Whats wrong with this thing? Ignition + Tacho Problems?!

[Civic89]

Alright, 89 EF Civic with a B16a from a 92 CRX SiR, Sometimes when im driving the car the tacho starts to go nuts saying its revving at like 7k or just jumping around like something nuts. It feels like its been hit with one of those EMP things off 2 fast 2 furious, to put it simply.
It gets no spark to any cylinder, when it plays up until i get off the accelerator. My mechanic wants to put it on the scan tool to check if its throwing up codes but I can never tell when its going to do it. I have to turn the car on and back off to make it run properly again. Even then it may play up when ever it feels like it.

We think its some kind of sensor...?

[TheSaint]

well first of all u need to cut out ur language ...

and use a more descriptive title

[Civic89]

Just habit from working on cars.
Sometimes, Even the speedo jumps around... Even though there on a different circuit?

[Civic89]

Has anyone had anything similar? Its done almost the same thing before but that was fixed the first time with a new rocker cover gasket, There was oil getting into the 4th cyl from it. 6 months or so later is when it started playing up again, changed the gaskets again and its still doing it.

[TheSaint]

so the car hesitates on acceleration until you lift off and your tacho goes all wonky?

have you tried cleaning out ur fuel system + injectors?

have u changed ur plugs?

have u done a compression test?

[Civic89]

It's weird, it just looses all engine power and the revs just die like in 2f2f When the cops Shoot the emp at the evo. Exept ive still got power to accessories. It's not fuel because I'm loosing spark, yeah new plugs and leads, it's still got compression because if I turn the car off and then back on it will run fine. I'm thinking it's a module or the coil in the dizzy or the dizzy itself. My mechanic thinks it might be a sensor. I'm just about over it, might have to pull it all down and re do the conversion, I wasn't the one that put the engine in.

[TheSaint]

older honda engines are renowned for a hesitation problem in mid range rpm

the quickest and easiest fix is to clean out the fuel system, replace the fuel filter, get the injectors serviced and run some TB cleaner through the intake manifold + TB

if its loosing spark on only one of the cylinders than it may just need a new dizzy cap

if its loosing spark on all of the cylinders than it may need a new ignition coil or complete dizzy replacement

[Civic89]

Cheers mate, next time it happens ill post a video.

[TheSaint]

good idea - if u can post a vid it will help us troubleshoot it =)

on another note - they hate crappy fuel as well - always run it on BP/Caltex/Shell from a reputable servo/deppo
and always use either 95 or 98 - NOT 90

[Civic89]

I run BP ultimate in everything. Even my lawnmower.

[TheSaint]

try putting in a batch of Nulon Octane Boost + Cleaner and change the fuel filter than see if anything changes ... if it doesnt than we can rule out the fuel system

[Civic89]

See if these bad bays work...
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh106/falconxf88/th_27012011.jpg (http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh106/falconxf88/?action=view&current=27012011.mp4)

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh106/falconxf88/th_27012011001-1.jpg (http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh106/falconxf88/?action=view&current=27012011001-1.mp4)

[Civic89]

Thats pretty much what its doing.

[TheSaint]

thats not a fuel problem
its either ECU or ignition

sounds to me like a tuned ECU thats in limp mode ....

[TheSaint]

have u tried resetting ur ECU?

disconnect neg batt terminal
remove ECU fuse for
wait 10min
replace fuse
reconnect neg batt terminal
start car
let idle for 10min
= win?

[TheSaint]

also do u have the right ECU for that engine?

[Civic89]

Havent tried to reset the ECU Ill give it a go tommorow arvo, Im fairly sure the ECU's the right one for the engine, Its managed to spin it to around 8500rpm pretty easily for about 4 years.

ITs had tacho problems for years, but its never seemed to affect the engine like this.

[TheSaint]

could be some bad wiring in the tacho effecting the ECU?

let me know how u go resetting it

[Civic89]

Yeah but for it to affect it this badly sometimes lately is pretty weird.
But yeah ill try that first, if it keeps doing it ill send it into my mates shop and get him to do the timing belt/piston rings/dizzy and get him to have a suss of the wiring of everything. Cheers aye, Ill keep this thread updated.

[cihanvtec]

had a similar problem.. i had a tiny bit of moisture built up in my distributer. had it cleaned out and car ran perfectly. have you washed your engine bay or anything? maybe this could be the problem?

[TheSaint]

^^ good advice

after the ECU reset - get some CRC Contact Cleaner spray and clean out ur distributor with it
u have to take the cap off than the second plastic cover with the points on it so that the ignition coil is exposed
you can than check all the connections for corrosion and clean up all the points with a flat head screwdriver
lastly blast the whole thing with contact cleaner and let it air dry for 15min or so

[Civic89]

Na it really started playing up last after I topped the radiator up and took it for a 100km long drive.

I pulled the cap off and the coil out and the other plastic bit and hit it with contact cleaner, about 2 months ago let it dry out and the made no difference. Ill reset the ecu, witch i should have done today and see how it goes, Then ill try a new coil... I Already put a new one in about a year ago for roadworthy.

Quite annoyed withe contact cleaner though, 15 bucks a can through work, I let it roll around in the car with no cap and the top tube snapped off :( its still full.

[mooshie]

sounds like a loose connection on your igniter ijn the distributor. there are 4 plugs attaching to the igniter take each one off and crip it in slightly and use some di-electric grease to create a proper connection. had this on my DA6 B16 when I bought it and was a simple fix. the bogging was at about 4500 for me and car had bugger all power higher up, tacho would bounce like crazy when it happened.

[grifty]

Its a loose connector on your ignition control module like mooshie suggested, take your cap off and make sure they all sit nice and tight and it should be all good.

[Civic89]

Cheers guys. Took the car into the mechanic 2 weeks ago, He just said "I have no idea how this car was even running" (only a little more colorful)

The whole dizzys just ruined. Cant remember exactly what he said, something along the lines of the magnet completely broken of and was just flopping around in there. So 351.50 for a new dizzy and it will be here monday.

Ill add rep tonight to everyone tonight when i have time.

Cheers aye.

[TheSaint]

thats stupidly expensive for a distributor =/
i wouldnt pay more than $150 brand new or $50 second hand
it would also be pretty easy to fit yourself as well

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TD44-New-Ignition-Distributor-Acura-Integra-B18C-B16A-/190418987414?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c55db2996

[Civic89]

Yeah, I thought so. But I know its going to work, I could have done it but it became almost un-drivable just around the corner from his shop. So i thought bugger it.
Plus its getting a service + timing belt while its there.

[TheSaint]

ah nice nice - at least the problem is finally sorted out =D

[Civic89]

New Dizzy's in, A full service done and its playing up again...
Awesome.
So onto the scan tool to see if its throwing up any codes in the next couple of days.

[TheSaint]

that was an expensive non-fix - i would be pretty annoyed at the mechanic right about now =/

[Civic89]

Im not angry, The old dizzy was 100% dead. I needed a new one. Ill put some pics up of what it looked like tommorow night.
Ill reset the ECU and see how it goes.

[Civic89]

Ecu reset, no dice. :(

[grifty]

what is the new dizzy doing? is it just the tacho playing up?

[Civic89]

Doing the same thing as before.
Not reving, bogging right down, missing. And yeah the tacho's still playing up.

Ill take another video tommorow and post it up.

[dc2r-0636]

got the same problem, mine started after i got my new dizzy. so im thinking its dizzy related. dud icm in the new dizzy possibly ?

tacho gets its reading from the ecu, ecu gets its reading from the icm, (so ive been told)

but i got my timing advanced and it ran good for like 5mins, tacho didnt play up.. thenn back to its old self again, being shit and getting worse n worse

[TheSaint]

have you tried changing the ignition timing?
have you replaced/calibrated the TPS?

you might want to just take it to a honda dealer and be done with it lol

[Bludger]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYs67zlcKCo

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?68166-B-Series-Ignitor-Ignition-Module/page2&highlight=ignition+tacho


Might not relate to you, but have a read.

[grifty]

take it back to the place that replaced it, im sure it will have some warranty on it.

[najdi]

y dnt u just do simple trouble shooting on the ignition side of things i.e check plugs, work ur way down to leads pull 1 off n c if its sparking then go to ur dizzy n diagnose that..simple

[Bludger]

y dnt u just do simple trouble shooting on the ignition side of things i.e check plugs, work ur way down to leads pull 1 off n c if its sparking then go to ur dizzy n diagnose that..simple
It's not always that simple.

If you've tried fixing these sort of problems, you would know.:)

[Civic89]

Pretty much everything ignition side is new, Fuel pump is a new VL turbo pump 40psi - then up to 45 psi when given a little pedal.
So hes taken the ECU and dizzy out to be sent off to be checked out.

The tacho shakes alot more violently then like in the video.

[Civic89]

If the ecu comes back as the problem, Ill just get this Hondata one put in and tuned.

Im not that keen on spending that much money just yet though.

[Civic89]

Update!
Ecu came back as 100% fine, went through 3 coils... (Must have been a bad batch)
New igniter as that was down on power...


Still playing up...
But, It gets me to work as long as I dont flog it.
We've found that if I play with the wires between the intake manifold and head, The ones that run to the injectors it runs perfect for a little bit, So a wire, somewhere in the loom must be shorting out. Got a mate whos a f****** genius when it comes to cars coming over to help me.


By genius I mean, TF rodeo, full drift build. SR20det, 326rwhp, 850nm, 4 link, body drop, chassis notch, Coilovers all round, massive brakes etc.
All done by him in his home garage. Not to mention some of his other builds.

[IV73CI]

Since the ECU came back ok - did they manage to obtain any CEL Codes?

your saying that the wires near the intake manifold / head ... - you mean the TPS sensor? or IDLE Control? or Intake / MAP sensor? or Dizzy wires?

if those wires are shorting or cut ...they your car will run in limbo mode (safe mode) which means you wont be able to rev high and your engine /tacho will run like sh*t.

maybe your engine is kocking and hence why it runs like crap?

identify your CEL codes if not already diagnosed.

[dc2r-0636]

The reason why my car wouldnt rev was coz the CAT was melted/blocked, take a look at ur exhaust system

[Civic89]

Ill try put some videos up of it tomorrow, I dont think its throwing up any codes otherwise they probably would have found them. It revs fine when the wires are in the right place, but misses pretty harshly other times. Its not as bad as it used to be though. If we cant work it out it will go to an auto lecky.

Cheers for that boys.

[tiksie]

Happened to me before when I had a VAFCII intalled on my old B16A which was out of a JDM Del-sol. After I removed the VAFCII everything went back to normal.

[Civic89]

But I changed nothing and it started happening.

I changed the battery terminal and replaces the earths... Made things better.
But i find its starting to do it again lately when after i give it a good revving. Turn the car off and back on and it seems to work.
Took it to an auto sparky... Typically it didnt play up for him and it cost me 50 bucks lol.