Engine falls flat upon acceleration

[cpbaker]

My son has an '89 civic 1.5. When he steps on the accelerator, it falls flat and then just chugs. It starts good and idles good, just can't push on the gas pedal without it chugging. It looks like it's getting plenty of fuel. The top injector is puting out plenty of fuel.
Can someone give me some ideas what to look for?

[Hybrid1990crx]

spark. check to see if the plugs are fouled.

[91civichatch2571]

may sound dumb, but have you checked the air filter?

[88_SC_CRX_Si]

Originally Posted by cpbaker

It looks like it's getting plenty of fuel. The top injector is puting out plenty of fuel.
Can someone give me some ideas what to look for?

That may be the problem, it's flooding out on you. Might be time to have the fuel pressure and regualtor checked, for too much pressure in the system. There was also something about those injectors, would tend to leak around the seam. Also, when was the timing last checked...

[cpbaker]

Thanks for the info.
Here's what we have already done.

Removed the air cleaner
Disconnected the top injector (no change), can the lower one flood it?
Changed plugs and wires
Cleaned the throttle body
Checked the lines (air & fuel)
Checked catilytic converter to make sure it's not plugged

My son says he checked the cam timing marks. He changed the belt some time back, but it ran just fine for a while. I want to open it back up and check it one more time, and also check the valve lash.

[88_SC_CRX_Si]

Has the plugs been pulled sense this has been happening, if so how did they look as far color goes...?

[bambam89lx]

the upper injector is only the auxillary injector. You're not going to feel any change by removing that one. That injector is only programmed to spit fuel near or around 3k RPM. The lower one which is the main injector is on all the time. It wierd but technically, dx's only run on one injector till it hits a certain rpm point...then the auxillary injector kicks in...sorta like a mini vtec.
Do you have a check engine light? If so, look at the ECU and count the blinks.

[cpbaker]

Interesting, the top injector starts squirting a little just off idle..

OK, here is what I have done today...
Mind you, this is not my car and I'm not familiar with a honda...LOL

I checked the code: It blinked 16 short times. I checked it several times to make sure I saw it right...
I removed the injectors and cleaned them as best I could.. No difference. It will not run above idle, just chugs... And still 16 blinks...
I disconnected the bottom injector and it ran the same. Still idled but chugged off idle. Injector?
I also tried pouring a little fuel down the intake while opening the throttle to see if it needed more. No luck - flooded it...

Oh, and it seems to have plenty of vacuum...

Originally Posted by bambam89lx

the upper injector is only the auxillary injector. You're not going to feel any change by removing that one. That injector is only programmed to spit fuel near or around 3k RPM. The lower one which is the main injector is on all the time. It wierd but technically, dx's only run on one injector till it hits a certain rpm point...then the auxillary injector kicks in...sorta like a mini vtec.
Do you have a check engine light? If so, look at the ECU and count the blinks.

[cpbaker]

OK, my son just showed up. I showed him what I found. He showed me that if you reset the computer, there are no error codes. There are NO error codes after resetting the computer. Now I'm lost again...

[88_SC_CRX_Si]

Just keep an eye on it, thats all you can do right now, and it's really not that uncommon. To reset the ECU and have the code(s) go away...

When you pulled that one injector, the ECU went into "Limp Mode" and just used the remaining one full time. Thats probably why you did not notice any real change at first.

Here are some things to check "if" it comes back - Code 16 is probably the Main Relay, however it could still mean a Bad Injector or Resistor Box tho.

[bambam89lx]

I would say to replace the main relay since it seems as tho ur injectors are working and you don't have an injector resistor box. (it was only utilized in the si and not the dx). Oh yah, that code 16 isn't anything to worry about, I'm sure it only appeared after you undid the injector plug.

[cpbaker]

Can you tell me where the Main relay is??

As far as the Code, I think you're right. It must have came on after I unplugged it, just didn't realize the computer had a memory and had to be erased...

[Setanta]

There's a ton of info on removing and repairing/replacing the main relay here:

http://www.google.com/search?q=civic...utf-8&oe=utf-8

Cheers

[cpbaker]

Thanks, I'll check it out today...


And WOW!!! 4500 posts? WOW!!!

[WindyIce]

I had a similair problem. My car would boog around 3k rpm. Decided to swap my main relay for it has to do with the fuel pump. Fixed the problem. Went and picked it up from the dealer for 45. Problem fixed..................