cutting out

hyperdrive

hey guys,

91 awd/auto, 214k

yesterday i was at a stop sign and the idle went to crap... car didn't die..limped to the edge of the road. put it in park, tried to bring the idle back up .... didn't work...car wouldn't come out of park... shut it down pulled the cap to see if the screw came out of the rotor ... it was fine ..inside of the cap was covered with oil... wiped it down... put it back together.. lit it up and drove away... later at full speed (70 mph)it lost power again..i turned the key off and on again and everything cleared and life was good again ... got home pulled the distributer ..got a fresh one at the parts store... car is still cutting out but flipping the ignition switch clears it for a time.

does this problem sound familiar to anybody? is it an ecu giving up?

thanks

wagodizzle

STEP ONE:

check your ecu for codes.

if you dont know how to do this then follow these steps:

-the ecu is located under the pass. side carpet. pull back the carpet.
-you will see a bronze colored metal plate. the ecu is under this. there will be a small window on this plate. under the window is a little LED light that blinks codes.
-count the blinks. if it blinks 4 times then pauses, then blinks 10 times, pauses, then repeats 4 times, then 10. etc means that you have codes 4 and 10. you could have less or more, it all depends. anywho, so get this numbers.

now that you have the codes check this link:

http://www.hondacivicwagon.com/board/vi ... .php?t=671

hope this helps.

hyperdrive

todays winning codes are 4, 9 and 16 .....

since i replaced the distributor this am i suspect those are lounging around..and 16 might be the issue ....

thanks for the quick reply!!!!!

wagodizzle

4 = crank angle

9 = #1 cylinder position

16 = fuel injector


#4 and #9 are found in the distributor. In most cases, replacing the distributor is the only alternative. if you have problems starting the engine, or drivability after the install check your cam aligment. The seizing bearing might have caused it to jump a tooth/notch or two. From the extra drag due to the bearing failing.

#16 means you have a bad injector which could be a cause of the sloppy engine performance.

while this is all fine and dandy, since you have replaced your distributor you might try to reset the ECU... do this by unplugging the negative battery cable for 30 seconds. if you have a spare ECU or someone who can lend you one you might try to see i it reads the same codes. it is quite rare for a Honda ECU to fail so this is probably not the problem. anyways... yeah. good luck.

hyperdrive

I cleared the codes .... and now I'm getting 1 and 9 .... i bought a o2 sensor ... will replace it in the next day or so reset the the box and see what happens then ...

hyperdrive

ok ...got the o2 sensor replaced ...cleared the codes ... only getting the #9 now .... found the test procedure for the dizzy ... will try it this weekend ... hopefully i just got a bad dizzy off the shelf ... if not it looks like an ECU ...

wagodizzle

keep us posted.

btw is your car running ok right now?

hyperdrive

oh god no .... does great for about 15-20 mins .... and it cuts out on/off lightly for a little bit, then looses power ...at that point i flip the key off and on real quick... it clears itself and i continue on for awhile longer ... then it does it all again...

Haydz

Sounds like an ignitor issue but i still swear its fuel relay just for the sake of it.

nominous

FYI:
A common fault over here with the B16 CRX is that people change for an aftermarket header and get the two O2's the rong way round.
ith an OEM there isn't much notice but with aftermarket probably because it flows better you will get hesitation and a slight misfire on part throttle in closed loop mode.

Often this codes as an O2 fault but sometimes you'll get wierd codes like injector or dizzy faults.

It's interesting to see the same thing hapen with a single O2 going faulty.

hyperdrive

did an ohm check on the TDC sensor in the dizzy ... ice cold it was 332 ...suspect as it warms up it will fall even further ... low end in the good range should have been 350 ohms ... pulled the dizzy and will replace it AGAIN ....

hyperdrive

installed the new distributor ... problem is mostly cured ... cold reading on the tdc sensor (new one) was 385.. my timing isn't quite right as i just eyeballed it ... cuts out a little when starting out from a start ...and backfires a little when i wind it up tight...i'm not thowing codes anymore so i guess life is better...

wagodizzle

you might wanna be careful though, im not sure if its good for the engine to be run like that...

hyperdrive

copy that ... going to actually put the timing light to it this weekend... i've always ran a tooth up on the cam gear to give it a little more snap ... i'll put everything where it should be and see how it feels ..

thanks for all the help !!