Car runs great, idles perfect, accelerates smooth but will not go past 4-5k rpm, almost like a fuel cut-off? I am assuming my catalyic may have gone to shit, but dont know where to start. I can drive around normal, but have no passing power and start slowing down on hills. I cant even reach VTEC its horrible. As I start getting closer to 4-5k the engine gets very loud but I am not going anywhere.
I have changed the basic bits since owning the car like plugs, wires, filters and fluids. But I have blown one distributor and my VTEC solenoid is leaking again. The basic troubleshooting guides are kind of vauge, ranging for bad cat (my thoughts) to electronics and fuel. I am NOT throwing a CEL but have not jumpered the see if anything comes up.
Now on a note, the exhaust was cat-less when I got it. I noticed a lot of power AND a lot of sound. I had to weld in a catalyic for an inspection, noticed a little loss in the bottom-end but a reduction in noise. I then had a hole in my resonator (post catalyic, pre resonator) it was back to being loud and kinda strong, I had that welded up and noticed a new noise in my exhaust and then later a hole where my 2-piece header splits. I fixed that Friday, so its a closed system but the car is slower than stock. If anyone has experienced this or knows how I can test my catalyic (its less then 6 months old) I would love the help.
I tried to search for accel issues or power loss but a lot of the answers were swaped engines and bad ECUs or bad sensors (that I have cleaned or changed)
1992 GS-R
B17A1, CAI, 4-2-1 ebay headers, stock cat, skunk2 mega power exhaust banged, bashed and dented to no end.
Newish(within year) wires, plugs, distributor, filters and fluids, and other doodas, I keep up on maintenance when I can.
Hey thanks for the quick reply!
Other forum’s were saying injector are flooding engine, fpr gone bad or o2 sensor.
O2 sensor is less than 2 months old so I doubt that. Still iffy about the catalytic…
your symptoms could be the result of any number of problems. best to try and narrow it down as efficiently as possible. checking the codes could send you on the right track. it’s fast and free. always check the codes first
Check ignition timing & cam timing. adjust belt tension or ign timing as necessary.
Pull and replace/clean & regap plugs. Note any carbon fouling or oil wetness and monitor
Check resistance in plug wires. <25kOhm
Pull cap and inspect rotor and cap for wear or damage. replace as necessary.
Check coil and ignitor for burn marks or evidence of improper grounding through distributor. Replace burnt or worn parts
Check for Vacuum leaks around sensors and injectors
Test ECT/TPS/MAP/O2/MFR for correct resistances, adjust/replace as necessary.
Following this list should put you on to your root cause without to much difficulty. There are so many of these “no start, hesitation” etc… threads with zero useful information its unbelievable. Maybe this will help some folks think their way through these common situations instead of starting another thread and/or reading through 20 other threads.
[QUOTE=Nughuffer;2250362]1. Pull codes.
2. Perform ECU reset
2. Check ignition timing & cam timing. adjust belt tension or ign timing as necessary.
3. Pull and replace/clean & regap plugs. Note any carbon fouling or oil wetness and monitor
4. Check resistance in plug wires. <25kOhm
5. Pull cap and inspect rotor and cap for wear or damage. replace as necessary.
6. Check coil and ignitor for burn marks or evidence of improper grounding through distributor. Replace burnt or worn parts
7. Check for Vacuum leaks around sensors and injectors
8. Test ECT/TPS/MAP/O2/MFR for correct resistances, adjust/replace as necessary.
Following this list should put you on to your root cause without to much difficulty. There are so many of these “no start, hesitation” etc… threads with zero useful information its unbelievable. Maybe this will help some folks think their way through these common situations instead of starting another thread and/or reading through 20 other threads.[/QUOTE]
no codes pulled. the cel was just steady, it wasnt flashing.
ecu reset
cap checked and is normal
header was off and we looked at the valves, they are white/normal
Now I guess I was low on oil the ther day (before all this) I have proper oil level now, but by having low oil can anything go to shit in my spool valve or crank sensor?
I know low oil will be bad for all of the engine and i know vtec opperates via oil pressure, but what kind of symptoms can i expect?
I may do an oil change and see if that helps anything, as my spool valve is leaking (again) and i have to fix that.
Now I have a factory service manual, and all be it very helpful, it can some times be confusing. its telling me to check the fuel system first, i.e. check the fuel pump and go from there… when my O2 went out, it wanted me to again, check the fuel pump. Im all for troubleshooting but going right to the fuel pump is starting to get annoying, as I believe thats not the problem.
When you turn the key on do you here the pump prime for 3 seconds? If so its not the problem. The manual is trying to give you ideas on where to begin troubleshooting so you dont just start throwing parts at it.
I suggest testing the plug wires, coil and ICM for correct resistances and checking your Cam and ignition timing. The correct procedures can be found in the helms manual. I’m assuming by spool valve you mean vtec solenoid. Its unlikely, but debris can get into it and clog/tear the filter. It is easily checked by removing the top half and inspecting/cleaning the mesh filter. Generally if there is a problem with vtec a CEL will pop. It seems like you have an ignition problem or a Cam timing problem. I’ve had a car not rev past 4k before and it was because the intake cam was 2 teeth off. Do you have any other electrical issues with the car? How are your ground connections?