Engine misfire on acceleration

[Maximilian55]

I recently bought a 98 DX with 120k. The previous owner recently did the spark plugs, wires, distributor and timing belt. For the first 4 days it ran no problem, drove it about 600 miles. Then one day it started misfiring. At idle you can barely feel it misfire every 5 seconds or so, and then whenever I accelerate it will really start misfiring and shaking. Once I get it to a steady speed it will run fine.

I'm guessing the engine is not getting enough air when I step on the gas. There is no check engine light. The air filter seems pretty clean so I'm guessing it's gonna be a problem somewhere between the filter and engine. First Honda so any advice would be appreciated

 

[XpL0d3r]

It is possible that the CEL does not light up. I would get a code scanner and run it just to confirm there isn't a code.

 

[Maximilian55]

It is possible that the CEL does not light up. I would get a code scanner and run it just to confirm there isn't a code.

I checked the codes and it was showing p1399 for a misfire. The oriellys database showed that replacing the distributor usually fixed that problem, so I'm wondering if the PO messed up replacing the distributor

Also when the AC is turned off, the engine runs much better, but still has problems.

 

[Szady]

I'd try a new cap/rotor/wires first, since it's the cheapest. Maybe the PO didn't install them properly or maybe cracked the cap when installing it by tightening it too much. If that doesn't work, try the ignitor in the distributor since those are prone to going bad. I had a misfire in my '00 CR-V (B20z1 engine), and I replaced literally everything....plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and the dizzy internals (ignitor and something else...drawing a blank here...). Turned out to be the ignitor, which was the last piece I replaced. It started out just misfiring, then it straight up died on my driving home from work on the highway, and wouldnt start.