torontob

Hi everyone,

My car is showing funny behaviour. The last two days it had issue starting up right after a Turn OFF and would take 5 minutes or so to start again. There was no electricity whatsoever. Engine light stayed up for two days as well but when last night I wiggled spark plug on engine it went away and this morning Honda told me to keep the car until Engine light comes on again as they can't tell what's wrong now and they have to still charge me.

So, I want to go on a cleaning mission for spark plugs but I don't know anything about them. Following are my questions:

1- What tools do I need to clean my spark plugs?
2- How many spark plugs should I clean and where are they? (I know the obvious one on the Engine)
3- Are there any hard to reach ones which I should look into?
4- What harnesses or cables I have to look for as well to make sure current is good.
5- How often do you have to change spark plugs?

My car:
Honda Civic 2009
DX-G, Automatic, 4DR
Millage: 86,000 KM

Thanks

MindBomber

It seems unlikely that spark plugs are the cause, more likely there's something else in the electrical or charging system causing the problems. Even with the cel OFF, it should have codes stored in the ecu that indicate the problem.


typically you replace the spark plugs around every 100k km, changing them now wouldn't be a bad idea.

The d17 engine in a 7th gen and r18 in a 8th gen are very similar, so check out this diy and you should have an idea of what changing your spark plugs involves.

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...nge-video.html

torontob

Yeah, and Spark Plugs are there to fire the engine and has nothing to do with the Radio, Door Locks, etc not working in OFF mode which also don't work for me when the car goes crazy.

I thought the spark plug is the one that is right on the engine and is exposed. Seems like there are 4 more per the DIY video.

The tech told me she can't read the Engine light issue if it's not on and that I should come back when it's on. That's weired. I even asked if it remains in history. Is there a tool I can buy that would read it out? Not looking for expensive.

lazlong

Call around to the autoparts stores in the area and see if any have a scan tool and can read codes for ya. You can buy one there but, it will cost at least $40 (that's in the US, don't know about Canada). If none of the autoparts stores has one call the local mechanics and ask if they will read it. Some will read it for free, others can charge up to $100. If you can find an independent Honda mechanic in the area they are usually the most knowledgable.

Post back with specific codes and we can go from there.

It sounds like a bad ground. Check your ground wires. Usually the first one to go is the one going from the engine to the radiator support. If it's rusted, torn, cut, or otherwise damaged replace it.

Stock 99

^ always a good idea to check the ground connections.

I did some digging around awhile ago because I was going to buy an OBD II reader and discovered on my 6th gen you can just jumper a wire and get flash codes off the dash. I don't know if the 8th gen still has that ability but I'd check into it if you don't want to spend any $$$.

My Toyota truck did that as well.

lazlong

Deleted- Thread jacked the same thread where I'm trying to help. lol. Talk about shooting myself in the foot.

MindBomber

The coil packs are what you can see right on top of the engines valve cover, they send electricity into the spark plugs and the spark plugs have an electrode that creates a spark and ignites the fuel inside each cylinder.

I picked up a pretty decent OBDII reader from Canadian Tire for $60, but I think I've seen cheap ones for as low as $30 on sale. The ecu DOES store codes without a CEL, if it's a minor issue then there will be no cel and it just keeps a log.

Now that you've added the door locks and the radio as issues I am pretty confident the problem is in your Multiplex Integrated Control Unit.

lazlong

BTW: If you're talking about a tech at Honda then I would NEVER go back to that dealer. Yeesh!

torontob

Thanks for the tips. I have no clue what Multiplex Integrated Control Unit but I will read about it.

So, if I buy an OBD reader from CDN Tire would that read the stored fault codes as well or it only works when the engine light is on?

I wiggled the white plug right on top of the engine and it's connector and now the engine light is gone and my car hasn't lost electricity all over since then. But yes, when it did few days ago it was to a point where I had to take with me anything valuable I had because the damn doors won't lock. There was not electricity at all to any part of the car. And it wasn't the battery as battery boost won't help. Give it 5-10 minutes and it would magically work again.

lazlong

It works whenever the ignition is in the ON(II) position whether the car is running or not. And yes, you'll be able to read stored codes whether the light is on or not. Specifically you need an OBDII (OBD2) scan tool. They all read codes (stored or not). The only differences are features. I would pay the extra and get the bi-directional scan tool. Bi-directional means it can communicate to the car, not just from the car to the tool. This comes in handy when you need to reset something or turn on a specific actuator/solenoid.