Help! weird buzz when acclering

okay here is the problem..everytime i step on the gas pedal there would this is really faint (almost can't hear it when you roll down the windows) buzz..like the sound a computer makes...it's worrying me i was jus wondering what i should do..any ideas?

have you done anything to your exhaust at all? i started getting that noise when i accelerate after i took out the stock exhaust man. and cat. i hear it mostly around 2-2.5k, after that it either goes away or the exhaust sound overpowers it. and i gave up trying to figure it out. im gonna be putting in a pair of silencers, hope that helps.

actully yeah i just got a new exhaust (not loud one) but not new cat. conv...

but it seems to be coming from the engine or the front of the car

same here. it sounds like its coming from the fornt somewhere. but when i stand up front and rev the motor, i dont hear anything. so i know its coming from under the car. sounds like it coming from under the seats, which is right about where the cat is. but i put in new gaskets and made sure everything was tight. but the noise is still there.

if you ever figure it out, lemme know

does your engine light come on when u press gas pedal really hard when its making that sound? mine did..;(

no mine never did. and also what i was thinking it could be coming from, is that flexpipe shit thats before the collector.

does ur engine light stays on after it comes on??? or it goes away????

Could this buzzing sound be described as a "ticking/clicking" sound? If so, exhaust leak...Check under your car, all along your exhaust track, see if there's any black sooty buildup anywhere...

the eng light came on then i stopped the engine and then it went off n didn't come back on

no i dont think it's the muffler cuz i just replaced it 2 weeks ago

i had the same problem with my civic
u get the tiny buzzing sound when u step on the gas, then after a while, for no reason, ur engine light comes on...........u turn off the car, and restart, it's off again

in a few weeks, ur car will start to feel like it's back firing.......... because ur timing will go off

it's ur distributor

i tried alot of things trying to figure it out..........but i finally found that it's my distributor when i hooked it up to the machine. some pin inside was broken............i think i rode it for another 10K b4 i fixed it thought........the distributor cause my timing belt to be off

i paid $400 cdn for a new distributor because i cant find any at all at any junk yards. it's a pricy part, but i put it on myself........so that saved quite a bit of money

hope that helps

thanks buddy..but im ssad now so much $$ into it

is it hard to install a new one? can you please tell me how to do it?

first of all, u gotta hook ur car up to a machine to see if it's the distributor b4 u go and spend the $$$ on another one, most places charge about $75

it's pretty to install on my civic (mine's a 93, if ur's diff, it might vary a bit). basically, there is 3 (or 4) bolts holding them in. use a sharp marker and outline ur distributor.......remove the bolts and distributor, replace with new one and align it to the outline. reinstall the bolts.......if u do it right, u're 99% timed....but u still need to time ur car so it runs perfectly.........

took me all about 15 min to do it........and i've never done it b4........

thanks buddy you're great help
but can i describe the problem to u in more detail?
okay this is what happens
when you rev it in neutral that sound doesn't seem to be apparent
when you step on the gas pedal around with some force the sound will increase the more you step on the gas
if you let go of the gas a little bit (while still acclerating slowly) the sound stops

is this what happened to ur card?

I know exactly what you're talking about "onetrushyguy" !!! I posted this question up a few days ago and didn't get too many responses, but i checked out everything from the responses and none of them helped =( I personally think it's the amount of airflow through the exhaust that makes that sound, because i had that proble when i first put on my exhaust, but i got a whole new piping system (2.5" from downpipe to exhaust) and the problem went away. Then i just installed some headers which changes the amount of airflow and now the sound is back and more annoying than other. It always happens when istart off in first gear between 2.0 - 2.5 RPM's and then diminishes. It never does it when i Rev the engine in neutral. But i'm going to install larger piping in my car this weekend and see if it helps the airflow. I'll keep you updated just in case you would like to know the outcome.

well are you sure? becuaes it seems to b coming from the front of the engines

what size piping are you going to??? unless you have something amazing under the hood, you didnt even need 2.5", going larger wont fix anything. as Self said, its an exhaust leak. and it is coming from the front somewhere, somewhere between the downpipe and the cat. and its not coming from the engine bay or the muffler.

for my problem started when i hear this buzzing sound........it's very faint, and u can only hear it when u roll down the window.........u can hear it better when u're actually on the gas than when it's idling.......

at first i thought it was my cold air but they sound a bit different.

my engine light starts to come on at random times.......sometimes it comes on when i'm on the highway, sometimes when i'm idling, others when i'm driving really slow.......the light will go off when i shut off the car and restart it, but sometimes it comes back on (at random again)....

then my car starts to feel like it's backfiring..........doesnt matter if i'm accelerating or cruising.........and it goes thru all gears.......

i finally paid to get my car hooked up to the machine and they found my timing was off and that it was my distributor was the problem........so i replaced it

try idling ur car and listen on the passenger side of the engine (right above the transmission).......i think u'll hear it better from there..........

the buzzing noise sounds like the fan scraping across an flat object.......but at very rapid speed, so it makes that continuous buzzing noise.........

as for ur sound when accelerating hard and off a bit.........it was the same thing that happened to me.........step harder, it sounds more continous and faintly louder........u let go a bit.......it sounds like it's going slower

p.s. i'm not sure if changing ur exhaust will actually cause ur engine lights to come on thought :)

thanks for your help but can you explain to me what happens when the car you have backfires?

also im wondering could this be the air filter or spark plugs? would they hav effect like this?

basically, the distributor caused my timing to be off, that why it felt like it was backfiring...........

air filter wont have any affect on it..........i tried the spark plugs.......didnt help, but u can try..........i tried the borsch quad and ngk platinum.........

does backfiring meaning the car would go shaking for a little as if you're pumping the acclerator up and down quickly?

did it also feel like it losing power when going up hills?

it just feels like the car is jerking.........i didnt feel much as in losing power........

hmm chances are it's prolly my disturbtor right?

and you said it was like this for over a year?
didnt it hurt the engine?

ur best thing to do right now is to get ur car hooked up to the machine........they can tell u for sure what's wrong instead of spending too much $$$ on the wrong things

it didnt hurt my car, but it would have if it kept going (because the timing was off)..........it's something u wanna fix right away

but you drove it for 1 year without doing anything to it?

no, i drove it about 10K which is like 4 months for me........since i drive alot......it's not really good for ur engine..........i was lucky my engine wasnt harmed

Originally posted by moondawgy
at first i thought it was my cold air but they sound a bit different.


Im new to the scene and im SURE i havent seen this around the forums before.
Does your cold air make a small buzzing sound simular to the one everyone is talking about here?