starting/ stuttering problem

[stocklxi]

ok i got an 89 accord lxi, i put a blaster 2 coil on it cuz i had one laying around from my old civic hatch. i can feel the difference, sometimes. the car seems to either run like a top or run like total ass

one thing i didnt do was gap the spark plugs, which i intend to get ngks and do so

or when i try and start the car it seems like the car has no battery juice at all to it or as if i have all my accessories or lights on at once and try to start it. if its not a "normal" start, which it does most of the time, the car will want to die unless i keep hitting the gas for it to stay running. and when i do this, lets say holding it at like 2k, the car will stutter instead of a smooth sound of the engine. what could be causing this?

[shepherd79]

a few things:
1. vacuum leak.
2. bad distributor.
3. dead battery or alternator.
4. bad ground cables.
5. old or worn out spark plugs
6. old spark plug cables.

[stocklxi]

well im definitely bringing this one back from the dead but i put my 3g aside for awhile with another car cuz of this problem i couldnt figure it out. anyways to check off this list,
grounds are fine,
spark plugs/wires are good,
battery is new and good cuz i used in my other car.
alternator is alright...i guess might be the cause...
distributor has new cap and rotor but i think might be the culprit, when it doesn't want to start, my tach would jump to like 4 or 5gs when it was cranking over...
what do you suggest i do next? test alternator? can i test the distributor?

oh yeah and as a side note, i'm missing the almost 90 degree bend in my stock intake tubing, does it make a difference and where would i find that?

[LX-incredible]

The tach gets its signal from the ignitor firing the coil. There is something wrong in the distributor or its wiring.

[Hoy_LDT]

bad timing???mixxed up spark plug order??do u smell alot of gas out of the tail pipe?

edit:spark plug order by means of spark plugs in wrong cyl.

[stocklxi]

timing is good, valves adjusted, spark plug order has to be good cuz it doesnt do that all the time, sometimes it fires right up like it was brand new lol. there was a little bit of smoke that came out of the exhaust and it smelled pretty weird lol nothing i could recognize right away.

i'm pretty sure if the signal comes from the distributor to the tach its gotta be the distributor cuz that would explain the different timings sometimes right? where do you recommend i get one?

[Hoy_LDT]

timing is good, valves adjusted, spark plug order has to be good cuz it doesnt do that all the time, sometimes it fires right up like it was brand new lol. there was a little bit of smoke that came out of the exhaust and it smelled pretty weird lol nothing i could recognize right away.

i'm pretty sure if the signal comes from the distributor to the tach its gotta be the distributor cuz that would explain the different timings sometimes right? where do you recommend i get one?


yea and sorry i have no recommendations...haha but yea...it has to be your fireing order...its not lighting of the fuel initaly so the engine cant start...ome [pssoble reason maybe?

[LX-incredible]

yea and sorry i have no recommendations...haha but yea...it has to be your fireing order...its not lighting of the fuel initaly so the engine cant start...ome [pssoble reason maybe? You're an aircraft mechanic?

[Hoy_LDT]

You're an aircraft mechanic?

yea..its nothing special

[LX-incredible]

...

It's not the firing order. The car would constantly run like crap. The tach is nondependent on firing order anyway. If you're getting into the 4 or 5k range when starting, something is shorting and not breaking the ground in one strong pulse, but rather a series of weak ones.

[Hoy_LDT]

...

It's not the firing order. The car would constantly run like crap. The tach is nondependent on firing order anyway. If you're getting into the 4 or 5k range when starting, something is shorting and not breaking the ground in one strong pulse, but rather a series of weak ones.

doh...not the firing order but how it sparks...i had a car that had horrible starting but once it caught on it was fine...i didnt mean the actual firing order but how it was fired...how sharp the spark is and so on...thats what i meant by do you smell alot of gas out of the tail pipe...alot of unburned fuel means bad sparking...

and in aviation well from what i understand firing order can also mean like you said a bad ground and that the magneto is grounding itself weird???(if thats the right word), miss firing in diffrent cyl. and also weak sparks...

apologizes for not making myself xtra clear

[Beanshonda55]

i have almost the exact same problem, my car is doing all the things you are talking about. I just got a new cap and rotor, 2 week old altenator, newplugs and wires, blaster 2 coil, and new battery. sometimes when im driving my car will just miss fire a couple times and backfire and right after it back fire it drives completly normal. then sometimes after i drive it for a while it wont start for 5-10 minutes. sry for the thread jacking.

[LX-incredible]

i have almost the exact same problem, my car is doing all the things you are talking about. I just got a new cap and rotor, 2 week old altenator, newplugs and wires, blaster 2 coil, and new battery. sometimes when im driving my car will just miss fire a couple times and backfire and right after it back fire it drives completly normal. then sometimes after i drive it for a while it wont start for 5-10 minutes. sry for the thread jacking. When it won't start for 5-10 min, try holding down the throttle 1/4 while cranking. If it fires up, I would suspect the coolant temp sensor. As for the misfire, does the tach drop to 0 when this occurs?

[Beanshonda55]

When it won't start for 5-10 min, try holding down the throttle 1/4 while cranking. If it fires up, I would suspect the coolant temp sensor. As for the misfire, does the tach drop to 0 when this occurs?
Sometimes it will start if i do that and sometimes not but most of the time it will and when it does start like that it blows out white smoke for about 30 sec. on the misfiring im not sure and were is that temp sensor located? and i thought my filter was wisliling or squeling when i give it gas but i took of my cold air intake and the squeling was coming from in there. Then is the top of the fast idle valve supose to have anything in there becasue i think mine is clogged at the bottom or somethin? Agian sry for the thread jacking but no one will answer my post yet.

[stocklxi]

oh yeah the car does throw a ECT sensor code every now and then, im not sure if it does when it decides to run like crap or not. also the idle surges from 1k to 2k like the iacv is messed up which also wouldn't surprise me but im not sure if this sensor and the iacv are related to cause the same thing.


lx-incredible It's not the firing order. The car would constantly run like crap. The tach is nondependent on firing order anyway. If you're getting into the 4 or 5k range when starting, something is shorting and not breaking the ground in one strong pulse, but rather a series of weak ones.
well what would that mean is wrong then?

[stocklxi]

okay so an update, i went out to try and start it, and heres what happened.
turn the key, it cranks slow and weak sounding, the tach bouncing up to 5 k at its highest point, i then try this a few times and same thing everytime. so i hold down the gas 1/4 the way like lx-incredible said, and it started, but very rough at first, then idled up to its normal 2kish range, unless that isnt normal...lol i dunno. just a fyi.

[Beanshonda55]

okay so an update, i went out to try and start it, and heres what happened.
turn the key, it cranks slow and weak sounding, the tach bouncing up to 5 k at its highest point, i then try this a few times and same thing everytime. so i hold down the gas 1/4 the way like lx-incredible said, and it started, but very rough at first, then idled up to its normal 2kish range, unless that isnt normal...lol i dunno. just a fyi.
Today 08:01 PM
doing the same thing mine is doing, try cleaning the fast idle valve, and make sure its not stuck, and also try to lower your idle by the screw above your throttle body were your intake attaches, thats what i did to stop the high idle and surgining idle. and to me it almost seems if your alternator is going out, mine also went up to 5k sometimes when starting it and then it stopped doing that all together and it was my altenator.

[LX-incredible]

doing the same thing mine is doing, try cleaning the fast idle valve, and make sure its not stuck, and also try to lower your idle by the screw above your throttle body were your intake attaches, thats what i did to stop the high idle and surgining idle. and to me it almost seems if your alternator is going out, mine also went up to 5k sometimes when starting it and then it stopped doing that all together and it was my altenator.
I have had some charging system issues, but never the jumping tach. It makes some sense though. I suppose that if the voltage was low enough, the ignitor could function abnormally. So my advice is to get that checked out first, before you start replacing sensors and ignitors. Don't rely on the part store or sears free tests. I've had my charging system checked 3 times and they found nothing. I replaced the battery and the weak start was fixed. Next time you are having starting issues, hook up a charger or get a jump. If it fires up, it's gotta be in the charging system.

Beanshonda55, your problem sounds very much like the coolant temp sensor, I have the same problem with mine now. It occurs mainly around dusk, or when the temp starts dropping rapidly, usually 10-15 minutes after the car is parked. It's only been happening once a week or less now, since the idle was turned down. 1/4 on the throttle will fire it up every time.

[stocklxi]

whats the idle supposed to be set at? if its in park for me (auto) :(

[LX-incredible]

750 + or - 50 RPM

[stocklxi]

@##$ for real? i think mines at least 1000 right now lol

[stocklxi]

okay another update...i got a new alternator for it, and fixed a few oil leaks while i was at it...charged the battery while i was removing and installing new alternator, and it fired right up. idle adjusted down to about 800.

now i let it warm up, and i was revving it and sometimes it sputtered as the rpms dropped and shuddered around idle kinda low, and a light white smoke was coming from the exhaust....it could be moisture cuz its sat for about a month, but what could cause the sputtering?