Out of no where, my CRX started to cough, sputter and finally died. Smoke came out of the vents and under the hood but no flames. The cat was glowing bright orange. No loss of coolant, did not overheat and no other physical signs. Any suggestions on where to look first?

 

clogged cat?

 

Misfiring? That can overheat the catalyst. The unburned fuel along with un-used air will 'burn' inside the cat.

 

2nd the clogged cat

 

Beat the cat

 

go straight pipe w/no cat

 

Thanks for the comments. I'll replace the cat (only $77 through Summit) for starters. I'll also check the cap & rotor since that's a weak spot although just replaced a couple months ago. I appreciate the help.

 

Make sure you check if misfiring or running rich caused your cat to overheat & melt/plug. If you don't fix the cause you could mess up the new one.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NITROUSHONDA &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">2nd the clogged cat</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, if it wasn't clogged before, it is likely clogged now. In any case, check for a misfire like the others said. Also check for distributer codes on your ECU. This can cause your cat to glow red hot.

 

Disconnect the car and see if it runs better.

More than likely it is the cat though.

 

the same thing happened to my a while back. i was going to the races and stopped to spray my motor down at the car wash. i must have got water in my plugs cuz when i started to drive it , my car started bogging out making me lose power in every gear. by the time i got home i was doing like 15mph at 6000rpm in 1st just to make it home. when i started checking the car i noticed my cat was glowing red. i let it cool and took it off. i hallowed it out with a pipe and hammer. put it back on. dried my plugs and it drove again. ran like crap till the water worked its way out. fucked my whole weekend up. now i smell more exhaust and when i punch it i fart out a big puff of black smoke. i live in texas so the emission laws are sweet. no sniffer to pass inspection. **** as a matter of fact i got my stickers from some half *** shop that didnt even check my car. the cat looks stock but its not. i wonder if i lost power by this?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by IVAN93EG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the same thing happened to my a while back. i was going to the races and stopped to spray my motor down at the car wash. i must have got water in my plugs cuz when i started to drive it , my car started bogging out making me lose power in every gear. by the time i got home i was doing like 15mph at 6000rpm in 1st just to make it home. when i started checking the car i noticed my cat was glowing red. i let it cool and took it off. i hallowed it out with a pipe and hammer. put it back on. dried my plugs and it drove again. ran like crap till the water worked its way out. fucked my whole weekend up. now i smell more exhaust and when i punch it i fart out a big puff of black smoke. i live in texas so the emission laws are sweet. no sniffer to pass inspection. **** as a matter of fact i got my stickers from some half *** shop that didnt even check my car. the cat looks stock but its not. i wonder if i lost power by this?</TD></TR></TABLE>


i pretty sure u lost power .

but like this other cat said check ur fuel mix, see why and how ur cat got clooged , unless its was over 5 yrs might be time for a new one