reip

I get 5 miles down the road to the highway in my fine running 94 del sol si (d16 Sohc) and try turning on the cruise control a few minutes after getting up to speed. I hit the set speed button and nothing happens...I hit the accelerate button and I feel the gas depress itself and start accelerating. I take my finger off that button and try giving the car throttle with the right foot and I get nothing. Just decel and decel and decel until I'm on the side of the road dead.

The car cranks but not even a hiccup or a prayer of starting up. Checked every fuse under the hood and under the dash, nothing wrong. I check the codes and get a 13, 41, and 43 which is MAF sensor, O2 sensor, and low fuel pressure. Pulled the ecu fuse for a few minutes and same story. Checked spark at the plugs and that's fine. Poured fuel into the intake and same thing not even a hiccup from the motor. Not quite sure if the fuel pump is sending fuel or not.

So after spending close to 3 hours on the side of I-95 trying to fix the car with a flash light and a paper clip while waiting for triple A, ended up getting a ride home and leaving the car.

BTW AAA can suck my f#!$ing d!@k as after waiting close to 3 hours for a call back from a towing company I called again and they said at least another 2 hours.

So now I'm stuck befuddled with a dead del sol and not a clue as to what's wrong with it. Any knowledgeable guys wanna put their $.02 in on this one?

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Start off by getting your car towed home. You don't want to be working on the side of the highway, especially 95.

Second off, let's look at your CELs. 13, 41, and 43. 13 is NOT the MAF sensor. Your car doesn't have a MAF sensor. It's a code for the Baro sensor. As a good rule of thumb, code 13 for a 92-00 Civic/Del Sol means dead ECU. Find a friend or relative with a Del Sol SI, or a 92-95 Civic EX/SI, and borrow their ECU. An ECU "chipped" for any of the above cars will also work. Barring those options, find one in a junk yard. The big thing you're looking for is a P28 ECU. Does your car start and run with the replacement ECU?

If it does, awesome, we're done. If it doesn't, let's move on to 43. We aren't skipping 41, we're just going to 43 first, because 43 can cause 41. Buy/borrow/rent a fuel pressure tester, and use it. First, install the pressure sensor, and turn the key to ON(II). What is your reading?

reip

Man some luck, should have left the damn cruise control alone.

Big thanks for the info, let's see where it gets me.

tony_2018

What about your tach? Was it functioning during the deceleration or did it drop to 0 instantly?

reip

So I had my grandfather take the car to his buddy today and he went through all the relays and fuses...turns out the spark plugs went bad. Weird.

tony_2018

No maintenance can cause this issue.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Spark plugs causing a 13? Yeah...OK.

deschlong

iTrader: (8)

Don't believe it. There's more to it than bad spark plugs.

slomofo

iTrader: (1)

Problem probably fixed itself and will likely return another day. I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being a main relay.

reip

Yea the tach stayed working. Trust me I'm not convinced either, just too weird.

reip

However I did notice that I get a bad stutter on Vtec engagement. I think the cat and exhaust are shot could have something to do with it. Oil is not low either but could use a change.

tony_2018

When was the last time you have done any maintenance?

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

If the spark plugs "went bad"? Probably never.

reip

knowing how my grandfather take care of things probably never has been maintained. I've had the car running relatively well the past two weeks until it got better cold the other day and now I'm running into the same problem the car turns over but will not start.

I went about changing the spark plugs again and no luck yet however the plugs that were in the car we're completely black. my thoughts are that the car is not getting a good enough spark to burn the fuel so I'm going to change the cap and wires today.

angrysmileyface

Test the coil/distributor ICM A dying coil will often work well some of the time and then lead to a no-start/no spark at random times.

reip

replaced the cap and wires today, no luck.

Rotor screw is seized up. Thinking about just buying a reman'd distributor and putting the new rotor i have on it. If the car starts keep it if not return it.

angrysmileyface

Testing stuff is free. IE all you need is a multimeter (You can get crappy ones that work well enough at HF for free too). Throwing parts at it will not solve your problem. As for getting the rotor off, simply break the plastic of the old one and use a dremel tool to cut slots in the old retaining ring.

http://www.dealsoff.com/images/multimeter-0301.jpg

tony_2018

****** christ......

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Following diagnostic procedures for CEL codes is a good thing to do. Slapping random parts on it is a bad thing to do. I'm quoting my own post to remind you of the diagnostic steps that you decided to skip over.

reip

My issue is that I have nobody to help me with this diagnostic. Was able to get a hand today just to see if the car is getting any spark at the plugs...and yes I have spark. Loosened the fuel pressure regulator and turned it to on...yes there's gas at the fuel rail. I read up on code 41 which lead me to checking the resistance at the upper o2 sensor. I couldnt even getting a reading at the two black wires.

Took a trip down to the auto parts store and put my reader on a new sensor and got a reading. Put that in the car and tried starting, still no start but now the CEL is gone. I check the codes again to be sure and 41 still comes up (no more code 13), however I haven't reset the ecu since before the sensor swap.

I checked all the grounds to the motor, everything looks fine.

This sucks by the time I get home from work to look at it its dark and old out. working under a lamp with some cold hands is no pleasure.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Gloves, and a proper work light will make your life easier. Something like this.



They put out a LOT of heat, and you can get them for $50.

Just loosening the banjo fitting on your fuel line is nearly diagnostically useless. It's also dangerous, and a bit stupid. Don't do that. Get a fuel pressure tester, and use it. "Yes there is fuel" tells us your fuel pump is working, but just listening for it could have told us the same thing without spraying gasoline everywhere. The important things we need to know are how MUCH gas (which you can't tell without a gauge), and if the FPR is working properly (which you also can't tell without a gauge).

You don't need a second set of hands for any of these tests. It's nice to have someone to work with, I get that, but you can do these tests on your own.

reip

haha would be nice to be able to plug that in and warm up but im not running 300 feet of extension cord down the road to where the car is parked in the street. thank god for all this snow were getting or id be racking up tickets for alternate side parking.

damn thing just ran the other day, how can it just decide to stop working!?

just need a good full day to diagnose and check and inspect. Any other places to check? Is bad ECU still possible with no more 13 code and fuel priming?

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

It decided to stop working because you decided to stop diagnosing. There's a reason a few of us called bullshit on it being fully fixed after you replaced one (unrelated) thing.

The 13 not coming back is good. Your ECU might not be the problem. Without any testing being done, I doubt anyone (at least, anyone worth listening to) would be willing to say what it is or isn't. Your symptoms have multiple possible causes, and one person's fix might not be your fix, even if the symptoms are the same.

Basically, your car has a heavy cough. It might just need a glass of water, or it might be the flu, or it might be lung cancer. You need to do the tests to find out which it is before you decide to give it radiation treatment.

reip

shes pissed to be in the cold weather. car has never seen snow in its life now its surrounded by it.

going to do a slew of diagnostics this weekend.

do I bother digging into the distributor again if im getting spark?

reip

btw i got one of these and they work pretty great





harbor freight under hood rechargable work light 120 LED