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MC2 B18C4 Not responding to throttle. Probably ignition issue


finjj
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Hello i have a big issue with ruff running and not responding to throttle input correctly. So here we go. It started with not sometimes responding to throttle input and lagging when highway driving. Over the past year ive been having a lot issues of jerky driving in low gear, driving on the highway and the car like stalling if i dont press the throttle to get it running right again (very annoing to drive more than 100kms). Then i notised that there was oil in the sparkplug holes. previously i changed the valvecover gasket and the sparkplug hole gaskets. so the sparkplug hole gaskets were leaking for a long time after the change. one of the holes was full of oil. then i started to look at the ignition system for the fault. I took off the distributor cover and notised that the covers ignition points were very dirty it looked like some kind of powder and also the rotor was in a bad condition. i cleaned them and after that the car was running like normal for like ten minutes when driving and started to have the same issues again. Few weeks ago i changed the coil, distributor cap, rotor and cleaned the sparkplug holes of oil and the sparkplugs. All that didnt resolve the issues and now im kind of lost. Im thinking of ordering new gaskets and spark plug wires. If anyone has any suggestions or advice im open to them. Also im not a native english speaker so sorry if the text is hard to read

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"ruff running and not responding to throttle input correctly" Only highway driving? "car like stalling if i dont press the throttle to get it running right again" I used to have similar issues/symptoms with 1990 Civic hatchback. It usually started "jerking" once the engine got warmer or especially if you drive 5-30 minutes to some place and turn off the car for 15 minutes or more, then once you restart the car those issues usually start. Never had those symptoms after first cold start. Usually after second or third time during a trip.

 

Does the engine warning light ever turn on? How long have you owned the car? Have you ever had issues with emissions? Does your car consume/leak oil? Perhaps a bad distributor. Also bad solderings on Main relay is common issue in 90's Hondas. I had 2 bad solderings on my 88 CRX and after fixing that, all the starting issues went away. But if you don't have issues with starting, then it may not be that i guess. I'm just guessing here from my experience, i'm not an expert of any kind. These B18C4 engines are a bit weird. Many people seem to have some issues. Some don't have but when you do, it's usually something weird and hard to locate.

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  • 2 weeks later...

UPDATE: No issues for like a week. It just suddenly started to drive like normal again.

To dr_broon's reply: yes the O2 sensor is like 2 years old so it isnt from that.

 

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On 3/24/2023 at 4:22 PM, MBFinlay said:

"ruff running and not responding to throttle input correctly" Only highway driving? "car like stalling if i dont press the throttle to get it running right again" I used to have similar issues/symptoms with 1990 Civic hatchback. It usually started "jerking" once the engine got warmer or especially if you drive 5-30 minutes to some place and turn off the car for 15 minutes or more, then once you restart the car those issues usually start. Never had those symptoms after first cold start. Usually after second or third time during a trip.

 

Does the engine warning light ever turn on? How long have you owned the car? Have you ever had issues with emissions? Does your car consume/leak oil? Perhaps a bad distributor. Also bad solderings on Main relay is common issue in 90's Hondas. I had 2 bad solderings on my 88 CRX and after fixing that, all the starting issues went away. But if you don't have issues with starting, then it may not be that i guess. I'm just guessing here from my experience, i'm not an expert of any kind. These B18C4 engines are a bit weird. Many people seem to have some issues. Some don't have but when you do, it's usually something weird and hard to locate.

When i first got the car it did this when cold for like 5 seconds randomly but now it doesnt really matter if its cold or warm. No engine light so far for a long time. i have owned the car almost 4 years. A few times over the years ive had a hard time starting but its very rare. Where is the main relay located? 

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9 minutes ago, finjj said:

When i first got the car it did this when cold for like 5 seconds randomly but now it doesnt really matter if its cold or warm. No engine light so far for a long time. i have owned the car almost 4 years. A few times over the years ive had a hard time starting but its very rare. Where is the main relay located? 

I havent checked where it is on MB/MC Civics but on 88 CRX it was on the left hand side near the footwell (bottom left when you open the door). here's a video from MB civic apparently if it helps to locate it. Not sure if it's different on left hand drive civic compared to UK cars.

 

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15 minutes ago, MBFinlay said:

By the way have noticed any difference with the behaviour on different weather/temperature? Dampness or dry air? Winter or summer?

no difference :/. luckly the relay seems to be in a easy place.

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10 hours ago, finjj said:

UPDATE: No issues for like a week. It just suddenly started to drive like normal again.

To dr_broon's reply: yes the O2 sensor is like 2 years old so it isnt from that.

 

Hope you get to the bottom of it. 

Hopefully you get more than two years from an o2 sensor, but I've had a few over the years, and quite often they have issues intermittently - usually have found it worse in the wet. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

UPDATE: went to a mechanic shop for diagnosis. no intake leaks, there was a code for the O2 sensor. i decided to change the O2 sensor and sparkplug wires. But today when i was on a testdrive the old issues came back so back to square one :(. Still havent looked at the main relay so thats next

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