I recently was given an 89 SE-i from my grandparents. They parked it 7 years ago when they purchased a new vehicle. List of things I've done so far to make it run. Fuel pump, fuel filter, spark plugs, battery, ignition coil. Everything else is COMPLETELY original. Factory everything. SOHC 2.0. My problem is when I'm driving it will randomly lose throttle and rpms and die. I throw it in nuetral turn the key off and on again throw it back in drive and it drives fine. Until it happens again whether it be 5 minutes from the last time or 20 minutes. I had to drive it an hour from where it sat to get to my house and it did that to me maybe 6 or 7 times. No CEL, and besides leaking headgasket, exhaust mani gasket the car is great. It doesn't even leak enough oil to drop on the ground. I have been working on hondas since i was 15 and this is completely stumping me

Any helpful info would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

Need to figure out what goes missing.

Does the tach act up before or while this is happening?

Can you tap into the power wire to the fuel pump and watch the voltage on it...

Next would be to tap into the BLK/YEL wire on the dist to see if power to it is being lost.

Just as a side note, the cap and rotor should be inspected or replaced if the age is unknown.

 

Thanks for the reply. The tach doesn't act up, it really just dies out. I can put a voltmeter on the fuel pump but wouldn't know what id be looking at really haha. While at idle I don't experience this problem, just when im driving down the road. I replaced the ignition coil today and there was a noticeable difference on startup. I just haven't gotten the guts to drop stacks and replace the rest of the dizzy. I was hoping a 60 dollar ignition coil would be the culprit:/ If i tap into the BLK/YEL wire what would i be looking for and how would i notice if it would be losing power (as it only happens driving) Again, thanks for the help. This car has 127xxx original miles, original leather, original bose system, everything works like it would have over 20 years ago. Its a creampuff and i would love to have it as my DD so i can put my del sol on stands and do work on her.

 

If I were to pull the dizzy off and inspect it, what would be signs of replacement? That is if i can get to the last 10mm thats on the under side right next to a water pipe that makes removing the dizzy so. much. fun.

 

For now, leave the dist as is.

If you can tap into the fuel pump wires, what you are looking for is a drop or loss of voltage to the pump.

 

I had an 89 Civic that would die on me going down the road. Had turn the key off and restart it. We replaced the cable from the battery to the starter. I don't know if this is an option for you, but it will cost less than $10 to try.

 

Alright, I will give it a try. Ill also be pulling the pump out cleaning the tank. I'll check out the wires to the starter as well as ground. Another suggestion i received from another group was that it could possibly be a bad ignition switch? Something has to be overheating or losing power to cause the car to lose (what feels like fuel) and the car dies out. blah, i hope this works

 

One of my "guesses" is that the main relay for the fuel pump is getting hot and failing....hence checking for voltage to the pump.

The other "guess" was for the ign switch (not near as common on the 3rd gens as the 90-02), hence checking for voltage on the BLK/YEL wire to the dist.

 

Okay, Im not familiar at all with a voltmeter but i got one today. I have the ignition switch exposed but do not know what wires to tap into and what to do with this voltmeter. (what setting on the **** to turn to, and what to troubleshoot)

 

I have a brand new main relay in it too