civic_civilian

I will try and be as thorough as possible in my description, so please read it all.

The issue I am having with my 1998 Honda Civic EX 5-Speed Manual is this:

I will be driving the car along and then the power will drop out. For example, I will be in second gear and around 2500 to 3000 rpm, then the needle on the tach will drop to around 200 rpm and then jump back up, then back down again, and the car will hurk and jerk along for a minute, then resume normal driving conditions. The other day, though, the power cut out completely and I lost power steering and brakes (which was intense because I was taking a corner at 60 mph).

So here's the chain of events leading up to this:

Bought the car around Xmas last year, 90k, but it had been sitting a while. Drove it gently to break it back in, flushed all the fluids (I followed the directions on this site for changing the radiator fluid, so I believe there is no air in the system), gave it a tune-up with NGK spark plugs and wires, new air filter, fuel filter, all that jazz. No problems.

About 3 months later, in March, the car dies out of nowhere. I determined it was the distributor with the help of a friend. I ordered one on eBay, so it's not Honda original (after reading more on the forums, I realize this may be a problem). However, changed the distributor out with a brand new one and have been driving it no problems, until the recent one described above.

Then, about 3 months after that, in June, the check engine light came on. I bought a reader, checked the code, and it said the catalytic converter wasn't up to snuff. I bought a Magnaflow direct fit replacement from Summit and replaced it. No problems at this point.

Then, about 3 months after that, or a few weeks ago, I would be driving along and get the hurky jerky problem happening that I described above. At first, it was just a quick pulse down to 300 rpm (it usually happens around 2500 to 3200 rpm). No loss of power. But as time went on, I would lose power at the wheel and in the breaks. No bueno. I'm not getting any codes. As the problem became more frequent, I also began to experience a weakened idle (running about 300-500 rpm when before it was about 800-900 rpm).

At the recommendation of a friend, I replaced the IACV with a new SMP/STANDARD AC185 IACV, and I also replaced the O2 sensors with a DENSO 234-4659 Oxygen Sensor (downstream) and a DENSO 234-4099 Oxygen Sensor (upstream). I also have a new Honda factory PCV valve to put in, although I haven't had the chance yet (and I can't imagine that's the problem). I reset the computer by pulling the 7.5 back-up fuse out for 15 seconds and replacing it after I replaced the O2 sensors and IACV. Altough I do seem to have improved power and the car pulls more smoothly, I am still experiencing the issue.

I think that about covers it. Ideas? I don't want to throw any money at it before I get some input, and without a code I have no idea where to look. This is my first car with a computer and sensors and I am at a loss.

ezone

Treat it as though it has no computer and cannot hand you any answers.

Observe what happens when it tries to stall.

Does it lose spark? (I might connect a timing light and see if it keeps on flashing)
Fuel? (Ever lost the gas cap? Water in a gas tank can cause hair pulling problems.)
Probably isn't losing compression, so leave that alone.

How about the ignition switch...When the engine stalls, did all the warning lights stay off too (as though the key was shut off)? If you jiggle or rock the key, can that make it stall/falter, or dash warning lights flicker?


The code reader you got, can it display any LIVE engine sensor operating data?