I just got home to Indiana from Boulder, Colorado, where I picked up an '88 CRX Si with a ZC swap. The car is in excellent condition (all the engine related stuff was replaced about a year ago), the swap looks really clean and the ride is still tight. My troubles began on Friday, the day after I picked the car up and started the journey home. I was driving at about 75mph (the tach was at about 3500 rpm), when all of a sudden, the engine started to hesitate sporadically, almost as if the engine was being starved of fuel. The symptoms continued, so I eased off the gas and things improved a little. I continued driving, and things appeared to be alright for a while, but the problem resurfaced later on. I stopped and called the guy who sold me the car (I trust this guy, he gives off the right vibe), and he said that he'd never encountered the problem before. He had driven from Pennsylvania to Colorado with the car and kept it in storage since September last year and did not have any troubles with the car during the journey. He suggested that I try some additives to dry the fuel, so I did. The problem did not go away. It happened off and on over the entire course of the journey home (some 1000+miles). It happened when I had the Si ECU in it, but the same thing happened when I switched it over to the ZC ECU. The ZC ECU has a very pronounced fluctuation in its idle speed (It jumps around between 1000 and 1500 rpm.) and spits out a code 19 (lock up control solenoid), which is strange, considering there's no auto tranny on this car. The Si ECU doesn't produce any codes and has a relatively constant idle. I've tried checking vacuum hoses and grounds for any possible problems, but have yet to find any. I am at my wit's end as to what this could be, so I'm hoping that someone here in the collective could help me out. I love this car and want it to be in the best of health! Any and all help/advice will be appreciated. Thanks!

 

If its been setting for a while the wires may have cracked. Run the car at night in the dark and look for sparks jumping to the valve cover. Also replace the plugs and the injection cleaner was a good idea. Check your cap/rotor. As for the code, its an auto ecu so it will constantly give that code. You'll need another ZC manual ecu or one from an 88-89 teg. Also I read a long time back about removing part of the auto ecu so it would function normally but I cant remember anything about it.

 

i have an 88 crx and it was sputerring and hesitating, and had a funny idle. it stopped after i put a new cap,rotor,pluggs,and wires on it.