Hello. I have a 91 Accord with an intermittent problem. When I try to kick it in to pass a car, or go up a hill, it starts bucking and chugging and rather than go faster, the speed goes down. Eventually, the engine turns off and the engine light comes on - the speed suddenly picks up and its fine for a while. I can hear popping but can't tell if its under the hood or out of the exhaust. I've had the fuel filter replaced. I've had the air filter replaced and a bad spark plug. The plugs have a white powder indicating lack of fuel? It had a full tune up about 6 mths ago. Because the problem is intermittent, mechanics have a hard time fixing the problem. When I drive in town (fairly slow) I can feel the pedal not wanting to give, but its not something someone unfamiliar with the car would notice. Has anyone experienced this?
Thanks!
mbbbh

Did it run fine before the tune up?

It wasn't perfect. It didn't like to kick in anymore, hence the tune-up. But it didn't drag like it has been for the past 3 months. I decided I didn't care if it didn't kick in, so I gave up on that. But I do care when I can only go 20 miles an hour on a road everyone else is doing 70mph! It also has a new main relay (think that was for hot weather starting)?? And its had 2 O2 sensors put in. That fixed the stalling that was happening 4 months ago.

When you kick it down into a lower gear, the engine needs to make several changes, adjusting the timing and length of FI pulses. It sounds to me like the ECU may not be getting the word. Check the throttle position sensor, in the throttle body, and the wires to the transmission that tell the transmission what gear it is in. The TPS should have 3 wires, the ends of a variable resistor, and the slider. Resistance between the ends and the slider should vary smoothly throughout the range, one going up, and the other down.

Thank you. I read another post similar to this - will tell the mechanic. How about a VSS? Also read about them. Appreciate your help. ;)