Need Help (Automatic Honda Civic EX 1997)

jaymoren90

New Member
Alright, I'm stumped. Neither my mechanic nor I could figure out what is wrong. Everything inside the engine looks fine, however, the car has a nasty habit of just completely dying on me at random times. Battery is fine, Starter is fine, Alternator is fine all tested and verified. I had a massive oil leak coming from the VVT gasket. My mechanic suggested maybe the loss of oil was causing loss of oil pressure, however the car still turns off after the leak was sealed. All belts are tight. Other symptoms are my RPMs are fluttery, sometimes they'll drop really quick or drop to zero whilst driving and the throttle will be non responsive. It'll kind of pull back when going from 2,000 rpms to about 1,500. When the car dies usually it only dies in the morning and then drives okay the rest of the day. What could it be? I'm gonna change my transmission fluid next week and maybe that'll solve the rpm issue. I got a CEL (P0420) however I doubt my cat could be causing this. Any advice? I'd really appreciate it. If your advice ends up helping me out I'd even gift $20 PayPal. Thanks.


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MechanicJames

New Member
Common problems with these cars include ignition controls module (inside the distributor) or main relay bothe of these can cause the problem you are describing as well as many others. Your mechanic can't figure it out?...... can he not duplicate the problem in a reasonable amount of time? Does he have a fuel pressure gauge? Has he scanned for codes? Also vtec not VVT there is a difference not trying to be mean just letting you know because if your mechanic doesn't know the difference I personally would not trust him with Hondas. Can you hear a click from under the dash on the left hand side when you first turn the key on? Take out the back seat coushion. Then see if you can hear a pump noise. If it dies on you see if you can get a spark tester and see if there's spark.
 

MechanicJames

New Member
Alright, I'll report back after Wednesday. Thanks.


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No offence but this very rarely will cause a car not to start. Run rough yes but 9/10 times they will start save your money.
 


jaymoren90

New Member
No offence but this very rarely will cause a car not to start. Run rough yes but 9/10 times they will start save your money.
The car will start just fine at first, however, it'll die shortly after and will just crank but not start for a couple minutes and then it'll start up just fine and it'll be okay for the rest of the day even after sitting for an entire shift. I'm pretty much open to any suggestion that could help fix my problem. I don't know much about cars but the issue isn't that easy to narrow down as a lot of things can kill the engine, or so so I've been told.


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jaymoren90

New Member
Common problems with these cars include ignition controls module (inside the distributor) or main relay bothe of these can cause the problem you are describing as well as many others. Your mechanic can't figure it out?...... can he not duplicate the problem in a reasonable amount of time? Does he have a fuel pressure gauge? Has he scanned for codes? Also vtec not VVT there is a difference not trying to be mean just letting you know because if your mechanic doesn't know the difference I personally would not trust him with Hondas. Can you hear a click from under the dash on the left hand side when you first turn the key on? Take out the back seat coushion. Then see if you can hear a pump noise. If it dies on you see if you can get a spark tester and see if there's spark.

You can hear the fuel pump after turning the key once. I have scanned for codes and only came up with the catalytic code. I can't duplicate the problem because it happens randomly while driving. How do I see if the ignition control module/main relay went bad?


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jaymoren90

New Member
Code P0420 tells anybody who knows about cars that yours has not been maintained.

Are there any other CEL codes? When was the last time you checked?
I just bought the car a couple weeks ago, the light turned on in the highway. No there aren't any other CEL codes.


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MechanicJames

New Member
You can hear the fuel pump after turning the key once. I have scanned for codes and only came up with the catalytic code. I can't duplicate the problem because it happens randomly while driving. How do I see if the ignition control module/main relay went bad?


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If your fuel pump is working your relay should be good. I believe there is a test procedure for the ignition controls module. I will look it up and get back to you.
 


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