1991 Civic Stalls
 

Hi.

My car has developed a problem that I cannot find a solution to. It is
a 1991 Honda Civic Special Edition (Canadian Model), 1.5L, 180,000kms.
It is basically a DX with power steering and no AC.

To the problem...

The car stalls. It only stalls when warm, and only when coming to a
stop. To be exact, only after coming to a stop. Sometimes it does not
stall, but almost stalls, then recovers. Sometimes is almost stalls,
then recovers and over revs, then almost stalls again. Back and Forth.
Sometimes it fixes itself, other times it stalls. Most of the time,
it immediately settles down to idle as it should, but at least once per
trip it will act up. It will sometimes stall with a gentle throttle
blip at idle as well.

The problem first started occurring when I had to back the car down a
hill into my driveway. The problem continues and seems to get slightly
worse all the time.

The car always starts immediately after a stall. The check engine
light is not on, and the ECU is not showing any codes. I have cleaned
the injectors, replaced plugs, rotor, cap, fuel and air filter. Every
time I do something nice for the car, it behaves for about one tank of
gas, then it acts up again. It happens when it is hot out, and when it
is cold, on summer gas and on winter gas, full tank and empty tank. On
high octane and low octane. Even though it happens regularly, I cannot
force the event to occur.

The dealer says they cannot do anything unless it stalls for them.
Does anyone have any idea what might be the cause of this? With this
exception, the car feels great and the engine is strong.

I appreciate any help or suggestions.

Thanks.

-Paul

Paul wrote:
> Hi.
>
> My car has developed a problem that I cannot find a solution to. It is
> a 1991 Honda Civic Special Edition (Canadian Model), 1.5L, 180,000kms.
> It is basically a DX with power steering and no AC.
>
> To the problem...
>
> The car stalls. It only stalls when warm, and only when coming to a
> stop. To be exact, only after coming to a stop. Sometimes it does not
> stall, but almost stalls, then recovers. Sometimes is almost stalls,
> then recovers and over revs, then almost stalls again. Back and Forth.
> Sometimes it fixes itself, other times it stalls. Most of the time,
> it immediately settles down to idle as it should, but at least once per
> trip it will act up. It will sometimes stall with a gentle throttle
> blip at idle as well.
>
> The problem first started occurring when I had to back the car down a
> hill into my driveway. The problem continues and seems to get slightly
> worse all the time.
>
> The car always starts immediately after a stall. The check engine
> light is not on, and the ECU is not showing any codes. I have cleaned
> the injectors, replaced plugs, rotor, cap, fuel and air filter. Every
> time I do something nice for the car, it behaves for about one tank of
> gas, then it acts up again. It happens when it is hot out, and when it
> is cold, on summer gas and on winter gas, full tank and empty tank. On
> high octane and low octane. Even though it happens regularly, I cannot
> force the event to occur.
>
> The dealer says they cannot do anything unless it stalls for them.
> Does anyone have any idea what might be the cause of this? With this
> exception, the car feels great and the engine is strong.
>
> I appreciate any help or suggestions.
>
> Thanks.
>
> -Paul
>
if it's a function of braking, check the one-way valve on the brake
servo or the vacuum line for leaks.

My Civic also stall. First during the warming up, the RPM surge then
hesitate all the time, then settle down. During the stoping at stop
sign, sometimes I feel the tiny bit
of staling l, not the major install. It's so tiny stalling that I just
ignore. I've seen many
stall problem on Honda that i think it's just normal as long it does
not effect on
driving. My stalling hardly effect on driving.

If you determine it's not the brake assist check valve, get a cheap
diagnostic fuel pressure gauge (compatible with fuel injection
pressures - not the 6-10 psi gauge) and tape it to the windshield. If
the fuel pressure dips when you slam on the brakes, it could be
something in the fuel tank (pump pickup, etc).

"Paul" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hi.
>
> My car has developed a problem that I cannot find a solution to. It is
> a 1991 Honda Civic Special Edition (Canadian Model), 1.5L, 180,000kms.
> It is basically a DX with power steering and no AC.
>
> To the problem...
>
> The car stalls. It only stalls when warm, and only when coming to a
> stop. To be exact, only after coming to a stop. Sometimes it does not
> stall, but almost stalls, then recovers. Sometimes is almost stalls,
> then recovers and over revs, then almost stalls again. Back and Forth.
> Sometimes it fixes itself, other times it stalls. Most of the time,
> it immediately settles down to idle as it should, but at least once per
> trip it will act up. It will sometimes stall with a gentle throttle
> blip at idle as well.
>
> The problem first started occurring when I had to back the car down a
> hill into my driveway. The problem continues and seems to get slightly
> worse all the time.
>
> The car always starts immediately after a stall. The check engine
> light is not on, and the ECU is not showing any codes. I have cleaned
> the injectors, replaced plugs, rotor, cap, fuel and air filter. Every
> time I do something nice for the car, it behaves for about one tank of
> gas, then it acts up again. It happens when it is hot out, and when it
> is cold, on summer gas and on winter gas, full tank and empty tank. On
> high octane and low octane. Even though it happens regularly, I cannot
> force the event to occur.
>
> The dealer says they cannot do anything unless it stalls for them.
> Does anyone have any idea what might be the cause of this? With this
> exception, the car feels great and the engine is strong.
>
> I appreciate any help or suggestions.
>
> Thanks.
>
> -Paul
>
I don't know if this applies to Hondas, but if it is an automatic tranny
with a lockup torque converter that symptom can mean a bad lockup solenoid.
For that problem, in addition to stalling there is a feeling of shuddering
(instead of dying away) when coming to a stop, just like leaving the clutch
engaged too long on a manual tranny.

Otherwise, I like "scromwell2's" recommendation with a fuel pressure guage.
It would answer a range of questions.

Mike

In article .com>,
says...
> The car stalls. It only stalls when warm, and only when coming to a
> stop. To be exact, only after coming to a stop. Sometimes it does not
> stall, but almost stalls, then recovers. Sometimes is almost stalls,
> then recovers and over revs, then almost stalls again. Back and Forth.
> Sometimes it fixes itself, other times it stalls. Most of the time,
> it immediately settles down to idle as it should, but at least once per
> trip it will act up. It will sometimes stall with a gentle throttle
> blip at idle as well.
>
--
Years and years ago I owned a Honda CVCC wagon, 1976 I think. This car
had an interlock between the oil pressure sensor and the fuel pump, to
"protect" you from driving the car with low oil pressure. Of course,
when the oil pressure sensor started getting flaky, the car would stall
because the fuel pump would stop working. Took a couple of trips to the
mechanic to figure that one out. Don't know if Honda engines still have
this "feature", but it's worth asking about.
--

Jerry Maple
General Dynamics C4 Systems
Scottsdale, AZ
--

Honda has the lockup solenoid on top of the tranny. Its look like two
cylinders and a filter underneath it. Take it out and has a deep clean.

Good lick


"Michael Pardee" > wrote in message
...
> "Paul" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > Hi.
> >
> > My car has developed a problem that I cannot find a solution to. It is
> > a 1991 Honda Civic Special Edition (Canadian Model), 1.5L, 180,000kms.
> > It is basically a DX with power steering and no AC.
> >
> > To the problem...
> >
> > The car stalls. It only stalls when warm, and only when coming to a
> > stop. To be exact, only after coming to a stop. Sometimes it does not
> > stall, but almost stalls, then recovers. Sometimes is almost stalls,
> > then recovers and over revs, then almost stalls again. Back and Forth.
> > Sometimes it fixes itself, other times it stalls. Most of the time,
> > it immediately settles down to idle as it should, but at least once per
> > trip it will act up. It will sometimes stall with a gentle throttle
> > blip at idle as well.
> >
> > The problem first started occurring when I had to back the car down a
> > hill into my driveway. The problem continues and seems to get slightly
> > worse all the time.
> >
> > The car always starts immediately after a stall. The check engine
> > light is not on, and the ECU is not showing any codes. I have cleaned
> > the injectors, replaced plugs, rotor, cap, fuel and air filter. Every
> > time I do something nice for the car, it behaves for about one tank of
> > gas, then it acts up again. It happens when it is hot out, and when it
> > is cold, on summer gas and on winter gas, full tank and empty tank. On
> > high octane and low octane. Even though it happens regularly, I cannot
> > force the event to occur.
> >
> > The dealer says they cannot do anything unless it stalls for them.
> > Does anyone have any idea what might be the cause of this? With this
> > exception, the car feels great and the engine is strong.
> >
> > I appreciate any help or suggestions.
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > -Paul
> >
> I don't know if this applies to Hondas, but if it is an automatic tranny
> with a lockup torque converter that symptom can mean a bad lockup
solenoid.
> For that problem, in addition to stalling there is a feeling of shuddering
> (instead of dying away) when coming to a stop, just like leaving the
clutch
> engaged too long on a manual tranny.
>
> Otherwise, I like "scromwell2's" recommendation with a fuel pressure
guage.
> It would answer a range of questions.
>
> Mike
>
>