PLEASE HELP! car problems

[natalie1986]

my 1989 acura integra is having problems!!

it starts to decelerate and accelerate really fast and the RPM scale goes crazy up and down, and then the steering wheel locks and it slows down to a stop no matter how hard i press the gas pedal. it goes for about 3 blocks then breaks down.



please help me, i miss my car


please help me if you can, i dont know anything about cars

[email protected]

[gsr916]

jesus christ

[B1SiR6A]

your car is 15 years old...other than that I have no idea

[natalie1986]

i thought the acura integra message board was the right place to post this? correct me if i am wrong

[B1SiR6A]

yes it is but you have to elaborate a bit more...are there any particular sounds that you hear?...does anything smell different?...I dont know but you have to let a few more people pass through the forum before you get an answer...

[natalie1986]

the "check engine" light comes on, then the car slowly comes to a stop like the gas pedal has no power

then the steering wheel locks

it smelled like burnt

[gsr916]

Originally Posted by natalie1986

my 1989 acura integra is having problems!!

it starts to decelerate and accelerate really fast and the RPM scale goes crazy up and down, and then the steering wheel locks and it slows down to a stop no matter how hard i press the gas pedal. it goes for about 3 blocks then breaks down.

Ok It could be 2 things.

Case 1:
For it to decelerate and accelerate really fast at the same time, that would imply a constant velocity because deceleration and acceleration will cancle each other out. while the accelerations are cancling each other out, the rpm scales will go up and down signaling they are infact cancling each other out. For a constant velocity, that can also imply a velocity of magnitude 0. If your car is not moving it is more than likely not turned on, which explains the locked steering wheel and the reason your car goes no where when the gas pedal is pressed. If your street is anything like mine, it slopes downhill for about 3 blocks and then goes back up. So im guessing you start your car and it accelerates and decelerates at the same time, rpm gauge goes whack as proof, then your car turns off, steering wheel locks, doesnt go anywhere when u press on the gas but rolls down the hill for 3 blocks and stops.

Case 2:
natalie1986 = Peter mother fuckin parker (venom, spiderman, all the rest of marvel)

[natalie1986]

i didnt really understand that explanation?

it speeds up for about 1 sec, and then decelerates for about 1 sec, accelerates, decelerates, etc ... its like the car is rocking back and forth?

luckily it finally broke down in front of my friends mechanic shop i was visiting, but he didnt know what was up with it after checking it out

['97SLVRBullet]

Tell him to check out your fuel pump, and to scan your computer to see what codes it is pulling.

[trw]

Originally Posted by gsr916

Ok It could be 2 things.
Case 2:
natalie1986 = Peter mother fuckin parker (venom, spiderman, all the rest of marvel)

maybe its actually a legit member this time?

[genkichild]

I think when natalie1986 says accelerates and decelerates it might be like when you bounce against the limiter. That combined with a burning smell, makes me think you have some wack electrical problem.
The car is quite old, and there could be corossion or general electrical/computer failure. Might be something to check out.
The steering lock is odd though... Thats a mechanical failure in the column, ya? Unless it is the rack or something more serious. When you cant steer, is it soft, like when the car is turned off, or like hitting metal like when you take out the key and turn the wheel?

[trw]

Originally Posted by genkichild

I think when natalie1986 says accelerates and decelerates it might be like when you bounce against the limiter.

well shes says it does that within 3 blocks, i highly doubt she gets to 100+mph within that short of distance.

[Igovert500]

Get it towed to autozone, have them pull the codes from the ECU, and report back here with the codes they got. That is the most definative information we can go by, as everything else is just speculation. With such a complex problem it could be any 1 of 10,000 things. The codes will tell us exactly what is wrong.

[natalie1986]

i suspect that it is some wack electric problem combined with old age.

anyhow, thanks for the tips and insight!

[integralover]

ok, when you say the steering wheel locks do you mean it is hard to turn or, it locks like when the key is not in there and you cannot turn it? and autozone cannot pull the codes on that car. you have to connect wo wires and then turn the key to the on position and the check engine light will flash the code. but this does sound kinda like an electrical problem