Del Sol, Acting Up, Any idea's?

Hi-
I just acquired *another* Del Sol, along with a problem..
Okay, here it goes.. it's a '93 SI, and you can be driving it, say on the interstate, and holding a steady speed at say 3k RPM, the tach hand jumps from 3K RMP, to 3500 RPM and above, then all of the sudden it starts dropping and skipping to 1k RPM and less and the car will die. It'll sit there for a few minutes, then crank and run again for 15-20 and do the same thing over again. I just put a new main relay, and I can hear the fuel pump 'click' so I know it's getting gas. Could it be the distributor? Car has 73000 actual miles.

One thing this problem is NOT is distributor related. The fact that you can drive it for a few minutes at a time and then have it stall sounds to me like you've got a problem based somewhere in engine or coolant temperature, like a faulty sensor deciding to choke the engine when it senses a temperature incorrectly (That was just an example). There are other folks on here that know more about this stuff than I do. Probably best to either call a dealer's service garage and see if you can get suggestions over the phone (i.e. free), or wait for someone with more knowledge to post. :)

Perhaps something in your clutch system is in dire need of replacement. Like there's no friction to keep the flywheel spinning and the motor running.

Have you also checked your spark plugs and wires to see if everything's firing correctly? Or run some fuel injector cleaner to make sure the injectors aren't clogging?

definatly a dealership problem....take it to them and have them look at it. I was thinking clutch too, but she wouldn't have to wait a few minutes for it to crank again if it were that.

Well I clean all the connections under the hood (sprayed them with "No flash") even the ones under the distributor cap, put on a NEW main relay and have put 300 miles on it and it has not done anything yet. Why would you guys think it was a clutch problem? I never thought that ...><

Privatebigandrew// Plastic Fork
Hmm.. I see why you guys might think it was a clutch problem, but let me explain a bit more. The car would be cruising fine at say 60 MPH ( 3K on the tach or so).. The tach would fluctuate form 3k (my cruising speed) to 3500-4000, anywhere in there BUT I would feel no clutch slippage (the car keep the same speed (no surging at all).Then, as I went on, the engine started dying (be doing 60MPH @3K RPM) and the cars engine dyed (tach went to '0', but the ebgine picked back up ran a while and did the same thing until it would not pick up and quite on the roadside. (Where I could get outside and tap on a few things and would be fine. Yesterday, I did all the stuff I described in my last post. Think it could have been some bad gas? I personally don't think that is what it was. It has been doing fine for the last 300 miles or so.

BTW, How exactly can you tell if you need a clutch? Mine feels fine and no slippage but you have to let way out on the lever for it to move any? Wonder why they put wet clutches on them and not cable, seems like it would be less of a pain in the rear???

R1Gal

As more of the clutch surface is worn away over time, the grab point of the clutch will get farther out until you'll have to let the pedal out almost all the way before it starts to grab. Eventually, the clutch will start to slip.. Try to take it into 5th while going up an incline, let your speed go down a bit and then hit the gas. If your clutch starts to slip (the tach goes up but you don't feel an according amount of pull), then that's one sign your clutch either needs replaced or you need to get your hydraulics looked at/adjusted.

I don't know why they don't use a cable anymore.. I'm sure there's a good reason, but I don't have it. :)

If it's not a clutch problem, my second guess would be a sensor or ECU issue (or a combination thereof). Andrew's right though - take it to a dealership and see if they can pull a code or determine the problem.

Plastic Fork-
Thanks! I have had no more problems so far with it. (Been driving the shiznit out of it), but have another Q? My check engine lights never came on or anything but,Does it have to be comming on before you can check the codes (if you wanted to do it yourself) or at the dealer? Or say you were having a problem like I was (check engine light never came on) Can you still take it and have the code checked (to pinpoint the problem)? In other words, does the check engine light have to be comming on before yuo can accurately check the codes? Gezz, 3 Sol's and a Hatchback .....apparently I know nothing about them :-) Lol

If your CEL (check engine light) isn't on when things go wrong, either the previous owner "modified" it so it won't, the bulb's burned out, or it's not an issue the ECU can detect. Might be a sensor problem then.

For the dealership to pull a code, they have to connect a little code dealie thing up to the ECU itself to read the codes. I don't think it has to have a CEL to have an error code but I could be wrong.

I consider myself a novice still, so if you want better info than I can give I suggest you register at the Team Sol forum in my signature and ask there. Those guys know a lot about Honda's - and it's Del Sol specific as well.

PF-

Thanks 'Ma man!

i had a similar problem... Try checking your timming belt it may have jumped a tooth