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#1
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95 Honda Civic Hesitation/shaking when accelerating
1995 Honda Civic EX 1.6L VTEC
173,000 miles The other day I noticed that on the way to work in the morning, my car had a very hard time accelerating (felt like it was going to stall). It happened only one time though during that trip. I had driven about 2 miles and was departing from stop light. It drove fine the rest of the day. The same thing happened the next day at the exact same spot. Then the next day it did the same thing at the same spot but this time it didn't go away. It seems to idle ok most of the time. The skipping/hesitation/shaking occurs only when accelerating and at all gears, The check engine light has not come on at all. I replaced the fuel filter and that did nothing. I replaced the 02 sensor within the last two years, and when that went bad my check engine light came on and I noticed different syptoms. I don't think it is the 02 sensor. The TPS is getting the proper voltage. I have replaced the TPS in another car that had similar trouble and that fixed it. This TPS is much more difficult to replace and test because it is part of the throttle body. I don't think my car has a EGR valve so that can't be an issue. If it does have one, I don't know where it is. I have been using fuel injector cleaner. I recently had a leak in the radiator which caused my car to overheat. I stopped driving it as soon as I noticed it overheating. I used bars-leaks sealer to fix the leaks in the radiator and flushed the coolant system. no more leaks and the cooling system seems to be working fine now. I tried to get all the air out using the bleeder valve. I am mentioning this because It could be related. Another thing that might be related: a few months ago my car would not start after sitting out in heavy rain. this seems to happen every once in a while now. Usually only if it is a very heavy rain and even then not always. When that happens, I spray the wires/distributor/etc. with WD-40 and wait a few minutes. It usually starts after that. I don't know what to check next. I want to spend as little as possible. I don't know that much about cars, but I am willing to put some effort into this if it saves me money. I would appreciate any help I can get. Thanks, Jacob |
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#2
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95 Honda Civic Hesitation/shaking when accelerating
Jacob wrote:
> 1995 Honda Civic EX 1.6L VTEC > 173,000 miles > > The other day I noticed that on the way to work in the morning, my car > had a very hard time accelerating (felt like it was going to stall). > It happened only one time though during that trip. I had driven about > 2 miles and was departing from stop light. It drove fine the rest of > the day. The same thing happened the next day at the exact same spot. > Then the next day it did the same thing at the same spot but this time > it didn't go away. It seems to idle ok most of the time. The > skipping/hesitation/shaking occurs only when accelerating and at all > gears, > > The check engine light has not come on at all. > > I replaced the fuel filter and that did nothing. > > I replaced the 02 sensor within the last two years, and when that went > bad my check engine light came on and I noticed different syptoms. I > don't think it is the 02 sensor. > > The TPS is getting the proper voltage. I have replaced the TPS in > another car that had similar trouble and that fixed it. This TPS is > much more difficult to replace and test because it is part of the > throttle body. > > I don't think my car has a EGR valve so that can't be an issue. If it > does have one, I don't know where it is. > > I have been using fuel injector cleaner. > > I recently had a leak in the radiator which caused my car to overheat. > I stopped driving it as soon as I noticed it overheating. I used > bars-leaks sealer to fix the leaks in the radiator and flushed the > coolant system. no more leaks and the cooling system seems to be > working fine now. I tried to get all the air out using the bleeder > valve. I am mentioning this because It could be related. > > Another thing that might be related: a few months ago my car would not > start after sitting out in heavy rain. this seems to happen every once > in a while now. Usually only if it is a very heavy rain and even then > not always. When that happens, I spray the wires/distributor/etc. > with WD-40 and wait a few minutes. It usually starts after that. > > I don't know what to check next. I want to spend as little as > possible. I don't know that much about cars, but I am willing to put > some effort into this if it saves me money. I would appreciate any > help I can get. > > Thanks, > > Jacob > my money's on an ignition lead/distributor cap problem - had something similar on mine recently. new plug leads, problem completely gone. ymmv, but check them out. |
#3
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95 Honda Civic Hesitation/shaking when accelerating
Are the ignition wires, distributor cap and rotor OEM (=
genuine Honda)? How old are they in miles and years? This sure leaps out at me. Some very good hints (and cheap ones) appear at http://tegger.com/hondafaq/startproblems.html To be complete: Is the oxygen sensor an OEM one? But I agree one should get a Check Engine Light for a bad O2 sensor given the severity of the symptoms. You are correct about the EGR system: Your Civic does not have one. What do you mean you "tried" to get all the air out? What did you do? The procedure for an air purge of your 95 Civic cooling system is free online at the manuals at Autozone.com and http://www.honda.co.uk/car/owner/workshop.html . This should cost you nothing in parts and just a bit of time, labor-wise. I would do it. The fan may take as long as 40 minutes to come on during this procedure, even on a warm day. "Jacob" > wrote > 1995 Honda Civic EX 1.6L VTEC > 173,000 miles > > The other day I noticed that on the way to work in the > morning, my car > had a very hard time accelerating (felt like it was going > to stall). > It happened only one time though during that trip. I had > driven about > 2 miles and was departing from stop light. It drove fine > the rest of > the day. The same thing happened the next day at the > exact same spot. > Then the next day it did the same thing at the same spot > but this time > it didn't go away. It seems to idle ok most of the time. > The > skipping/hesitation/shaking occurs only when accelerating > and at all > gears, > > The check engine light has not come on at all. > > I replaced the fuel filter and that did nothing. > > I replaced the 02 sensor within the last two years, and > when that went > bad my check engine light came on and I noticed different > syptoms. I > don't think it is the 02 sensor. > > The TPS is getting the proper voltage. I have replaced > the TPS in > another car that had similar trouble and that fixed it. > This TPS is > much more difficult to replace and test because it is part > of the > throttle body. > > I don't think my car has a EGR valve so that can't be an > issue. If it > does have one, I don't know where it is. > > I have been using fuel injector cleaner. > > I recently had a leak in the radiator which caused my car > to overheat. > I stopped driving it as soon as I noticed it overheating. > I used > bars-leaks sealer to fix the leaks in the radiator and > flushed the > coolant system. no more leaks and the cooling system > seems to be > working fine now. I tried to get all the air out using > the bleeder > valve. I am mentioning this because It could be related. > > Another thing that might be related: a few months ago my > car would not > start after sitting out in heavy rain. this seems to > happen every once > in a while now. Usually only if it is a very heavy rain > and even then > not always. When that happens, I spray the > wires/distributor/etc. > with WD-40 and wait a few minutes. It usually starts > after that. > > I don't know what to check next. I want to spend as > little as > possible. I don't know that much about cars, but I am > willing to put > some effort into this if it saves me money. I would > appreciate any > help I can get. > > Thanks, > > Jacob > |
#4
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95 Honda Civic Hesitation/shaking when accelerating
Thanks for the prompt response.
As far as I know, the distributor cap, rotor, wires etc. are all the original parts. I don't remember the brand of the oxygen sensor. I just bought the cheapest one I could get. I flushed the radiator following the manual. I used the bleeder valve to let the air bubbles out until coolant came out in a steady stream. the heat was working, no strange idling, and the fan kicked on. So it seems like my next step would be to replace the leads and distributor cap...? is it possible to replace the rotor and/or coil without replacing the entire distributor. Should I consider replacing these as well or just try the wires and cap first? Elle wrote: |
#5
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95 Honda Civic Hesitation/shaking when accelerating
Jacob wrote:
> Thanks for the prompt response. > > As far as I know, the distributor cap, rotor, wires etc. are all the > original parts. I don't remember the brand of the oxygen sensor. I > just bought the cheapest one I could get. > > I flushed the radiator following the manual. I used the bleeder valve > to let the air bubbles out until coolant came out in a steady stream. > the heat was working, no strange idling, and the fan kicked on. > > So it seems like my next step would be to replace the leads and > distributor cap...? is it possible to replace the rotor and/or coil > without replacing the entire distributor. Should I consider replacing > these as well or just try the wires and cap first? > If the O2 sensor was the "cheapest one" you could get, I would consider that to be a likely suspect. Non-OEM O2 sensors are known for not working properly in Hondas. The distributor cap and rotor should be replaced for good measure too, and they don't cost much. |
#6
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95 Honda Civic Hesitation/shaking when accelerating
I have had no problem with the 02 sensor. In fact, I drove with no 02
sensor for a while and my car did not behave as badly as it is now. I'm not ruling it out, but I hope it isnt. I couldn't change it by myself last time because it had become one with the manifold, and I don't have the tools to do that. Thanks for your advice. I will get a distributor cap and a rotor. How difficult is it to get the rotor off? I couldn't readily see how it disconnected when I looked at it. Do you think it would be wise to try replacing just the cap and rotor before buying the wires? I guess there is no harm in trying one thing at a time. looking at the distributor cap, I find it hard to believe that it is what's causing this problem. there is nothing to it. I cleaned it off with some contact cleaner. I feel like there is something else, like the coil. I dont know. |
#7
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95 Honda Civic Hesitation/shaking when accelerating
"Jacob" > wrote
> Thanks for the prompt response. > > As far as I know, the distributor cap, rotor, wires etc. > are all the > original parts. Then they are highly suspect. Routinely replacing these ignition parts (cap, rotor, wires, and plugs), along with a quick check of the timing, is a modern tune-up these days. Do read the part of Tegger's site I linked before! It has some quick and dirty checks you can do to see if the wires are bad. If you have a multimeter, check that the resistance of each wires is under 15k ohms. The distributor cap is a big deal. It transmits high current to the wires. An imperceptible crack in it, for one, will cause bad running etc. There are metal parts in it that conduct electricity and can easily become messed up. Newbies in particular are known to slap these one and bust off a main electrical conductor. Slide it on in a horizontal plane, carefully. > I don't remember the brand of the oxygen sensor. I > just bought the cheapest one I could get. That is something to consider then. High Tech Misfit is correct re the reports of non-OEM oxygen sensors. See http://home.earthlink.net/~honda.lioness/id9.html for three OEM online Honda parts places that will beat your local dealer's prices for OEM parts. Also, there's a link to a great OEM oxygen sensor online store. I've used all these places. Lately I'm using the Colorado store a lot, because over $50, shipping is 10% of the order. That's the best deal for shipping. > I flushed the radiator following the manual. I used the > bleeder valve > to let the air bubbles out until coolant came out in a > steady stream. > the heat was working, no strange idling, and the fan > kicked on. > > So it seems like my next step would be to replace the > leads and > distributor cap...? is it possible to replace the rotor > and/or coil > without replacing the entire distributor. Should I > consider replacing > these as well or just try the wires and cap first? I would start with the wires, plugs, and cap. You should do the rotor at some point. Buy only OEM for these parts. (Note: I am frugal, but I learned the hard way that paying a little more up front for OEM distributor parts ensures the car drives longer.) Your owner's manual should recommend NGK plugs and maybe one or two other brands. Use the ones it recommends. Lots here like NGKs. No need to go platinum. It's very important to maintain these particular parts in near new condition, else the coil will be overloaded and its life, shortened. You certainly do not need to replace the whole distributor. Note that the "whole distributor" includes the following parts which are all ultimately replaced on older Hondas: Distributor Housing (bearing, among other things, often goes bad) Ignition Coil Igniter Cap Rotor Here's a nice exploded view of the distributor: http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...=DIS TRIBUTOR |
#8
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95 Honda Civic Hesitation/shaking when accelerating
I just finished installing a new distributor cap and rotor. It made
things worse. now my car idles poorly. You can hear sputtering coming from my tailpipe. It's a very erradic idle. up and down. It almost sounds like it's going to stall at some points. I have no trouble starting the car though. I made sure the cooling system was bled properly. I let my car idle for almost an hour. It took a long time for the fan to come on but it did twice. I did not see any arching when I looked at the wires while it was running in the dark. I tried checking the wires (which I did not yet replace) with an ohm meter. I don't know what the problem is, but I cannot get any continuity accross any of the wires. I put one lead in the spark plug end, making sure I had contact with metal, and I put the other lead on the distributor end touching metal, and nothing. The meter did nothing. I even stuck a screwdriver into the sparkplug end to make sure I was toughing the right park of metal. I don't see how the car would be running if there was no continuity at all, so i must be doing something wrong. I guess I could try replacing the wires, but I hate to keep throwing money at this and only making it worse. Thanks for your help though. I appreciate all the information. and I would appreciate anymore help you can provide me with. |
#9
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95 Honda Civic Hesitation/shaking when accelerating
CORRECTION: I had the ohm meter on the 200k setting, which is why I
could not get a reading. I didn't expect the resistance to be so high. I tested them on the 20k setting and got 7.0 ~ 10.0 for all the wires. I assume that is ok, since I read that below 25k is good. I wiggled them around and the resistance did not change much. |
#10
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95 Honda Civic Hesitation/shaking when accelerating
Yes, those are good ohm readings for the wires.
Did you put in new NGK plugs? If possible, check the timing. You need a timing light to do so. If these don't fix it, then the non-OEM O2 sensor is still a candidate for the cause of this, IMO. This is despite what you wrote about the car's performance without it, etc. A new, OEM one is about $70 total at the site I gave earlier. I know you don't buy that... "Jacob" > wrote > CORRECTION: I had the ohm meter on the 200k setting, > which is why I > could not get a reading. I didn't expect the resistance > to be so high. > I tested them on the 20k setting and got 7.0 ~ 10.0 for > all the wires. > I assume that is ok, since I read that below 25k is good. > I wiggled > them around and the resistance did not change much. > |
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