That sounds like the purge solenoid.....one of the vac lines should run down to the canister below.

I have seen coils/ICM's go when cold.....but that is an expensive guess.

If you can't get the sensor out (I call it the ECT) then have you thought about taping into the wires and testing it that way?

 

thanks poorman212,

I wonder if the ECT would ever supress spark like it appears to be happening. I could test on the car, but I would have to lookup expected resistances for different temps.

I am considering warming the distributor to see if I can simulate a warm day for the coil and ICM to rule out other components.

That part I mentioned as clicking is 136200-1320 and it is connnected to the canister below. Is it normal for it to tick like that? it sounded like a ticking valve train.

Thanks

 

have you tried to warm the engine fully before driving and see if the issue still happens? Sounds dumb but every swap I have done into a civic had the same issue as you are stating. All the swaps I have done where h22 swaps and never acted right until warmed up fully. My ej8 did the same thing but after warmed up she ran like a champ. I all ways let the car run for about 10min to make sure she was fully warmed up All but 1 swaps was done with a p28 tuned ecu the other was a p13. I really could never figure out the problem

 

Not sure if you have a manual for this or not, you can download one (Common DIY Threads). Traveling right now and can't post pic's from this computer ....sec 11, pg 44 has the chart and testing procedure.

That is an idea....now that you say that, I do remember someone who wraped a blanket around thiers. Or a heat gun or hair dryer-normal cautions of course.

Doesn't sound right but I'm not sure....I can't say I've ever heard mine click like that

 

Thanks!!! I will see if I can locate the manual. I should be able to get resistance values for lots of different coolant temps. As an aside, I have a bluetooth gadget that I hook to the OBDII port and run the Torque app on my phone. Gives me coolant temps in degrees that seem pretty reliable.

The car runs great when warm. When warm, starts OK, runs good for 30 seconds, starts to miss every now and then for another 20-30 seconds, then runs rough for a little while. Within two to three minutes, starts to run smooth and no problems the rest of the day typically.

I forgot to check the purge solenoid to see if it was clicking when the car was warm. I have one from a LX that unfortunately is not the same. I think the vac line to the canister is smaller on the LX.

 

s tried the heat gun trick on the distributor on two mornings and both times there were no problems. A local junkyard had a distributor from a 97 Acura CL and I decided to give that a try. Luckily I had a new O-ring for the distributor shaft becaue the old gasket was dry and brittle. With the used distributor, all of the cold start misfire issues vanished!!!!sss

So either they ICM or coil in my distributor, both newer aftermarket, had gone bad or were never that good to begin with. This may have begun with a set of wires from an online honda dealer that didn't quite fit right. They were very tight in the spark plug tubes at teh top sealing side and worked themselves loose over time. I have read that not having a good connection here can destroy ignition parts and I guess that may have started this long journey. Now I have a used distributor and another set of good fitting OEM wires. I replaced the original ICM and coil after having problems after getting those wires.

Thanks for all the help and for pointing out the online manual. good stuff.

I was surprised to find out for my 96 EX that there is not much to be done when it comes to ignition timing. I double checked that the spark was happening in the three notch area on the crank pulley and idle. Car drives great now. Looks like no adjustment is needed.

 

End of a long road.... Nice.