Intermittentcy

[Ralphie ★]

I have a  big one on the del Sol.  There are three modes of operation:

1. CEL off, runs great! ~ 33%

2. CEL on, runs great! ~ 33%

3. CEL on, stumbles a little. ~ 33%

It changes randomly after most shutdowns and restarts.  2 and 3 can happen on the fly, but it always has to be shut off to clear the CEL once it rears its ugly head.

It is an old car, so you read the code by shorting two terminals and turning the ignition on and counting the flashes.  First time was 9, which says #1 cylinder position sensor, and the second time was none.  I have only read it twice.  I assume the none reading was with the CEL on and it running fine.  I think the sensor is integral to the distributor which I had replaced a year or so ago, and I do not want to pay to do that again.  I meant to ask if there is a one year warranty on it but I forgot.

 

[Longjohn ★]

What is CEL?

[jdc2000]

CEL = Check Engine Light

[Bikeguy]

1 hour ago, Ralphie said:

It is an old car, so you read the code by

using one of these.   https://www.caranddriver.com/car-accessories/g42938164/best-obd2-car-scanners-tested/

I have an old Garmin bluetooth OBD2 device that communicates to my 11 year old Garmin Nuvi GPS.   Both still work.  

[Ralphie ★]

44 minutes ago, Bikeguy said:

using one of these.   https://www.caranddriver.com/car-accessories/g42938164/best-obd2-car-scanners-tested/

I have an old Garmin bluetooth OBD2 device that communicates to my 11 year old Garmin Nuvi GPS.   Both still work.  

This is OBD 1.

[Bikeguy]

22 minutes ago, Ralphie said:

This is OBD 1.

Good luck finding a port reader for that.   I guess counting the light flashes it is... 

Or spend the big bucks and have Honda read the code. 

[Longjohn ★]

16 minutes ago, Bikeguy said:

Or spend the big bucks and have Honda read the code. 

Or just get some black electrical tape.

[Further]

 

[Bikeguy]

7 hours ago, Ralphie said:

I have a  big one on the del Sol.  There are three modes of operation:

1. CEL off, runs great! ~ 33%

2. CEL on, runs great! ~ 33%

3. CEL on, stumbles a little. ~ 33%

It changes randomly after most shutdowns and restarts.  2 and 3 can happen on the fly, but it always has to be shut off to clear the CEL once it rears its ugly head.

It is an old car, so you read the code by shorting two terminals and turning the ignition on and counting the flashes.  First time was 9, which says #1 cylinder position sensor, and the second time was none.  I have only read it twice.  I assume the none reading was with the CEL on and it running fine.  I think the sensor is integral to the distributor which I had replaced a year or so ago, and I do not want to pay to do that again.  I meant to ask if there is a one year warranty on it but I forgot.

I found this info.  

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/[faq]-ecu-codes-everyone-682412/

I think you found the problem.      

Google tells me you can buy a new one.   Kind of expensive...    https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/find/honda-civic-del-sol-distributor

[JerrySTL ★]

4 hours ago, Ralphie said:

This is OBD 1.

Damn. I just threw away a reader for that along with my dwell meter and some other old automotive tools a couple of weeks ago.

[Bikeguy]

Just now, JerrySTL said:

Damn. I just threw away a reader for that along with my dwell meter and some other old automotive tools a couple of weeks ago.

That's how you find old stuff like an OBD1 reader... some old guy.  

I got rid of my dwell meter and timing light, etc... when I moved to my new home.  Yeah I'm old... 

[JerrySTL ★]

18 minutes ago, Bikeguy said:

That's how you find old stuff like an OBD1 reader... some old guy.  

I got rid of my dwell meter and timing light, etc... when I moved to my new home.  Yeah I'm old... 

Moving is why I also threw away a lot of stuff. 

[MickinMD ★]

The 1990's and early 2000's Ford Taurus was infamous for it's check engine light staying on and the shops being unable to figure out why.

One guy wrote a haiku, the Japanese 3-line, 5-7-5 syllable poem, that went something like:

Check the engine soon.

The red light that glows from hell.

Damn you, Ford Taurus.

I had that light on permanently and said a sensor related to emissions had failed. I had to show the Motor Vehicle Admin. that I spent at least $200 at a repair shop in an attempt to fix it to get past my biannual exhaust test.  I did it once when a repair shop couldn't figure it out.  The car passed the emissions tests but I was failed because of the damn light.

Two years later - light still permanently on, I had a new test coming up and mentioned the problem to my students as a joke about me being tormented by Zeus' Harpies.

A Korean-American girl in that Physics class came up to me after class and said her grandfather had a repair shop and I should take it to him because he was really good.

So I did and the old Korean guy found that a sensor hidden under another sensor had broken.  He repaired it for something like $125 and I went away happy.

Of course, the granddaughter got a good grade.