Honda Civic VX failed smog... spark issue? I need help!

[ifab1234]

Hi, I have another fed VX smog question, my vx failed smog , HIGH HC, timming was 11 degrees BTDC , tho i tryed to set it right,


and she has new disy, bosh platnum plugs =(, o2 sensor , temp sensor, speed sensor, when i got the car the speed sensor was broken so does this
mean the ecm has no fuel maps or data tables?, and i need to drive it 100 miles?



HC was 215 @ 15mph and 381 at 25 mph. my qestion is would the timing make it that bad? also i sometimes
get the CEL #48 i think for the O2 sensor, even tho previous owner just replaced the 5 wire o2 and the disy, and im getting that
power issue around 2200 rpm, flat spot no matter what the timming is...

so i tryed to check the wire harness and o2 sensor with my DVM and nothing was open in the harness.... of couse my luck... again... more problems

....has anyone else noticed the error or missprint on the call out off the pin numbers on the ECU on the honda troubleshooting flowchart??

page 11-39 the D8 (+) pin is labeled and has a line to it, same pin different page 11-39 the pin is called D16,
looking at a ff-squad vtec wiring legend they call out this pin as d8?

someone needs to tell honda that they messed up the troubleshooting flowchart, this does not help with troubleshooting if you
cant find the right pins.

another thing thats freaky... when i was timming the car with the timng light i reved the engine lokked at the light and the spark isnt constant,
so looks like its missfiring when i rev it, i checked it on another car a 95 ex, light was fine. even got another fed vx ecu to try, it didnt help any. Even pulled a working disy from 95 vtec ex and the spark issue was still there. no problems on the ex, the ex just passed smog.

what else can mess up the spark output , its not the disy or wires... plugs?
ground?


thanks for any input, gary please its been 2 yrs =)


smog numbers
CO2 02 HC MAX GP MEAS
15mph 9.2 7.5 96 312 215
25 mph 8.6 8.2 79 262 381



COMAX GP MEAS NOmax GP MEAS

.59 2.34 .02 859 2088 470
.51 2.23 .02 798 1888 140

[bowtieguy]

welcome to GS!

i know nothing about smog(not required in florida), but the only 2 cents(and 2 items) i have is this:

my LX had a ground issue causing speedo and other issues--no open wires, just the harness rubbing on the intake manifold bracket. in fact, everything would run fine until eventually the fuse re-blew.

also, i've heard by several people that bosch plugs/parts are not well received by hondas(or any japanese manufactured vehicle).

hang in there, Tomo, Erik, and some of the other "honda guys" may weigh in to help you.

edit: what about wires? new? OEM? aftermarket distributor? igniter or ignition switch? crack in exhaust manifold(common problem on these)?

[hondaguy72]

NGK plugs. Go with what Honda came with from the factory. Sounds like the distributor is beginning to go out. I'd spend the few dollars to have it put on a scope.

[ifab1234]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy

welcome to GS!

i know nothing about smog(not required in florida), but the only 2 cents(and 2 items) i have is this:

my LX had a ground issue causing speedo and other issues--no open wires, just the harness rubbing on the intake manifold bracket. in fact, everything would run fine until eventually the fuse re-blew.

also, i've heard by several people that bosch plugs/parts are not well received by hondas(or any japanese manufactured vehicle).

hang in there, Tomo, Erik, and some of the other "honda guys" may weigh in to help you.

edit: what about wires? new? OEM? aftermarket distributor? igniter or ignition switch? crack in exhaust manifold(common problem on these)?

, THANKS!! Wires are oem, previous owner got the new dist, looks oem,
so ill change out the bosh plugs to NGKs, and look for cracks in the header, thanks for the help, i checked the egr valve and it looked like it was taken apart b4 w/o new gasket, so i got a new egr gasket, old one was ripped maybe a leak. not sure about "igniter or ignition switch? "?? igniter inside the dist? Thanks again

[ifab1234]

Originally Posted by hondaguy72

NGK plugs. Go with what Honda came with from the factory. Sounds like the distributor is beginning to go out. I'd spend the few dollars to have it put on a scope.

ok Sounds good, How much would it cost to be put on a scope in your area?

Thanks for the info

[GasSavers_Erik]

Does the VX have a separate ignition coil? Or is it part of the distributor? If it is separate then it could be the problem and I would switch it with a known good coil.

Otherwise, I agree with the others- could be a bad ground or a mostly broken wire somewhere in the harness that is choking off some current flow to the distributor or coil.

[ifab1234]

Originally Posted by Erik

Does the VX have a separate ignition coil? Or is it part of the distributor? If it is separate then it could be the problem and I would switch it with a known good coil.

Otherwise, I agree with the others- could be a bad ground or a mostly broken wire somewhere in the harness that is choking off some current flow to the distributor or coil.

The coil is inside the dist. , ive switched dist. with another known working (OEM) Dist. , i have two cars with the same dist... the other one just passed smog.

soon as the rain stops im trying putting back in new NGKs 4043s, silly me i put in bosh platnums to smog, I hope the electrode design is that the VX is picky with... ? =P

Ok Thanks for the idea, ill make sure the coil has good power, connect the DVM to the power leads to the coil, I guess i can stick paper clips in the dist. conector.

....dont let the smoke out of the wire... =)

[hondaguy72]

$100-150 or so should get you scanned. It's less than an hour of shop time typically. You don't need your codes read, you need an engine scan to determine how well the engine is running. A proper scan should reveal the issue.