged up.

 

P0420 cane be triggered by several issues, it states 'below threshold efficiency'. If the engine is out of tune then the exhaust emissions will be beyond what the catalyst can normally correct. ***** in ***** out.
When was the last time the car had a tuneup?
If the valves haven't been adjusted the car may be misfiring which would cause the bucking.
If the EGR port(s) are clogged they would also cause a part throttle lean misfire bucking. Fairly simple to clean out the port(s), can't recall if the F18B has the single port from upper plenum to lower runners, or if it still used the EGR manifold located below the injectors. If you are careful in removing the components the gaskets are reusable and will only cost you time in cleaning out the port(s).