B18C idles like crap and dies at stop lights

[K2e2vin]

The problem is not so much WOT, but rather the closed position. If you can't rotate it to get the voltage range needed, replace it, as this will cause a problem(and probably is the source of your problem).

Get the TPS fixed.

 

[raysee]

HAHAHA, here is my problem, 1 guy says leave it and 1 guy says fix it. I admit I dont know a lot about this issue so I am asking but it is hard to know what to do when one person says fix it and the other says it is fine. If I do replace it, is there a specific one I should buy? I know a lot of companies sell TPS sensors (except Honda of course), so which (if any) is of the better quality?

 

[K2e2vin]

being off by .3 is a LOT especially considering closed position is at .45-.5.

It looks like the TPS is fine; it just needs to be rotated. Just loosen it; and rotate it until you get about .5 for closed position. If your TPS has the "rivets", just get a dremel or fine hacksaw and put slots in it to take it out/loosen it with a flathead screwdriver(for my brother's car I just replaced it with bolts).

 

[raysee]

being off by .3 is a LOT especially considering closed position is at .45-.5.

It looks like the TPS is fine; it just needs to be rotated. Just loosen it; and rotate it until you get about .5 for closed position. If your TPS has the "rivets", just get a dremel or fine hacksaw and put slots in it to take it out/loosen it with a flathead screwdriver(for my brother's car I just replaced it with bolts).

Thanks for the advice, I will try it tomorrow (Tuesday) hopefully.

 

[raysee]

UPDATE:
I adjusted the TPS and now have the correct voltage readinds (0.5 closed throttle and 4.5 WOT). The car still has its problem but now is cutting out really bad when I am driving the car. I am gonna test the primary O2 sensor next weekend unless somebody has any better suggestions.

 

[K2e2vin]

Reset the ECU. My brother had similar issues with his car; every time we made a change we had to reset the ECU for it to take effect.

 

[78civic]

I'm going out on a limb here.. Checked your PCV?

What about taking the fuel filter off and emptying it on a white paper towel to see if there could be trash in it.
I know you said it was kinda new but if good, just put it back on.
Another cheap thing would be to pull the injectors to see if they look clogged too. If it's clean and shiny probably spraying good but if it's got carbon crap all gunked up around the pintle it could be suspect. Even the other end I've seen them get trash in there from a dirty fuel rail.

Have you taken off the diz-cap to see if you have the red-death in there?
I just had my d15's dizzy go out thinking it was water because I hit a few puddles and here it was coming apart on the inside. There was all sorts of black material 'chunks' all over the coil and bottom of the rotor shaft. (like if you smash a magnet)
It acted like it was running out of gas, and then start and idle fine except when i hit the throttle. Then not start for several min, then fire fine..??

Ground wires OK?

Just my .02

E

 

[raysee]

Reset the ECU. My brother had similar issues with his car; every time we made a change we had to reset the ECU for it to take effect.

I have never heard of doing this before, how do you do it?

 

[raysee]

I'm going out on a limb here.. Checked your PCV?

What about taking the fuel filter off and emptying it on a white paper towel to see if there could be trash in it.
I know you said it was kinda new but if good, just put it back on.
Another cheap thing would be to pull the injectors to see if they look clogged too. If it's clean and shiny probably spraying good but if it's got carbon crap all gunked up around the pintle it could be suspect. Even the other end I've seen them get trash in there from a dirty fuel rail.

Have you taken off the diz-cap to see if you have the red-death in there?
I just had my d15's dizzy go out thinking it was water because I hit a few puddles and here it was coming apart on the inside. There was all sorts of black material 'chunks' all over the coil and bottom of the rotor shaft. (like if you smash a magnet)
It acted like it was running out of gas, and then start and idle fine except when i hit the throttle. Then not start for several min, then fire fine..??

Ground wires OK?

Just my .02

E

Will try fuel filter again

I pulled the injectors about 4-6 months ago because I thought they were the issue. They look really clean and ohm tested correctly.

I have not removed the distributer cap. About 2 years ago when I had similar issue, a mechanic put a brand new distributor in the car just to see if it fixed this mysterious problem....well, it didn't. So he reinstalled all of my stock parts. He didn't say anything about the cap or rotor, but that was 2 years ago. I will take a look at that too.

Thanks a lot guys. I really appreciate your help on this shitty problem. I just wish I had more time to work on the problem. Then I might actually get everything checked out in a weekend instead of one item per week. Sorry, I am rambling and I highly doubt you care about my schedule LOL thanks again
Matt

 

[K2e2vin]

I have never heard of doing this before, how do you do it?

Remove hazard fuse, or unhook battery, leave unhooked for about 10s, reconnect; start car, and just let it idle for a bit before driving(I usually wait for it to get up to operating temp).

 

[raysee]

sounds easy enough

 

[raysee]

I got a new PCV valve - I had to order it and have not installed it yet but will this week. The old one does not rattle so I think it was deff time to replace it.

I pulled the distributor cap - a very small amout of corossion on the contacts, but nothing else.

I tested the O2 sensor - The haynes manual doesn't go into great detail about the correct wires to test so assuming I tested it correctly (and I think I did), the O2 sensor needs to be replaced. The O2 sensor should start at 0.1 - 0.2 milivolts when it is cold. When it warms up, it should read 0.1 - 0.9 and fluctuate constantly. My O2 sensor reached only 0.3 milivolts after 10 minutes of running. The ohms should be 10 - 40 and mine only reads 9 ohms. So as I said, I THINK the O2 sensor is the main problem yet again. What would cause an O2 sensor to fail with only 10,000 miles on it at the most?

 

[Taco15]

carbon build up on it? sound like you might have found the issue. keep us updated. I would like to chime in as well.

 

[raysee]

PCV valve replaced, car still runs like shit. I am pretty sure I fixed the stalling at stop lights with the adjustment to to the TPS. However, it was just disguising other issues. Now, I cant't drive the car more than a block without it acting up. By acting up, I mean: foot on gas pedal and car falls on face or foot on gas pedal and car back fires. God damn I love to hate this car. Any opinions are appreciated, should I spend $54 on a cheap O2 sensor online or should I opt for the $230 O2 sensor from Honda?

 

[Taco15]

have you checked you 2 plugs behind the intake manifold? they are 2 identical plugs. sometimes they get mixed up up. I think its the map and tps. swap those 2 and see what happens.

i would go to a junkyard and get 2 o2's from a similar year. no need to buy a new one.

 

[K2e2vin]

Check your TPS range. It should be linear but if it's jumping around then it's a bad TPS sensor(I've had this problem before too! Though we just replaced the whole throttle body).

Also if you can, try swapping MAP sensors. Cleaning the throttle body itself is not a bad idea.

 

[raysee]

have you checked you 2 plugs behind the intake manifold? they are 2 identical plugs. sometimes they get mixed up up. I think its the map and tps. swap those 2 and see what happens.

i would go to a junkyard and get 2 o2's from a similar year. no need to buy a new one.

I will check the plugs, but I am pretty sure they are correct. I have tested MAP and TPS plugs and both test correctly.

 

[raysee]

Check your TPS range. It should be linear but if it's jumping around then it's a bad TPS sensor(I've had this problem before too! Though we just replaced the whole throttle body).

Also if you can, try swapping MAP sensors. Cleaning the throttle body itself is not a bad idea.

I have checked the TPS range, it was incorrect but I fixed it. I adjusted the TPS's position in the throttle body and now have the correct voltage. I have no one to swap MAP sensors with. I did test the MAP sensor and it tested fine. Also, I did clean the throttle body with it attached to the intake manifold.

 

[K2e2vin]

What I mean by range is check to see if the voltage vs. position is linear; not the min/max values. On my brother's car it was jumping around...like when it got to .8v it would jump to 1.1v and sit there for a bit even though the throttle was still slowly being opened but max voltage was still in spec.

 

[raysee]

I see what ur saying, I will try that this weekend.