Rep Power: 0

Ok need some help! 97 Civic 1.6L - 73k miles. CE light came out out of nowhere and car started running rough.

Threw a 303 (cylinder 3 misfire) and 300 (general ignition fault). Runs rough when accelerating (vibration/shutter) and has backfired/popped a handful of times. Power and gas mileage are decreased too.

Replaced plugs, wires, distributer cap/rotor, fuel filter, air filter... sprayed T-body & intake with B12 ChemTool. Reset ECU. No change. CE light came back on within a day.

Took car to mechanic. Compression test was normal and even across all cylinders. They tested the fuel and ignition systems, scope-tested ignition, checked for vacuum leaks, and performed a full engine/fuel decarbon service (flushed fuel system, injectors, and combustion chamber). Cleared the codes.

CE light came back on in after 1 mile. Running worse than ever now. Vibration/shudder more noticeable. CE light started flashing today as well. Ran the codes again tonight and got 303 and a new one... 1399 (which is another ignition/misfire code).

Honda service bulletins noted that an alternator belt or a bad ECU can cause these codes. Belt appears to be fine. Not sure how to check ECU.

So what the heck do I do next? I'm thinking of swapping the cylinder 2 and 3 fuel injectors to see if the code moves to cylinder 2 (bad injector). Beyond that, I'm stumped. Could this be something in my gas tank? Bad fuel pump??

Any ideas are appreciated! Kinda sick of tossing money at this and not getting anywhere!

 
Rep Power: 813

check the fuel pressure to make sure its within specs. if not, thats the problem. and check the injectors, send them all for cleaning and blueprinting. or get new ones if you can.

 
Rep Power: 0

Replace your distributor, honda's are notorious for bad distributors.

 
Rep Power: 267

I'm thinking it's his distributor coil? I'm just going by what the honda techs did when I was having misfire/starting problems due to my bosch plugs. Maybe you can research "distributor coil" on google to see if it relates to misfires and stuff.

Yeah, good idea with switching the injectors. If you need a new one though, check ebay.

 
Rep Power: 0

Well... I swapped the #2 and #3 fuel injectors. While I was at it, I took all four of the injectors out and cleaned the carbon build-up off of them. This wasn't intended to fix the problem, but rather see if the misfire moved to cylinder 2 which would then indicate that the injector was bad.

Anyway, I reinstalled them and PRESTO... car runs like it's brand new! Dunno why... maybe the fuel spray was being interrupted by the carbon?? Regardless, the car's running great. Cleared the codes and CE light has stayed off so far!

We'll see if this really addressed the problem, but I'm happy for the moment. Just wish I would have tried this $400 ago!!!!

 
Rep Power: 813

nice lol

 
Rep Power: 267

Cool dude. I would run some FP60 through there. Today I found a really easy way to carry FP60 around. I have this 3-piece canteen which has a cup for the cap. I just take off the cap, then press the open button and pour into the cup. No mess!

 
Rep Power: 0

Anyone's got step-by-step instructions on removal & installation of fuel injectors for '03 Civic EX?

 
Rep Power: 813

ive never done it but i think its pretty easy they just unplug and unclip.

 
Rep Power: 0

Yes, but where are they? Under the valve cover?