exhaust headers glowing
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You gotta be as blind as Anne Frank not to see that
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exhaust headers glowing
i just put in a cai and took it around the block to test it out. i pushed it kinda hard but not too hard, shifting at 5k rpm. when i got home and popped the hood to check everything was alright, the exhaust headers were glowing bright red (stock headers). now i dunno if this is common for a civic or if i should take a look at it further...i really dunno if it's normal for it to do that. btw its a 2k1 civic lx 4d.
any help would be appreciated
any help would be appreciated
Last edited by ddevil0013; Oct 4, 2004 at 12:26 AM.
snooty patooty partier
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Rep Power: 301 well did u push your car like right after a cold start? usually when u run your engine hard enough at a cold start u will have unburned fuel go into the exhaust manifold and burn in your headers, hence the glowing exhaust. its a smog and pollution thing.
edit: i wouldnt worry bout it, try to start your car and go to like a drive thru and then run your engine hard after like 15 minutes of your car starting and see if it glows super red again.
edit: i wouldnt worry bout it, try to start your car and go to like a drive thru and then run your engine hard after like 15 minutes of your car starting and see if it glows super red again.
Thread Starter
You gotta be as blind as Anne Frank not to see that
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From: Phoenix, AZ
Rep Power: 0 nah it wasn't from cold... i drove it for about 25 mins on the freeway doing like 80- 85mph average, then i got home and it sat there for like 8 mins. then i took my friend for a quick spin around the block and showed him the huuuuuuuge jump in performance..lol. when we got back we popped the hood and so he could check it out see how it looked. the thing was glowing like a ****, right by the sensor thing. so i dunno..we'll see if it happens again
thx for the reply tho
thx for the reply tho
snooty patooty partier
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Rep Power: 301 again from my knowledge sounds like u running too rich but dont worry its normal for all cars to do the "glowing" thing, plus its not like your WHOLE header is glowing sound slike just near the O2 sensor , thats normal
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From: NV
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I've never seen or heard of a header getting that hot. So you look through the heat shield holes and see the tubes red hot? Man that's not normal. See if the dealer says anything about it.
Thread Starter
You gotta be as blind as Anne Frank not to see that
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From: Phoenix, AZ
Rep Power: 0 yep, red hot... right by the o2 sensor. i was going to touch it but i figured i better not. i just finished installing the cai like 4hrs earlier so maybe it just didnt get used to it yet. although i did follow the instructions exactly in the diy section here with the 7.5 fuse and leaving it idle and all that stuff. should i just upgrade to performance headers to be safe?
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From: NV
Rep Power: 812 Um intake would not have any effect on the header. There is some other problem causing that, so having it checked will be the best option. You could always get the stock header coated with jet-hot, which is what I'm doing. Keeps heat in and withstands big temp gains. You prolly won't even need to put the heat shield back on. Coating looks good and keeps heat in the pipes. But find out what the problem is first. I've never seen headers get red-hot before.
I also noticed you're from arizona, so the temps are alot higher outside. Still, a red hot header will eventually deform from that much heat.
I also noticed you're from arizona, so the temps are alot higher outside. Still, a red hot header will eventually deform from that much heat.
Last edited by gearbox; Oct 4, 2004 at 11:25 AM.
Thread Starter
You gotta be as blind as Anne Frank not to see that
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Rep Power: 0 F^%K..this makes me mad. i just got home from work, didn't even drive on the freeway. took it easy on the engine shifting at like 3k rpm. popped the hood and the header was still glowing. not as much as before but still visible in the dark. i spit on it and it fizzled. that tells me it's hot. i have no clue what it could be. has anyone ever experienced this before??
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From: NV
Rep Power: 812 get some mods that add more air? Or vafcII and turn down the fuel. Our cars run rich in stock form, so maybe yours is worse for some reason.
snooty patooty partier
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Originally Posted by ddevil0013
does anyone have a pic of the inside of the fuse box. cuz i think maybe 2 of mine were reversed. will that do anything?
Thread Starter
You gotta be as blind as Anne Frank not to see that
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Rep Power: 0 i think i got it. on the diy on this site it says to take out the FI ECU fuse (7.5amp) wait 10 mins..etc. i did that. then i looked in my manual and i saw the FI ECU fuse is not 7.5, but its the 15amp fuse right below it. the 7.5 is the "inerior lite" fuse. im guessing this is what caused me to run rich because i redid it and took it for a spin and it was fine. on the other hand tho, i couldn't resist touching the headers, therefore burning the sh*t out of my finger. lol. just curious to see if red headers are really hot headers. turns out its true. i learned a valuable lesson tonite. thx for all the info guys.
snooty patooty partier
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Rep Power: 301 omfg i used to change oil for work and i remember this guy got his arm on the header and just for a sec too. and his skin stuck on the header... really gross. lucky u man.
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Would he be running too rich or too lean? I know on my motorcycle the header only glows hot when I am running too lean.
If you are running too rich you should actually be running cooler. This is how it works on motorcycles, and I would think it would apply to cars too. The only difference is when I open up the air intake on a motorcyel I ahve to rejet the carb to make it run richer, where the ECU should compnesate for the extra air.
Have you checked the ECU to see if it adjusting the fuel or not? If the ECU is not compensating for the extra air then you are definetely running lean. Be careful or you can burn out your pistons! Seen to many of those on cycles!
If you are running too rich you should actually be running cooler. This is how it works on motorcycles, and I would think it would apply to cars too. The only difference is when I open up the air intake on a motorcyel I ahve to rejet the carb to make it run richer, where the ECU should compnesate for the extra air.
Have you checked the ECU to see if it adjusting the fuel or not? If the ECU is not compensating for the extra air then you are definetely running lean. Be careful or you can burn out your pistons! Seen to many of those on cycles!
Originally Posted by ddevil0013
on the other hand tho, i couldn't resist touching the headers, therefore burning the sh*t out of my finger. lol. just curious to see if red headers are really hot headers. turns out its true. i learned a valuable lesson tonite.
Thread Starter
You gotta be as blind as Anne Frank not to see that
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Rep Power: 0 well good news is i think i fixed the problem by resetting the ecu so it should be adjusted to the extra airflow...bad news, my middle finger is sporting a huge bubbly blister the size of a ...size of..a...penut?? i dunno..it hurts and it's big and im poking it with a needle.
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From: NV
Rep Power: 812 If something is glowing red, don't touch it sheesh! Anyway, a lean mixture will cause everything to run hotter. Also, resetting the ecu will erase fuel curves, but the ecu should also compensate while you drive without resetting it. That's mostly for idle problems. The o2 sensor allows for these kinds of adjustments to be made by the ecu.
Thread Starter
You gotta be as blind as Anne Frank not to see that
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From: Phoenix, AZ
Rep Power: 0 ok..now it's just ridiculus. it done done it again. wtf pos civic. i put in an intake and the headers are prolly gonna blow. is there anywhere i can get a diagnostic run for cheap or should i just take it to a dealership?
Subarus FTW I do NOT miss my civic
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Rep Power: 0 No dealer would turn you away with cash, are you crazy? Dealers want to make as much money as they can, I doubt any dealer not on crack would turn any paying customer away?
I wish I was asian
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Originally Posted by ddevil0013
ok..now it's just ridiculus. it done done it again. wtf pos civic. i put in an intake and the headers are prolly gonna blow. is there anywhere i can get a diagnostic run for cheap or should i just take it to a dealership?
maybe you could touch it again just to be sure.
Thread Starter
You gotta be as blind as Anne Frank not to see that
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From: Phoenix, AZ
Rep Power: 0 it's still doing it. yea it's still hot. my finger still hurts. i've gotten used to it i guess it's just normal. i'll make sure to post when the headers start melting away. i like cheesecake.
