Rep Power: 172

Looking for someone to help me find out what's wrong with my car, I bought it a little over a year ago and it ran fine, then our town go hit by a tornado while it was outside and ever since its been misfiring like crazy whenever I get it started so I pulled codes and it came back as multiple cylinder misfires, r andom cylinder misfires, misfire on 1 and 3, and an overheating o2 sensor bank 2 it has an after market exhaust and cai and help would be appreciated I never even got to drive it

 
Rep Power: 518

So...figure out why it's misfiring first, this should be pretty basic.

Plug wires and plugs?
Cap and rotor?

Water sitting in the spark plug tubes?


So, does it misfire only for a short period after you get it started, or does it misfire the entire time it's running?
There is no code for overheating of the sensor, and there is no 'bank 2' on that engine (there IS a sensor #2 though).

Post the actual code number please.

 
Rep Power: 172

I disconnected the plugs at the distributor to check for spark there, spark on all 4 cyclinders but no idle drop on 1 or 3, its been sitting for a while and I'm at a friends house so I don't have the codes in front of me, I figured the over heating o2 had more to do with the aftermarket exhaust it thought bank 2 referred to post cat o2 sensor my apologies and it misfires the whole time.

 
Rep Power: 518

So next step is to figure out why 1 and 3 are dead.

Plug wires and plugs?

Water sitting in the spark plug tubes?

Got compression?


How much of the exhaust is aftermarket?
Header?
Stock catalytic converter, or something else?
"Cat-back" exhaust?
Whatcha got?



Yeah there's no code defined as 'overheating O2 sensor', but there are plenty of other possibilities and definitions, depending on the code.....

Nit pick:
Bank #2 is different from sensor #2. Sensor 2 is the rear sensor, where 'bank 2' does not apply to Hondas inline 4 engines. Bank 1 or 2 normally applies to "V" type engines (cylinder banks).

Holler back with the actual code when you get it...... but it's not likely to be the cause of the misfire codes, consider it to be a separate problem at this point (unless/until proven otherwise).

HTH

 
Rep Power: 172

looking at
: p0301 Cylinder 1 misfiring
: p0141 O2 Sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction (Bank 1 Sensor 2)
: p0302 cylinder 2 misfiring
: p0300 random / multiple misfire detected
: p1399 Manufactures control Ignition system OR Misfire

my apologies i guess its cylinder 1 and 2, just a catback i believe, i was going to do a compression test (never done one before) after I swapped the plugs and wires just making sure that was the best first step.

 
Rep Power: 518

Did someone get plug wires #1 and #2 swapped at the dist cap? Just a thought.

Still should be basic.

An engine needs compression, spark, and fuel. At the correct times, and in the correct amounts.


Is there water/moisture in the plug holes? Water/moisture in the dist cap?
This code is defined as a circuit problem. It's an electrical problem, it cannot be caused by the cat or exhaust (unless physically damaged).
I'd probably ohm test the heater circuit portion of the sensor itself first. If it's open circuit, it's bad.
(If it's brand new and Bosch, it's still bad. )

 
Rep Power: 172

the wires for what i know haven't been moved since before it ran fine so i don't think wires got crossed, possible though the last owner was a dunce. and i don't know where each should go on the distributor, i pulled the wires for the first time since the tornado, last July, plug end, standing water past the plugs on 1 and 2, surprises me because its been negative temperatures for a few months now, should i worry about when it froze? also is shop-vaccing out the water the best route for this, ill check back after i change out the plugs and wires, which could be a week or so, gotta get a new key made first. Thanks for your help so far, just needed someone to help walk me through this.

 
Rep Power: 518

There's your problem. Fix this and see how it runs.

(Man, I said to check this in the first reply....hell, every reply.)

Yeah, shop vac -- with a straw if you have to. Without seeing it all, I'd say replace the plugs AND wire set because water has breached the wire insulation.

Remove the spark plugs, then crank the engine over to blow out any water that might have gotten into the cylinders before you put any plugs back in.

No, freezing shouldn't hurt the head itself IMO, I don't think there's enough expansion there to cause physical damage to the aluminum. I've seen countless engines with water in the tubes at all times of the year, without any damage (other than misfires).

Ok, replace them one at a time so you don't disrupt the correct original sequence around the dist cap.



After it runs decent again, then you can worry about the O2 sensor code.

HTH

 
Rep Power: 172

Crank meaning just try to start with those plugs out or with tools, sorry great at following instructions just trying to build knowledge now, a lot different in this catagory from my d17, first time I've got around to messing with it

 
Rep Power: 518

Remove spark plugs.

Use the key and electric starter to 'crank' the engine for a few seconds prior to installing the new plugs.



Gotta have speed (RPM) to blow any standing liquid up out of the cylinders, cranking by hand with wrenches isn't gonna spin it fast enough.

Make sense now?

 
Rep Power: 172

All or just those 2?

 
Rep Power: 518

You will buy plug wires as a complete set of 4.


May as well do all 4 plugs IMO, no sense in only doing 2 unless they are already nearly new (but it's up to you).
My catalog shows DENSO PK20PR-L13 (Platinum plugs)

 
Rep Power: 172

Do I take all the spark plugs out and try to fire it or just 1 and 2? How about ngk iridium?

 
Rep Power: 518

Any water you can't reach with the vacuum cleaner will drop into the cylinders when you remove the spark plugs.

All you need to do is get the engine to spin over to blow any water out of the cylinders.

Remove 2 plugs or all (all if you are replacing all 4).

And I'd disconnect the distributor wring. As long as the distributor is disconnected it can't make spark, and the engine won't fire.

 
Rep Power: 172

By disconnecting the distributor wiring do you mean just the spark plug wires or taking the distributor apart?

 
Rep Power: 518

I meant disconnect the wire harness from the dist connectors, not the plug wires.

My goal is to not let the coil fire at all for this, because that can ruin one if it is already marginal.

 
Rep Power: 172

Okay man will do, can you explain how to do the ohm test on the o2 sensor? Plan on knocking out everything this weekend, I've got a dmm, just need to know which wires I'm testing or which lead goes where. And what ohms I should expect on the screen lol

 
Rep Power: 518

The O2 sensor has 4 wires.
2 run the sensor portion, the other 2 run the heater portion.

2 of the wires should be the same color; ohm test on those 2....

Use the lowest scale if your meter is that type, like 0-200 ohm scale

What are your results?

 
Rep Power: 172

One prod on each wire ?or postive to one and ground and then the same to the other? Separately

 
Rep Power: 518

One probe to one wire. Other probe to other wire.

Either way.
Hell, check both ways, it should read the same.
Polarity does not matter on the heater circuit.







Jeez, you ask more questions than I do LOL....At least you're thinking!

 
Rep Power: 172

Just ready to get this beast going, and im a perfectionist, wanna do it right the first time and remove any chance of error