1991 honda civic starts very rough then stalls.

leem · #1 Jan 17, 2006, 12:24 PM

Hello everyone,

I've been reading as much as I can on this and other sites regarding starting problems on 91 honda civics. The information I gained was very helpful and informative, but, I am not 100% sure if my problem is with the ignition coil or igniter or the whole distributor.

I have starting problems as described in the FAQ and other sites, however once my civic starts the engine is VERY rough, the tach needle is wacky, and will eventually stall out. It usually takes a minute before it dies but sure enough it will. However, once I get the engine warmed up a bit I can drive around just fine except that the needle in the tach tends to jump around a lot but after 15 minute of driving it calms down and all is well until I park my civic and try to start it again after it cools down.

I do not have a lot of money to spend so I wanted to know if my issue I described is with my ignition coil, igniter, spark plugs, or something else.

I have checked the error code and I have confirmed I get error code 16.

any help would be appreciated.

Mark

btw, I have the D15B2 motor. (1991 Honda Civic LX)

CroCivic91 · Jan 17, 2006, 04:12 PM

Error code 16 usually means a bad Main Relay, so read the FAQ for instructions on fixing it.

However, your problems are not really a usual main-relay-problem kind of symptoms...did you consider running a bottle of fuel injector cleaner? When was fuel filter last changed?

Can you borrow another ignition coil and igniter from someone who has another 88-91 Civic/CRX and try it? It doesn't matter if it's 1.5 or 1.6 engine, they are interchangeable.

leem · Jan 17, 2006, 04:25 PM

Well, I'm not sure when the fuel filter was exactly changed but according to the previous owner the filter should have been changed about a year ago. I'm not sure if it was changed and I'm not sure where the fuel filter is located as I don't have the manual for the car either.

I will try a bottle of fuel injector cleaner and see if that fixes it. If the tach needle wasn't jumping all over the place I would be more convinced it's my main relay or the igniter problem but since I seem to have this one extra issue I'm not sure what is causing this problem.

I just don't want to spend $70+ on a new igniter only to find out my issue is with another part. If the fuel injector were dirty or damaged would that cause my engine to run really rough like that?

Thanks for the reply!

Mark

leem · Jan 18, 2006, 08:28 AM

Okay, last night I stopped by the auto supply store to get a new fuel filter and new spark plugs. While there I also looked through the Hayes(?) manual for 1988-1991 honda civics and found a way to test if one of the two fuel injectors had gone bad.

Sure enough when I tested my fuel injectors I found that only one of them was working. I'm not sure if the actual injector is failed or if the wiring has gone bad. I'm going to do further tests to see exactly where/how/why that injector is no longer working.

I'm now sure this is why my engine is running awkward. After discussing it further with a friend it makes sense that since only one of my injectors is working the engine isn't getting the proper amounts of fuel thus when I go over 3000 rpm the needle in my tach goes haywire.

I'm going to also check the main relay today since I'm sure that has part in my starting troubles as well. Also, after changing out the plugs and fuel filter the car runs better but the needle still jitters back and forth rapidly when going at speeds greater than 65mph.

I'll let everyone know how things turn out once I get the other injector up and running again.

Mike (my stupid spell checker kept changing my name from mike to mark in the previous posts. funny that.)

CroCivic91 · Jan 18, 2006, 03:00 PM

Yeah, it makes perfect sense that if your fuel injectors are dirty, that it will run like crap.

However, if one of them is not working - it makes even more sense it's not working like it should. Do check out the wiring to that fuel injector, and do get back to us when you fix it.

thorrune · Jan 19, 2006, 04:07 PM

Sounds like the EXACT same problem I'm having with my '88 Civic wagon. I tried putting some fuel system cleaner through and that helped out at lower RPMs, but still when the tach gets to 3000, it starts going all over the place and the car gets really bumpy. I checked the error codes and it read 6 and 20. I don't get 16. The plugs, distributor and fuel filter were all replaced about 6 months ago. It starts up fine, and runs fine 90% of the time when the revs are under 3k ( although it does ocasonally still act up at lower RPMs). Any update on this thread or additional advice would be greatly appreciated.

CroCivic91 · Jan 19, 2006, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thorrune

Sounds like the EXACT same problem I'm having with my '88 Civic wagon. I tried putting some fuel system cleaner through and that helped out at lower RPMs, but still when the tach gets to 3000, it starts going all over the place and the car gets really bumpy. I checked the error codes and it read 6 and 20. I don't get 16. The plugs, distributor and fuel filter were all replaced about 6 months ago. It starts up fine, and runs fine 90% of the time when the revs are under 3k ( although it does ocasonally still act up at lower RPMs). Any update on this thread or additional advice would be greatly appreciated.

There are informations on checking resistance of your injectors (in the FAQ in this forum), to see if they're working. Do the tests and report back. Perhaps your auxiliary injector is not working, and auxiliary injector is used when more gas needs to be injected, which is usually at "higher" RPMs.

thorrune · Jan 20, 2006, 11:37 AM

Well, now my car wont start at all

. I looked around the FAQ and only found reference to testing the injectors by looking for squirting gas

. Maybe you could show this newb a direct link. I'd much rather check with my multimeter than by squirting gas all over my engine... I'll also check the main relay as that's mentioned quite a bit as a common problem with these cars. I'm also a little confused by the error codes, specifically #20. What does the fault for Electrical Load Detector mean? Thanks again.

leem · Jan 22, 2006, 11:34 PM

Well, I did the tests to see if my Injectors were working properly and both the main and aux. injectors are within their proper resistance.

Also, I notice that when I start the car, let the engine idle, and then then disconnect power to the main injector the car runs like nothing even happened. But when I start the car again and then disconnect power only from the auxiliary injector the engine dies instantly.

Now correct me if I am wrong but doesn't the main injector supply most of the fuel thus when I were to power the main injector off, shouldn't that have caused the engine to stall?

I'm going to take my car into the shop to get professionals to look at it as I'm at a loss.

Any input or advice would be helpful.

Thanks!

Mike

alaskaserve · Feb 17, 2008, 06:53 PM

It's been along time since the start of this discussion. In case the originator gets back here I hope he can let us know the results.

My personal experiences with idle problems on the 1990-1991 honda civic models has involved the distrubuter. After replacing the cap and rotor 2 or 3 times during its life the next thing that goes is the shaft and bearing. The shaft slowly tightens up and eventually overheats and freezes up. The engine will turn over but acts like it is out of timing and will not start.



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