Civic - Honda :: 1991 - Starts / Runs Until It Warms Then Chokes And Won't Start
Dec 2, 2015
I've got a great little 1991 Civic DX, 1.5L manual. It's never let me down and I love working on it.
Stalled on the highway a couple weeks ago and I couldn't get it re-started. Over the years, it's had a bit of a personality where it chugs and occasionally stalls at a low idle, or when very slowly accelerating from a stop. If I'm sitting still, I'll turn the key to full off, give it about 30 seconds, and it'll start right back up. For whatever reason just re-starting without turning off never seemed to work.
So since it stalled on the highway and I wasn't able to get it started at all, here's the list I've replaced or completed:- main relay- fuel filter- plug wires- spark plugs (the old ones were due, but not overdue, and all four were pretty fouled with burned oil and had oil in the wells)- spark plug well o-rings and valve cover gaskets- and fully charged the battery
At this point, if I let it sit until it's cool, it'll start right back up with no trouble. Then once it warms, it starts to run a bit rough, eventually chugs, stalls, and then I can't get it started again - spins a few times, then kinda sticks, then spins a few times, and kinda sticks again.
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My 03 civic will drive fine when the engine is cool. But after getting off the highway, or running it at higher speeds, when I put it in gear, any gear, it will start choking and bucking like its running out of gas. Once I get it above about 2000 rpms, the choking stops. The read out said it was the egr valve at first, we had it cleaned, but it didn't fix it. The readout now says recirculation insufficient or something like that. I'm wondering how serious this is, and if I should be driving it.
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96 civic 120K miles, stock, automatic.
In March I was running low on fuel, maybe 1 gallon left in the tank. It took a few cranks and on the last try i gave it a little gas and it started, albeit very rocky for about 1 minute of driving, filled up immediately and 2 freeway miles later, no real issues. I live in LA so very low ambient temperature is not a problem.
April through May, starting was a little rocky, it was inconsistently rocky too, sometimes there was no problem. Usually it's weak, stuttering, sometimes just cranking but I seem to get it to start. I stopped giving the pedal gas because I read that's bad (I own a vintage bike, so it's news to me). I don't drive that far and figured I'd try some Seafoam and some freeway miles would clean out any debris. Worked for that tank a bit for the next tank before the problem came back.
Still getting the rough starts, but now when I give the car gas as I pull out sometimes it doesn't accelerate for 15-30 seconds, maybe 25 yards then it drive like normal. No dying at all but getting worse with starting up.
I've tried turning the key (not turning the engine over) 5 times and cranking on the 6th and it seems to work. I thought maybe it's the fuel pump or fuel filter but read it could be an ignition coil/ spark plug/ spark plug wire issue. Two different ball games.
My MPG is not really droppingI had a new fuel filter put in in February as routine maintenance (thing was on so tight had to bring it to a shop so no rookie mistakes there). Timing belt &water pump replaced 6,000 miles ago
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I have a 91 Honda civic hatchback base model 1.5L and I am having serious electrical problems. My wife took the car to town and when she got back all the lights quit working and it just sits there and clicks if I don't remove the main relay. But the main relay also controls the fuel pump. Have already replaced main relay?
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My car ( civic 1.5 dx duel injected) just cut off while I was going down the free pay like the key had been turned off. Now it turns but won't crank. I am getting spark from my plugs, my fuel pump still works, i think my injectors are ok, when I took off the air box I can see fuel going into the throttle body, my throttle isn't stuck, diaphragm seems to have a seal. I took the head cover off and there isn't any fuel/oil in the valves. What could it be? After I put the plugs/cap/head cover back on it cranked for a second then idled down and back to no start.
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I own an old Civic and I noticed in the past several months that I get a burned oil odor in the passenger compartment, but only when I drive downhill. I more recently notice that if I accelerate while driving down the hill, a cloud of smoke trails out behind me then clears when I let off the gas. This car has 294,000 miles on the odo. (I know) and I DO have to add a quart of oil every 2 weeks or so. It runs great though. Is my motor about ready to blow or what . . . ?
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Ok my car is not starting. It is not turning over when you turn the key and push in the clutch. I can here a relay click under the drivers side dash. I can push start it and it runs great, sometimes it will start and run fine but it is a frequent problem now. What could be causing me these problems. 1991 Honda Civic DX ....
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I have a 1991 Honda Civic DX and it is doing something I can't explain. Randomly the car will not even try to turn over. The ignition switch will click, the dash lights come on... but not even the slightest peep from the starter motor. If I put the vehicle in fifth gear and roll it, turning the engine over even half a rotation, the engine will fire right up.
It started on a road trip and happened very sparsely, but has since become more common. What used to be 1 out of 20 is now maybe 1 out of 4 chance it doesn't start. Every now and then it will go days without any problems, then seemingly randomly the ignition fails again for spurts. I replaced the distributor cap, plugs, and rotor about 2 months ago. The ignition switch appears to be fine....
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We have a 91 civic whose air conditioner doesn't work. The coolant level is good, and the compressor is running, but we only get external air coming through the vent.
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Have a 2001 Civic DX, Manual Transmission, 228K miles. 1.7L SOHC.
Recently changed front motor mount and timing belt on the same day.
I noticed the car running rough and is only rough at certain RPM. Here are the rpm ranges it runs rough, 700rpm which is idle, 2200-2400rpm and 3400rpm approximately. It idles at 700rpm which I believe is the idle rpm on my car, so thinking my timing is not off. One more thing I noticed is if I have AC on and reving down in rpm it sounds like it is about to shutoff (never shuts off) and get a stronger vibration and same thing when I turn the AC on at idle. With ac on my rpm are 720rpm give and take a few. I been driving with above symptom for 300mi+ so far, even got it upto 95mph, don't know if it is an indication of anything. Got new spark plugs installed at 220K miles.
Could it be the motor mount or my harmonic balancer is out of balance. I did have to use 3/4" impact wrench to knock the harmonic balancer bolt loose. It is a little rusty given I got 228K miles on it.
I am just dreading the thought of my timing being off by a tooth, me and my friend checked the timing marks per oem manual, he checked the cam shaft pulley marks and I did the crankshaft. When we installed the timing belt I only turned the engine counter clockwise so I would not cause a problem with timing belt slack. My AC belt may be a little too tight as well.
The motor mount I put in was an aftermarket one that I bought from amazon. But I have put in aftermarket mount before on the same car and never had anything like this. I am planning to loosen the motor mount, shake the engine, tighten them back up and see if it makes a difference. May be the engine is not seated properly.
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The car; 1991 Honda Civic Hatch back. Issue; Car starts but when left to idle quickly dies. Background; I just recently replaced the valve cover gasket as well as a pierced hose that was leaking coolant. Since then (ABOUT 3 DAYS) the car has taken much longer to start up; i.e. when you turn the key it tries to start from anywhere between 2-8 sec. Before doing work it started up easily and regularly. Has been driving fine for past three days otherwise. What should I trouble shoot first? I figure I would check the spark plugs when I get home and make sure they are still seated properly. Besides that, I'm not sure where to start.
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I have an 03 F350 with the 6.0L. It has 210,000 miles on it and the injectors are beginning to be suspect. Its very hard to start when its cold, smokes and runs like crap untill it warms up.
I've found a set of injectors out of a 2005 truck with 8000 miles on them. The truck was overboosted and blew a head gasket.
Now finally to my question.....Can the overboost damage the injector? Would it be safe to buy these and install them or rebuild them before install or just leave them alone?
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The radio in my 1991 Honda Civic has been dying a slow death over the past year. First it would stop working if the weather was too hot. Then it would only work sporadically, finally it almost never worked. Whenever the radio stopped working, there would be a loud electrical "pop" sound, so I thought it might have a short. Yesterday my husband fixed the upper rear brake light (cleaned contacts) so it would pass inspection. Now the radio works perfectly! Are the brake lights and radio on the same circuit?
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In the Car Talk column on 1/3/2016, it sounds like Lynnette's 1991 Honda Civic wagon was experiencing very similar symptoms to my wife's 2001 Honda Odyssey (189,000 mi) a few months ago. Rough idle, engine almost dies sometimes at stops, groans during acceleration. Additionally, accelerating between 40-60 mph our Honda would feel like it was "loading up," running rich or in the wrong gear climbing hills. I replaced the idle air control valve, which fixed the rough idle but not the other symptoms. Turned out I needed to reset (power cycle) the ECM and go through a curb idle/rev warm-up procedure so it would relearn the throttle position sensor's operating range after replacing the IAC valve. I disconnected the battery, removed and reinserted the hazard fuse, then reconnected the battery. Then from a cold start held the throttle at 3000 rpm until the engine warmed up to normal or the electric fans kicked on. Since then it's back to smooth, strong acceleration we expect from the Honda we love.
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My son's 1991 Honda Accord was running real rough. The temperature gauge did not budge from cold. I changed out the thermostat. When I tried to start it it started great then coughed and shuddered and then died. It keeps starting and then dying. I took off the IAC and flushed it with mass air flow cleaner. The screen over one of the ports was all crudded up. It cleaned up OK. However then I put it back it improved for a minute and then died again. I have checked for vacuum leaks but found none.
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I've got a 2004 Honda Civic with the 1.7L engine. I drive for about five miles and the engine stops suddenly but only for a half-second then runs again like normal. At the same time, there is a click - click behind my glove box. Relays I'm almost sure. And the way it happens is :click > engine stopsclick > engine continues running normally. Used to happen only on hot days, now it does when it's cool out once the engine is warmed up.
After it does this over and over about 6 times the Check Engine Light comes on and it doesn't jerk so hard, but stumbles kinda mildly, but all the time - though usually by this time I have gotten off the road and am swearing loudly.The Honda mechanics are running the clock RIGHT NOW and it may cost me a fortune - Also, there is no error code showing. Nothing. And I also replaced some relays, to no avail, because I read about cracked solder problems someplace...
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My fathers 1990 GMC Sierra 1500 Pickup Truck 4.3L runs fine when it is cold but as soon as it warms up it starts running rough then stalls and won't start. There is no spark when it dies. As soon as it cools off it starts back up and runs fine till it warms back up.
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It is a 1991 C1500 2wd, ext cab, short bed 5.7L engine with about 300k miles on it that I have had for a year. Supposedly a different 350 engine and transmission was put in a couple years ago.
This problem has been going on for 2 weeks. I'll start the car up and it runs just fine, no problems. After driving for about 20 minutes, the engine will die while driving, and will not start back up until the next day. I have sat in the car for literally 4 hours patiently waiting for it to start. I'll turn the key and the engine will rotate, but will not start. When someone shows up to give me a jump after the battery gets low, it will not start. I'll go home and go to sleep, and sometime the next day I'll go to my truck, and it will start back up, and I'll drive back home, and I'll make it as long as it takes less than 20 minutes.
It is not just a "morning problem", but a "first time I have started the truck that day" kind of problem. Last week, it happened to me in the mornings. On Saturday, I didn't leave my house until 2pm and the problem happened. Today, I first drove it at 8pm, and the problem happened.
Things I have changed so far (mostly from Autozone):
Starter - burnt it out when it first died 2 weeks ago, now I know not to crank when below 9 volts - lifetime warranty
Spark plugs - no more engine popping or driving with 2 feet - changed last week on Tuesday - AC Delco CR43TS gapped at .035
plug wires - changed all in November, since I noticed one of the old ones was tore - lifetime warranty
Distributor cap and rotor - changed last month when the engine started popping - autozone
Ignition control module- I changed today, I really thought that would fix the problem after speaking with the Autozone guy - lifetime warranty
Ignition Coil - changed last month because of popping
Fuel Filter - changed last Thursday, thinking it was a fuel problem
Here are some of the other symptoms I have been noticing over the last couple months:
Pretty bad gas mileage, I know it is a V8, but it is just as thirsty when I am not carrying anything as when I am pulling a car. A couple months ago, after driving for about 30 minutes or so, the engine would make a "Pfft" noise and would start popping and I would have to drive with 2 feet to keep the engine running.
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I have a 99 Honda Civic. A few months ago, while driving in my neighborhood at about 25 mph, the car just stalled out and died. Within a minute, it started up again and was fine. My mechanic has checked it out a few times and found nothing. It's been totally fine and just did it again today. I leave tomorrow for a trip and am a little concerned about taking it on the road.
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Right after I filled the gas tank, the car will start for a few seconds and shortly die afterwards. Could it possibly be the purge control solenoid? Right now I'm completely lost...
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1992 Honda Civic Starts fine but kills as soon as you release the key. Hold the key in the position with the starter motor running and it keeps running. In the old days we would replace the resistor on the firewall. Today?
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