Car juddering - possible misfire?

[Butcher]

So, last week. Got in the car, which was cold (had been parked up for an hour). Driving off, got up to about 50mph. Then all of a sudden.....turbulence! 

 

I checked the speedo again. Yup, definitely 50mph. Not 500mph. No cloud cover. Definitely not turbulence. Then it went. 

 

Had a mild panic when I got home and seen liquid dripping from the car, seemingly from the offside front corner. Had a look around, Couldn't see where it was from. Checked the coolant. It was around the min mark on the expansion tank. Bearing in mind it's never been topped up in 4 years, at least...nothing to really cause concern. Checked the oil. Very slightly low. But that's not been checked for a year either. It looks golden, like new. 

 

Anyway. Car has been absolutely fine since. Until exactly a week later (albeit different time, different place - this time car is warm), more turbulence! Juddering, loss of power...

 

Given the random nature of it switching on and off at the drop of a hat, I'm guessing it ties in with an electrical misfire? But what are the weak points on these cars, and where do I look? I don't know a lot about them. Do they have coilpacks? Distributor? 

 

T'is an Aerodeck MC1. 1.6 SOHC. 

 

Incidentally I replaced the plugs about a month before this first happened.

 

 

 

 

[dr_broon]

When it happens does it go back to normal if you put your foot to the floor?

Sounds a bit like what mine was like when the o2 sensor played up.

Is it a bit like if the choke was still on on an older car?

[Butcher]

I don't think it's a fuel mixture or anything. It's a proper judder/vibration. So possibly a cylinder not firing. I didn't have it down as that straight away, but the more I think about it the more sense it makes. 

 

Not sure if I put my foot to the floor, but tried giving it more power, and it wasn't happy.

[noodels]

Maybe check the ignition leads,

may have got dizzy wet from the leaking you noticed

[Gel]

Certainly sounds like a high tension electrical fault.....could also be a cam sensor on the blink

 

It being an intermittent fault means you should start examining basics like the distributor cap and leads for tracking or hairline cracks or signs of water spray

 

If you do manage to check your car over whilst the car is misfiring it's going to be an awful lot easier.......the leak you spoke of could well be the culprit ?

 

The possibilities are endless so hopefully somebody with good Honda engine specific knowledge chirps up.....like you mentioned.......may well be a known fault.

 

Let us know how you go.

[Butcher]

Thanks for the advice. Unless it gets any worse I doubt I'm gonna catch it while it's misfiring. It's only been a couple of minutes at a time. Twice in about 300 miles. 

 

Can you check error codes on these things? Any electrical faults should be recorded, right?

[Jayhoath83]

My cars just started doing the same thing n ive tracked it down to either the T.P.S. or the cap and arm both of which look ok ish the T.P.S. looking better as i replaced it a year ago so im going to go with the cap n arm first n check the T.P.S. for continuity n fingers crossed

[Dave]

Without actually hearing/seeing it mate, it's difficult to say. Almost deffo electrical breakdown somewhere, so all of the parts mentioned above could be the culprit. Do you get the engine management light coming on when it does it? If so, it will probably be the ignitor in the dizzy, a well know fault on these cars. But that will (I think) always show a management light. Happened on my MB6, was intermitent for a while, slowly getting worse bringing the engine to a stop, and was hard to restart, then it finally went altogether.

To me, it sounds like a ignition lead breaking down. When was the last time these were changed? Think it may be a case of trial and error to source the fault, replacing the cheapest parts first.

Regarding the leak, what did the fluid look like? Was it like clear water? If so, have you had the air con turned on when you've been driving the car? They do by default leave a wee puddle of water under the car when you park up after it's been used. That would explain why you can't see any signs of a leak, as there isnt one (if it is this!). Hope this helps

[Butcher]

Have never seen the engine management light while driving.

 

Doubt the ignition leads have ever been changed...

 

And yes, the fluid looked like clear water. Air-con was my own guess, although I don't know why - I just couldn't think of anything else. Never use it (it doesn't work, despite re-gassing last year), but it has been on a few times recently....in the vague hope that maybe it would just take a year to settle in!