'88 Civic runs great for at least 20 minutes, then hesitates and stalls...

[annointed]

I bought an '88 Honda Civic 1.5 liter fuel injected hatchback w/4 speed tranny this week. The previous owner was told it suffers from vapor lock, but I don't think this is the issue the car has.

It can drive for up to an hour like a champ, and always starts up fine. But at some point after driving at least 20 minutes, it suddenly starts hiccuping, and hesisitating while cruising or accelerating. This gets more and more severe, until the car stalls out completely. It will start back up for a bit, but progressively gets worse until it won't even start back up. If its given time to cool down, it will start up and run like a champ again. I'm planning to check if its getting proper fuel and spark this week, but wanted check in to see if anyone else here has experienced this problem, and what the remedy was.

Her service records indicate that the distributer rotor, cap, and ignition coil was replaced in '02 due to customer complaint of "bucking." Six months later, she has a reciept from another shop complaining of "bucking" again, and they replaced the o2 sensor, plugs, wires, and called it a day. Then another shop diagnosed vapor lock, but she didn't have them fix anything. The ingitor was also replaced in '99.

I don't see the fuel pump ever being replaced, and it seems like I can keep the motor running for a bit when its trying to stall by spraying Carb cleaner in the throttle body, so I'm thinking of finding a fuel pump at a local junkyard, and trying that out.

Thanks.

[darolh]

A fuel injected car is unlikely to get vapor lock. When I had symptoms somewhat similar to vapor lock, it turned out to be a bad main relay. When it got warm it wouldn't pass enough current to keep things (like the fuel pump) going.

Other things to consider: Bad fuel pump, or.....rust in fuel tank. The rust gets sloshed around and on the pickup screen from the suction. Eventually it blocks the pickup. When you shut the car down the rust falls off the pickup and you begin the process again when you start up.

A "real" mechanic would have checked the fuel pressure.


I'm willing to go for the main relay over the fuel pump. It's cheaper too.

[darolh]

Check out the fuel filter thread started by vesper.

[annointed]

Hmmm...good point, and easy enough way to confirm fuel delivery. Guess this is my excuse to go buy a fuel pressure gauge. How many psi does the system normally operate at? IIRC, most new Subarus operate at 3 bar, but obviously I'm in a different world now (Honda)

Your point about rust in the tank is good too, this car is pretty rusty.

Also, where is the main relay, behind the dash? I'll have to do a search on this tomorrow, I'm sure others have posted about the exact location of it.

Also, I'll check out the fuel filter thread you mentioned. Its valuable posts like yours that motivate me to seek out these forums when I need help. Thank you.

Mark

[alexdog69]

It sounds like you need to replace the ignitor in the distributor.

It's the small electronic unit used to provide the ECU with control over ignition timing.

[alexdog69]

Honda ignitors are known for problems, particulary on the 4G Civic. If I am not mistaken, there was a recall and a dealer TSB #93-028 covering this part.

Here is some information you may find useful:
http://www.markl.f9.co.uk/howto/elec...er/igniter.htm

If your ignitor is like the one shown being removed from the distributor in those pictures... i.e. a Black Hitachi unit... then it is the original part.

If it is a brown unit, marked NEC, then it is the updated part.... however, it may still be bad.

If you have the black Hitachi unit, you MAY be eligible for a free replacement from the dealer... but I doubt they will want to acknowledge that right easily.

[annointed]

Originally Posted by alexdog69

Honda ignitors are known for problems, particulary on the 4G Civic. If I am not mistaken, there was a recall and a dealer TSB #93-028 covering this part.

Here is some information you may find useful:
http://www.markl.f9.co.uk/howto/elec...er/igniter.htm

If your ignitor is like the one shown being removed from the distributor in those pictures... i.e. a Black Hitachi unit... then it is the original part.

If it is a brown unit, marked NEC, then it is the updated part.... however, it may still be bad.

If you have the black Hitachi unit, you MAY be eligible for a free replacement from the dealer... but I doubt they will want to acknowledge that right easily.

Hmmm...thanks for that info...and lo and behold, here's a factory ignitor for 4G Civics on Ebay for $19.99:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2448884230

Considering shipping and insurance brings it to $30 for a used ignitor in "very good" condition, I'm probably better off finding one in a junkyard, anyway. First I'll check to see if its the Hitachi factory ignitor, and try to get it covered as a recall item. After all, the Honda dealer is 3 minutes down from where I work...