My 96 ls integra keeps throwing a code 71 and 72. It is missing and stumbling at regular acceleration but comes and goes. After I clear the codes it will run fine for a few days then start doing it again. Should I just buy a rebuilt distributor off ebay?

 

Help! Hahaha

 

Misfiring could be caused by faulty spark plugs or spark plug wires as well as a defected distributor. Try the small things first

 

Complete tune up with all OEM parts. Still does it.

 

New dizzy as well?

 

Check the spark at each wire with a new plug to verify that it isn't the ignition. Since the last two cylinders off of the fuel rail are having problems, you may want to borrow a fuel pressure tester from a parts store and check the pressure with and without the regulator vacuum hose attached.

 

Cool just ordered a new dizzy. When it stop raining I'll check the fuel pressure.

 

Just did a compression test it came back 185 on 1,3,&4, and 160 on 2. Also on 2 the plug had a redish rust colored powder? on it? Any idea to what that is? Also I don't think that drop in compression would cause a missfire code? Also I noticed that upon first start up the car smokes pretty bad its like a blueish white smoke?

 

No, you have sufficient compression to avoid misfiring from compression alone. It may even be that the slightly lower compression of #2 is from carbon deposits and crap that have built up on the valve seats because of another problem that is causing misfiring in that cylinder. Blueish white smoke comes from burning oil. Your valve stem seals may be leaking. A reddish coating on the plugs sometimes comes from burning additives that are in some lower-quality fuels. This coating is usually visible on the white ceramic part of the plug as well. Wherever it came from, the red is from burning something other than straight gasoline. If you haven't yet, you should really check your spark at all four wires. To check the spark, either buy a spark tester or:

Disable the fuel injectors and get a new or known good spark plug. Set the gap of this plug to your vehicle's specifications and make sure it is clean afterward. Wear gloves (welding gloves work great), preferably with latex or nitrile gloves underneath, and remove a spark plug wire from its plug. Connect the good plug to the end of the wire and hold the plastic deep-well tube at the very tip of the wire end with the threads of the plug touching bare metal on the valve cover. Have an assistant crank the motor while you watch the spark, carefully keeping all body parts away from the plug, motor and car body. Different types of plugs have different colored sparks but usually a good spark is a thick, strong flow of bright pink or is at least bright. Little blue or pink "lightning bolts" indicate a weak ignition. Check all four wires. If the sparks at all of the wires are weak, try holding the threads of the plug against the battery negative post to see if the better ground makes a stronger spark. This will test your entire ignition.

You follow a similar procedure when using a spark tester.

 

Cool. The redish stuff was only on the number 2 plug not all four. Does that mean anything?

 

Something is burning in that cylinder that shouldn't be there. It's almost definately from the oil you're burning or an additive within it. You would have to take one or both manifolds off to really be certain that a valve seal is leaking and which one it is. With a manifold off, you can reach a finger into the head ports and feel the top of the port where the valve goes into the stem seal. If your finger comes back with oil on it, a seal is probably leaking.

 

Just replaced the whole distributor and the car is doing the same thing. It's pissing me off. really bad. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Popped code 71 and 72 on the way home from work. I am at a loss please help!

 

Have you tested the spark as described?

 

If every thing is new it should have good spark? The only think else that would cause weak spark is low voltage. Also tried known to be good injectors. It seems to run better just alittle doggy going up hills.

 

Any part of the ignition can cause a bad spark, even if it's brand new. Aside from the occasional faulty part, the ignition has alot of connections and any one can cause a weak spark, including wires running to the ECU. All it takes is a little dirt, oil or a bent connector. It's not a difficult test and it can completely rule out the ignition as the cause. More than a few times, I've seen people buy new plug wires that actually cause problems that weren't there before, myself included. NGK ftw