89 Accord Cuts Out After Getting Warm

[DoolOK]

hey gang..

I have an 89 accord with a mystery problem. Maybe it's not to you guys here, but hey I thought I'd ask.

What happens is my car tends to cut out, almost like theres a ground shorting out or some kind of fuel evap lock.

For instance...the town I drive to is about 15 miles away. About 3/4 of the way into town, the car will start to seriously loose power and become very hesitant on acceleration. Once it starts cutting out and loosing power, if i floor the accelerator, the car will gather up speed and won't cut out or miss, but once the tranny kicks in and the cruise control is set, the car will start acting up again.

The very first time it happened to me, I was on the interstate driving to OKC from here, which is about an hour and a half. I got about halfway down there and it started being very hesistant and loosing power. I pulled over to the side of the road and noticed that there was something being thrown out from under my car. When I checked the fluids, I noticed the tranny fluid was almost gone and the car was having problems shifting into gears. I pulled over, put some fluid in it, and carried on to OKC until the hesistation problem described above returned.

The other thing is that this doesnt happen when driving around town. I did notice that when the car is warm or hot, it doesn't want to start as easy as if the car was cold.

One other thing, it doesn't necessarily do this all the time. But its getting to the point where I can pretty much guarantee its going to do it half the time I take it on road trips.

Now, what I have done is:
-replaced spark plugs
-replaced fuel pump
-replaced ground wire

I read somewhere before that this could be caused by a faulty Ignition Coil? Is that right?

Thanks!

[DoolOK]

yea, replaced it with the fuel pump.

[BITESIZE]

Try a new coil, same thing happened to me.

[pedrosa]

check tps sensor, when is bad condition change by temperature and send false information to the ecu

[DoolOK]

Well..here's an update..

I replaced the coil, spark plug wires...then had to replace a dead battery. It's still giving me the same problem.

Anyone else have any ideas? I'm starting to think it might be a catalytic converter problem....

[DoolOK]

Oh..somewhere I read that theres a little box somewhere under the dash that might cause this problem? Forgive me for not remembering what it's called..but seems like a few months ago I read about it..I just can't remember what it was called..

[DoolOK]

check tps sensor, when is bad condition change by temperature and send false information to the ecu

Sorry didnt see this post....Where can I find the TPS sensor and how much does it usually cost to replace?

[mouchyn]

i don't think it's the main relay. that will keep the car from starting. those usually go bad when the weather gets warm, not the car.

have you checked all your vacuum lines and vacuum hardware? I have seen a bad map sensor cause these types of problems.

have you tested your IAC? that's the device on the front of the intake plenum with the 2P connector and two coolant lines running to it. I would test that and check your fast idle valve (on the back of the plenum near the TB).

does the car idle low when it gets warm? have you tried adjusting the idle speed?

throwing any ECU codes?

tested/replaced coolant temperature sensors? those will certainly throw the ECU into a tizzy if they're going bad. That's also certainly engine temperature related.

[mouchyn]

Sorry didnt see this post....Where can I find the TPS sensor and how much does it usually cost to replace?

the TPS is the 3P electrical connection on the butterfly plate on the throttle body. It's directly opposite of where the throttle cable attaches (on the back side near the firewall). Use a multimeter and stab through the wire jackets to test it. You can't disconnect it and test it easily.

[DoolOK]

have you checked all your vacuum lines and vacuum hardware? I have seen a bad map sensor cause these types of problems:---Where can I find the MAP sensor at?

have you tested your IAC? that's the device on the front of the intake plenum with the 2P connector and two coolant lines running to it. I would test that and check your fast idle valve (on the back of the plenum near the TB)---What am I testing for? Voltage? RPM's?

does the car idle low when it gets warm? have you tried adjusting the idle speed?-The car idles just fine both cold and warm. The only hint of trouble I have is this recurring problem with the car driving down the highway and it's been say, 30 miles or so.

throwing any ECU codes---I will look in the morning to be sure.

tested/replaced coolant temperature sensors? those will certainly throw the ECU into a tizzy if they're going bad. That's also certainly engine temperature related---I agree, but the car isn't overheating...it's just acting up when brought up to operating temperature.

the TPS is the 3P electrical connection on the butterfly plate on the throttle body. It's directly opposite of where the throttle cable attaches (on the back side near the firewall). Use a multimeter and stab through the wire jackets to test it. You can't disconnect it and test it easily---When I hook up a multimeter to test it, what am I looking for? Voltage spikes?


Again, this problem doesnt happen all the time. If I drove the car for say, 30 miles...chances are 1 in 5 that it will act up.

[mouchyn]

take a look in the online shop manual for the procedures, specs, and tolerances.

[pedrosa]

the TPS is the 3P electrical connection on the butterfly plate on the throttle body. It's directly opposite of where the throttle cable attaches (on the back side near the firewall). Use a multimeter and stab through the wire jackets to test it. You can't disconnect it and test it easily.

thankyou mouchyn by you post. i couldn´t type better.

[drago742]

yea i have the same problem and its really anoying me wht should i take it to like pepboys and let them fix it or can i do it my self

[syclinsam]

once you are certain what the problem is you will probably be able to do it yourself. There is enough information on this website to do just about anything and the shop manuel is availible.

http://www.pauldesign.ru/honda/shopmanual.html

although it isn't temp related check your distributor and cap for any signs of excess wear (which can be found in the manuel). Also make sure the new wires you put in are making contact in the distributor.

When I replaced my distributor I found that when the previous owner pushed new wires onto the cap, the contact points on the wires had slid back into the angle of the boot. So the spark had to arc from the cap to the wire rather than direct contact, which made my spark weak, which shut the car down after the excess fuel for start was burned. Not exactly the same but worth a check.

good luck

[lovemyhonda]

Hi, I am having the same problem with my 86 honda accord lxi. The car is very hard to crank and when I get it crunk it drains the battery. The car was throwing codes 6 and 12. Replaced the ECU, EGR, main relay and the car is still doing the same thing. Changed spark plugs, fuel filter, tested distributor, and fuel pump. Car still goes rrr..rrr..rrr..rrr. Someone please help me!

lovemyhonda