intermitant running
 

This issue started a couple of weeks back. I was driving my 2002 Civic LX 1.7 and it died a couple of times. I was able to get it restarted. When I went to leave work, it would not start. It would turn over strong but it would not fire. This car has 90,000 miles on it and it has always been dependable. The previous owner did a timing belt on it at about 60K.


I had it towed to a nearby shop and they worked on if for about 4 days. They told me that they could not find anything wrong with it. They drove it and it drove fine. They checked for codes and NOTHING came up.


So, I went to pick it up and made it about 4 miles and it died again. It would not restart.


So, I had it towed to another shop and they had it for a week and still nothing was diagnosed. They checked fuel line pressure and told me it was fine. At the second shop, it started for them every time they tried it except for 1 time. Today they called me and it would not start, but would crank just fine. 2 items that they mentioned could be an issue was the cam shaft sensor and the crankshaft sensor being bad. However once again no codes.


I'm stuck with a decent car that wont run and I thought I'd ask on here if anyone has had that sort of thing happen to them. So far I'm into this problem for a little over 400 dollars and I still have a car I cant drive.


I also have an aftermarket alarm system and I called them today and told them what is happening and they said the alarm wouldn't do that. But, they did tell me to try the alarm in valet mode and see if that helps. I will try that tomorrow.

Re: intermitant running
 

I can fix a lot of stuff, but it usually has to be broken in order to figure out what isn't right.
(As long as it runs, then 4873 pieces ARE working correctly and at that moment it ain't broken.)

AND it's gotta stay broke long enough to figure out what isn't right.
That makes it a whole lot easier to check what's not right, spark or fuel or whatever.


'Codes' are not all there is to diagnosing a problem. A scanner is just a tool in the diagnostic arsenal. Quite often, problems arise that the computer was not programmed to detect as a problem, even in the engine electronics. Those can be real fun to figure out.

I might use my scanner to record a "snapshot" so I can look at things like temp sensor values and fuel trim numbers at the moment it stalls, and drive around with a fuel pressure gauge hooked up so I can look to see if fuel pressure was lost at the moment it dies.

Re: intermitant running
 

although this is not related to your problem i have to ask why? :_doh:

i would never even think about purchasing a car with an aftermarket alarm installed, nor would i let somebody else install one, you do not know what somebody has done to the electrical system, and electrical problems like these are the hardest ones to diagnose,

Re: intermitant running
 

7 year maint interval I'd assume.

Re: intermitant running
 

The previous owner did the scheduled maint on a regular basis. I can only assume that he did the timing belt at 7 yrs. I don't know.


As far as the aftermarket alarm. I had it installed and I did it basically for the remote door locks. When this problem first started it seemed like a fuel delivery problem. I say this because I would be driving along and watching the tach and it would drop to zero, and then it would resume running. During these times, I would watch for any of the instrument lights to come on and none did. The idea of having a fuel pressure gauge inline while driving it might be worth looking into.

Re: intermitant running
 

See if there are any signs of corrosion in the terminals of the CKP sensor and/or harness connector

Re: intermitant running
 

Ok, after a month and a lot of money. The problem was diagnosed as a faulty fuse block under the dash. Now, I have a secondary problem. The catalytic converter has thrown a code. P0420 I think.


Back when this problem happened and took the car to an Oreilly's and the ran a code check on it and it showed a P0420. They cleared it and I thought nothing of it because the check engine light have never come on in the 3 yrs I've owned the car. It only has 76K on it.


During all of the time that the car was being checked out, Im quite certain that there were extended lengths of time that the car was allowed to sit and run, in hopes of the mechanic being able to make it die. In fact, I filled it up today and I always get 30MPG. This tank was 20MPG meaning it ran ALOT.


What are some steps I can do before I take it in and have someone diagnose it and possibly end up selling me a new catalytic converter.




One of the things the mechanic told me after he cleared the code, was that if the code was to reappear, it would take a could of heat-up cool down cycles which was precisely what happened.


Also, if I buy a low end code reader, with the code reader allow me to clear codes also?

Re: intermitant running
 

i don't really remember the original issue too well, but if your engine was misfiring a lot during this "intermitant running" that could destroy your cat converter quite easily

Re: intermitant running
 

Intermittent dying sounds like an electrical issue, possibly a bad/loose connector. That is where I would start.

Re: intermitant running
 

The intermittent dying has been fixed. Now the issue is whether or not my catalytic converter is bad and whether or not there is any way to test this before I replace it

Re: intermitant running
 

A smog guy can run a temp sensor on it to see if it is working. Your car will run fine with a bad cat, but it will not pass smog if the cat is bad.