My car is pissing me off!!! WTF?!?!?!?!/

[BITESIZE]

My car takes about 3 to 4 minutes of cranking (gas pedal to the floor) in order for it to start, when it does start it runs on 3 cylinders untill I rev it to 4,000 rmps, and then all 4 cylinders fire and the damned car runs fine forever. When the car goes cold or sits for an hour I go through the same shit!! WTF!?!? No check engine light or ecu codes.

The downpipe is smashed in 3/4 the way and is leaking exhaust. :( Is this the starting issue? No backpressure?

Things I've done or checked:

Tdc is fine, haven't used a timing gun though.
(advance it or retard - would it help?)
(Distributor is in the middle)

Changed oil and filter
Changed fuel filter
Changed fuel pump
Coolant temperature sensor is fine.
Changed spark plug wires,spark plugs, cap, rotor .


Things I need to check:

Coil
Air intake temp senser
O2 sensers
Fuel pressure
Fuel pressure regulator
Fuel injectors
Fuel injector resister


Because it only fires on 3 cylinders-
I am thinking it's #3 injector (only leaking and dirty one on manifold), one of the four spark plugs or wire. Any suggestions?

[russiankid]

I would check that injector. Quite possibly it is clogged, and when you rev the engine to higher rpm's the pressure builds up and then allows the fuel to enter the cylinder.

[BITESIZE]

I would check that injector. Quite possibly it is clogged, and when you rev the engine to higher rpm's the pressure builds up and then allows the fuel to enter the cylinder.


Wouldn't the car fire up on the first try (not taking 3 minutes) and only run on 3 cylinders every time?

On another note, would a leaky injector cause lower fuel pressure?

[Civic Accord Honda]

werid!!!.. my car just started doing this a few days ago on start up it takes a bit and runs like crap tel i floor it then it idels fine
iv been thinking fuel filter and injectors since my filter is oem and one of my injectors is lose for some reason :wtf:

[2oodoor]

a leaking injector will be putting gas in the oil , if this has gone on a while you will smell gas on the dipstick
It actually does sound like something leaking on the piston, could be valve seals too.
Can you read the plugs to see if it is just the same cyl doing it?
That exhaust issue will give the O2 sensor all kinds of bad readings, and if you are in a cold climate it can burn a valve too.
If the dizzy is in the middle, you may be off on timing show nuff:)

[Catalyst]

My money is on a bad coil. do you have a spare you can stick in there?

[2oodoor]

My money is on a bad coil. do you have a spare you can stick in there?

good point, the excessive cranking time fits that, but I am curious about it acting up again a couple hours later. I guess you could pull a plug wire and put a spare plug on it and have somebody crank it over while you hold the pulled wire and plug next to a ground. Should be a nice blue white spark first time every time. Use insulated pliers optional, just don't ground yourself to the car by leaning on it. zap

[AccordB20A]

does it only do this on cold starts?? weak spark does that cause you need a strong spark to ignite the mixture when its cold.

[bank2me]

Hey Bitesize check your timing with a gun. It almost sounds like a timing issue.:gun:

[Oldblueaccord]

Thats a temp sensor. ICT ? i think. its in here do a search. Its rich as sin at cold start is what your describing. The high RPMS are just cleaning everything out.

You ll need to change the plugs soon. Once they foul they usually dont come back.


wp

[Oldblueaccord]

http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60400





wp

[BITESIZE]

http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60400





wp

If you look in my first post you will see that I already changed that. I already searched and found that thread.:wave:

You do have a point about it fouling the spark plugs after awhile. I'll try changing them here in a few days after troubleshooting somemore.

[BITESIZE]

ok, I just checked the coil with my ohm meter.

I got 11, 200ish Between A and secondary
I got 2,100ish between B and D
I got 0 between A and D which is bad
I got 0 between A and C which is bad

So I'm going to try replacing the coil tomorrow.

[Oldblueaccord]

Things I've done or checked:

Tdc is fine, haven't used a timing gun though.
(advance it or retard - would it help?)
(Distributor is in the middle)

Changed oil and filter
Changed fuel filter
Changed fuel pump
Coolant temperature sensor is fine.
Changed spark plug wires,spark plugs, cap, rotor



not seeing it on this list sir sorry

the senor im thinking of is in the intake and senses the air temp. I think it can just be jumped or tricked into a static reading to be tested (no cost)

Good luck!


wp

[BITESIZE]

^^are talking about the air intake temperature sensor?

[Oldblueaccord]

yes

50 lashes with a wet noodle on me

p12-32 of the 88 Helms

TA sensor: its near the MC on the intake. 5 volts on the plug 1-4kohm on the sensor. 2 wire plug. its 1k ohm at 104 degrees

I still would verify that the coolant sensor is reading somewhat correct as well.


wp

[BITESIZE]

Today I went to the salvage yard and got the coil off of the only 3gee there. I got home and tested it, and it tested bad just like the one I already had on the car. I decided to swap the fuel rail with the fuel pressure regulator along with the fuel injectors. (I have the hatchback's spare engine in my garage). I took the fuel injectors off the 4 door and they had a shit load of tar on them. Yuck! So I swapped everything and the car started in a decent amount of time. (Fuel pressure needed to build up). I messed with the distributor to get a good sounding spot, and took it for a ride. It seemed to accelerate alot better from the better injectors. I'll cross my fingers and hopefully I won't have anymore problems.I probably will clean the fuel tank out this summer when I get some time and it's warmer outside.

[turabaka]

man just get a blaster 2 coil. They work great, and would definitely solve your coil problems.

[BITESIZE]

I had an aftermarket coil in my hatchback a while back and it went bad, so I'm sticking with stock from now on.

[forrest89sei]

I had an aftermarket coil in my hatchback a while back and it went bad, so I'm sticking with stock from now on.


If you end up needing a coil let me know, I have a newer OEM one

[MessyHonda]

so now it runs better?

[BITESIZE]

so now it runs better?

It still doesn't start all that great. But I went for a 100 mile round trip yesterday and the check engine light came on reading code 6. I changed the temp senser, since I have like 3 laying in my tool box from saving parts over the years. Question: Do I have to reset the ecu before the new good temp senser will actually work? Does the ecu still read a bad reading even with a good senser if it had been triggered before swapping it out?

[MessyHonda]

i would reset the ecu....just take out the clock fuse...wait like a min and put it back in

[BITESIZE]

I reset the ecu and its flashing 10 now. Intake temperature senser. I checked my mpg and I'm getting 27mpg! Pretty good for a check engine light always on. I'll swap my iat from my spare engine and see if it goes away.

[turabaka]

^^ very nice dude. Hopefully you can get that temp sensor fixed soon. I finally got my car all back together today. All disc brakes, New ball joints, and I replaced both cv boots on the passenger side axle, and new oil in the tranny. That's something I really don't want to have to do again. Tomorrow I'm gonna wash my car including the engine bay, and then take some new pics.

[BITESIZE]

I'm a dork, I forgot to hook up the air intake temperature wire to the senser. I hooked it up and the check engine light went off. I'm going to buy a new coolant temperature senser tomorrow and get it installed and hope for the best.

[turabaka]

lol. Great to hear that it was something small.

[BITESIZE]

I changed the Coolant temperature senser that goes to the ecu and the car fires right up. I paid $44 from the dealership.

[newbie_honda_owner]

My car takes about 3 to 4 minutes of cranking (gas pedal to the floor) in order for it to start, when it does start it runs on 3 cylinders untill I rev it to 4,000 rmps, and then all 4 cylinders fire and the damned car runs fine forever. When the car goes cold or sits for an hour I go through the same shit!! WTF!?!? No check engine light or ecu codes.

The downpipe is smashed in 3/4 the way and is leaking exhaust. :( Is this the starting issue? No backpressure?

Things I've done or checked:

Tdc is fine, haven't used a timing gun though.
(advance it or retard - would it help?)
(Distributor is in the middle)

Changed oil and filter
Changed fuel filter
Changed fuel pump
Coolant temperature sensor is fine.
Changed spark plug wires,spark plugs, cap, rotor .


Things I need to check:

Coil
Air intake temp senser
O2 sensers
Fuel pressure
Fuel pressure regulator
Fuel injectors
Fuel injector resister


Because it only fires on 3 cylinders-
I am thinking it's #3 injector (only leaking and dirty one on manifold), one of the four spark plugs or wire. Any suggestions?
I am having the exact same problem and its driving me nuts. when you find out let me know lol..

[Oldblueaccord]

He did its the post above yours.


You can start your own post if you want and referance this one if your still stuck.



wp