Civic struggles and stalls...SOMETHING is overheating?!?help

[bennjamin]

Hi all - just a quick quiz...MY lil civic Si has been playin up recently...it began about 1 month ago, with stalling, then not restarting on many occasions until it cooled down - my mechanincs have replaced overall the whole distributor, i hav replaced the sparkplugs,oil and filter too-and reset the ECU...Which we conclude is that the engine does not recieve enough spark and or fuel...to make it struggle and stall.

The next item to look at is the fuel filter - which i am guessin i will have to replace as the fuel is not running at full preassure ?!? If so , how much does a new HONDA fuel filter for my car ( 93 Si EG5) cost??? Is it difficult to replace ?

If my car conks out again...Any ideas ? How can i check if the ECU is throwing bad codes at me???

Cheers , Ben.

[crx_16x]

Have you replaced your spark plug wires as well???
I had a problem like this happen to a laser i had.
One of the leads was old and the connector had broken off the wire however you couldn't see that through the boot.

To check the error codes you will need to pull the carpet up from the passenger side footwell to gain access to the ecu. Get access to a workshop manual for your car which will show you all the different ecu codes and therefore what is going wrong. Or try www.pgmfi.org which has a lot of good info. on honda ecu's.
To read the error code i believe there is a flashing l.e.d. on the case of the e.c.u. which flashes the corresponding amount of times to the error code.

I have a feeling it could be your t.p.s. (throttle position sensor) though one of my friends had a similar problem happening to his crx.
If it is your t.p.s. your engine warning light will be on and the ecu will be flashing code 7 i think.

What mechanic are you going to???
go to somebody that knows hondas well. It sounds like you have already spent a lot of money trying to remedy the problem. Are they reputable?
Hope this helps..
Regards,
James.

[wynode]

The fact that it doesn't start up untill it has cooled down is interesting.

When did all this start happening?

Also, is it overheating?

I say take it to Hannys.

[bennjamin]

cheers for the info boys...in reply to ur questions too -

I have taken the car to both Robert at Hannys, and to my dads mechanic - I am yet to obtain a ECU manual...but ill check it out and see what code it throws at me.

MAybe it is the spark plug leads?Maybe the fuel filter ? MAybe the O2 sensor ? All it is really , is that its shitting me to no end. Runs perfect for x amount of time...then notacibly struggles with idling revs...then , for no apparent reason , will stall and wont start for x amount of time ( something is over heating .)

My car isnt over heating , as the temp gauge stays at about 1/4...

MY guess is that i can replace all i can that needs it by myself...then take it to Robert to see what he thinks. Again !

Bah. Ill take it on Monday or so to Hannys. And hope 4 the best.

Let yall know. Ben

[tinkerbell]

whaaa!

ben, i reckon it sounds like your ECT sensor.

(Engine Coolant Temprature)

this tells the ecu the temp. of the engine, and the ecu decides on the Air Fuel ratio (AFR) as a result of this input (plus a couple of others)

if the ECT goes bad, and the ecu thinks hte engine is cold all the time, it will run wayyyy to rich and sometimes stall and not start again for a while...

you can check for the code, but it probably wont be showing...

you can check it with a multi meter if you wnat, i will get the ohm range for you if you like? (cant remember of the top of my head)

good luck!

t..

[Jnr Teggy]

i'm agreeing with dave! (tinkerbel)

[bennjamin]

thats sum good info there Dave...btu i havent the slightest idea about all the ECU workings in there...I know that the ECU shows its code via the LED flashing etc...


you can check it with a multi meter if you wnat, i will get the ohm range for you if you like? (cant remember of the top of my head) ....

Please do ! ! !

If its easier ....where abouts is the ECT located ? Easy to replace?



thanks, Ben

[tinkerbell]

the ECT is a "thermistor"

it's resistance (measured by ohms) changes as it gets hotter or colder...

you can test this, but not 'live'

to test it live, check the voltage of the ect sensor when the engine is cold, the signal wire should be between 2.5 to 4v

once it is hot, the signal should be less than 1v...

you need a multimeter that can measure 0-12v.

attach the black probe to the chassis ground or battery (-) terminal.

then stick a pin in one wire of the ECT and test it wi the ignition on, if there are volts then that is the signal wire, if not - it is the other wire,

if neither wire has volts, make sure your black wire is touching ground, or there is a broken circut from the ECT to teh ECU (unlikley)

OK, once you have volts, start the engine and watch the volts change as the engine warms up...

if they do not change from the first 'cold' voltage, then the ECT is bad...

if it does move to < 1v then the ECT is OK

the ect sensor is the two prong one under the distributor on hte head. it usually has a black or a green shell. (there should be a singel prong one next to it...) sorry i dont have a pic

[tinkerbell]

the ECT is easy to replace :)