ek99gsr

im on the line of breaking my head open to release frustration.
HERES THE SITUATION:
motor will crank and start...but will only idle for a minute before bogging out and stalling. take the plugs out and theyre soaking wet with fuel. clean them up and let the car sit for a bit....starts back up and does the same thing. ideling at a low rpm, with a deep sound. try to give it gas and nothing happens except maybe boggs down a bit more trying to stall even sooner.

HERES WHAT IVE DONE SO FAR:
Compression test: 150PSI across the board all 7 turns for each cyclinder(28 total)
tried distributor on another setup just like mine....his car ran fine with my distributor
tried my ECU and Jumper harness on another setup just like mine....his car ran fine using my stuff.
checked all fuses-GOOD
pulled injectors- all are squirting fuel fine
checked for spark-GOOD

only thing left is the Engine light
it comes on and stays on. i cant get it to throw a blinking code.
in the past ive used my handy dandy connecting-wires plug to put in diagnostic mode (that plugs into the little plug hanging down near the ECU) this time thats not working.i even tried another "connecting-wires" plug and still no blinking code.

please someone help me out here. im really open to suggestions at this point. thanks!
Greg

amckee

Sounds like you've jumped time.

ek99gsr

no....sorry i forget to mention that as THINGS IVE DONE: Adjusted the timing and its set perfectly

it seems as if the injectors are just dumping fuel "full throttle" 100% (not full throttle as in gas pedal)

amckee

Just a couple of thoughts....
Plugged fuel return
Bad fuel pressure regulator
One cam out of time on DOHC
Are you saying that the CEL stays on during the short time that it runs or that it just stays on when you are trying to pull a code?

ek99gsr

plugged fuel return? whats that?
one cam off timing? if the timing was accurate and on point top and bottom wouldnt that mean its not the timing? or are you talking about something else with the timing?

and yes the light is on when the car is shortly running and also when i put it in diagnostic mode.

right now my main concern is finding the code so i know what to look for. but i cant get it to blink. it just comes on and stays on....even when i put it in diagnostic mode by using my little plug (which has worked in the past)

amckee

I didn't know if you actually looked at the cam marks or or checked it with a timing light. Jumper the connector with a ohm meter and see if you have continuity. I have also seen cars act like that and have a plugged exhaust or cat. A chunk of the catalyst broke loose and plugged the pipe. The fuel return is the line going back to the tank that the pressure regulator bleeds off excess fuel into.

Scott_Tucker

I think your car is probably running very rich and is fuel fouling the plugs. If you hookup a scanner to it you will probably find a coolant temp sensor code. Then again maybe not, it may be something else that would cause it to run rich while cranking. You are lucky that you have a check engine light because if you pull the code at least you have something some direction to go in.

What modifications have you done to your car? Have you done any work on the engine, even if you think it's unrelated to this problem?

danerr

good luck dude im all for you cuz i got a similar problem.. cept mines rich ALL the time. if it is only getting crazy rich when the engine is warm, that tells me your timing is good and a sensor is failing once the engine warms up.

main sensors i would check/swap: map sensor, coolant sensor, O2 sensor

wow your service connector doesnt make it flash the error code? thats sux dude. maybe try resetting the ecu power and try again? get a hold of a scanner cuz that engine code is totally gunna tell you what the problem is.

i hope i helped a bit


Modified by danerr at 7:18 PM 1/8/2006

ek99gsr

well i dont think its a piece of the cat because i hollowed that **** out to get more air flow awhile ago. but a fuel line that relieves pressure sounds interesting and possible...?

the only mods ive done are skunk2 IM, MSD plug wires, and gutted the cat. nothing to the engine itself really except the IM.

i took it to my buddys shop and his scanner didnt work on my car. something to do with it not being compatible with obd2 or obd1 i forget which one. i dont know of any one else with a scanner. ID REALLY like to know what code its throwing so i would have some direction.

i think one of you mentioned hooking up a jumper to the ECU to check continuousity? or something? i dont know what you meant by that.

All i know is that this **** is really frustrating me. its been about a month 1/2 since ive driven her and i miss driving it sooooooooo much im sure you have an idea. i just want to fix it!!!!

DevoS

Can you give it partial throttle and it still run? If you have an IAC Valve (idle air control valve/ rotory valve) on your throttle chamber, it could have gone bad and wont allow it to idle smoothly. Also check your fuel pressure regulator. If it allows to much pressure into the fuel rail, when the injector opens, way too much fuel will be injected.
Could also be the fast idle valve.
Acura/honda codes can't always be read w/ some after market scan tools. that could be the problem w/ your buddy's scan tool.
'96 and newer cars are all OBDII cars.
Here is a list of possible trouble shooting areas as per Acura Troubleshooting chart:
Fuel pressure
Ignition system
IAC Valve
MAP Sensor (Manifold Absolute Pressure Sensor)
Contaminated fuel
idle speed adjustment
crankshaft position/TDC/cylinder position sensor cicuit
brake switch signal (applies to autos w/ shift solenoid)

Just looked it up
I'm not a technician, just an Acura parts guy trying to help out.
Good luck.

amckee

You know, 150 psi is kind of low. Isn't the spec range for that model 175-195? Have you adjusted the valves and maybe got them too tight? How has this car been driven HONESTLY? Do you dog the **** out of it regularly or sometimes?

ek99gsr

yea i was also told by another that 150 was low. ive never adjusted the valves so i dont think theyre too tight. and no i dont really dog it much....sometimes....usually only when i need to. the only time i really bring it to redline is at the track. here and there off the track.

someone else also said that one or more valves may not be sealing properly. but that doesnt seem to conclude why massive amounts of fuel would be dumped by the injectors....?

amckee

Massive amounts of fuel may not be being dumped. It may just be that the fuel that is injecting is not being consistently combusted, the plug starts to get wet, it fouls, you pull it and see wet plugs.

ek99gsr

interesting....very. seems very likely. if this were the case....would that mean damage in the head. valves stuck open, or not sealing correctly, etc.??

amckee

I would say burnt. The thing that gets me is the 150 across the board. How would they all burn evenly? Usually when someone with a head problem does a compression test you will see one really bad cylinder with a couple of so-so or maybe even spec readings. Maybe you slowly developed this problem with the help of too little back pressure from the cat you removed. You know, too little back pressure will burn valves.

amckee

I'm also still concerned with the fact that you can't get into diagnostic mode. If you have a volt meter use it to jumper the connector with it set to read ohms and see if you have continuity. Sometimes you think your wire is making contact when you try to jumper and it's really not. Try a paper clip.

Scott_Tucker

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by amckee &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> You know, too little back pressure will burn valves.</TD></TR></TABLE>


Um, How would that work?

ek99gsr

i dont know but im sick of not knowing what to fix and not getting anywhere. i think im just gunna bring it to a shop and let them deal with it. i hate doing that but at this point im too frustrated, and i dont have the time. with the limited extra time from work and school it would take me another month or so to fix this. i cant afford to wait that long.
Thanks for all your help guys. i really appreciate it

Scott_Tucker

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ek99gsr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i dont know but im sick of not knowing what to fix and not getting anywhere. i think im just gunna bring it to a shop and let them deal with it. i hate doing that but at this point im too frustrated, and i dont have the time. with the limited extra time from work and school it would take me another month or so to fix this. i cant afford to wait that long.
Thanks for all your help guys. i really appreciate it
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sorry about that comment. It was actually about what amckee said about too little back pressure burning valves. It won't. There always seems to be this myth that back pressure (people always say 'some' but do not quantify how much) is a good thing going around. It is true that tuning exhaust accoustic can increase power and this involves pressure waves, but it does not mean back pressure is a good thing.

I would agree that if you are frustrated you should bring it to a shop and let them look at it. Sometimes its good to get someone else's perspective or opinion.

civicLX92

leaking fuel injectors? dirty air filter? fuel injector duty too high? change your spark plugs, to maybe a hotter heat range if im correct.

danerr

if you cant get that thing to spit any codes, try swapping the map sensor, check the fuel pressure regulator vaccum line is connected, check your fuel pressure!!!
what i would do after this is pay a shop to retreive your trouble code.

ek99gsr

map sensors arent cheap....and i dont know anyone to borrow from where i just moved to. all lines are connected i checked.
but yea someone elses perspective right now seems good. its going to cost more to fix whatever it is but at this point its worth it. i love doing my own work when i can and learning new things but i cant afford to this time. its already been almost a month and a half.

danerr

get that code!