sputtering, hesitation and doesn't like to start

ASSISTANCE Hybrids & Advanced Aftermarket Engine Performance
1

hello everyone.

background: B18C, burns oil, runs rich. not on the right ECU. never tuned. as far as i can remember she never started right up first time; always second time, but never first.

about 2 weeks ago i jumped in and it wouldn’t start…after the 3rd or 4th time she started up. no problems after that. yesterday i jump in after a day at work…same thing. 3rd or 4th time she starts up. so, off i go, had an extra drive , normally i have a 1 hr drive home from work, but today i was meeting up with a guy from craigslist to trade some stuff. meet up with him, turn OFF the car, get back in the car and she starts right up…

half hour into the drive at the tollbooth i hear terrible happenings going on. ive never been in a car when it misfires, but ive seen/hear plenty of video, and im pretty sure this was exactly what was happening. really hard to get it out of first, had to give it a fair amount of gas, also experience what ive heard other describe as ‘dog assing’ (may be theres another term?) but basically it feels like the power is being held back (you can hear the exhaust note too, very different) and then it lets go and goes back to normal. i do manage to get it home.

starting it up this AM it sounded fine…so im thinking, awesome. crisis averted! no. its there. just as bad. great loss of power too.

also, sunday night i washed out the engine bay. degreased it and everything else. started it up immediately after and ran it for a while to dry off any standing water.

ive got a long day today, but the next 2 days off. ill pull it in the garage when i get home…any ideas on where i should start? oh and there are no codes. i do smell quite a bit more gas than usual though. as far as i can remember nothing has been replaced recently, i got the car back about 12 months ago, rode it last summer and done the same so far this summer.

[video]https://goo.gl/photos/RLWXj6iwdq14Yxp36[/video]
as the water was evaporating

thanks in advance

:salute:

edit: just an odd bit of .02 but, while driving and thinking it all over in my head, ‘bad injectors’ came up… does anyone think this could be a possible cause? as i said, shes always ran rich, talking years now (i know im a bad owner), and recently its running even more rich. i get 91+ octane without any ethanol in it… :cool:

2

ok folks - so far:

1/2 can of seafoam in the crankcase, put on about 100 miles and changed the oil and filter. (5W30 Castrol Syn)

seemed to help a bit initially…then on start up it seemed to still be there.

empties gas tank, put in lucas fuel system cleaner (i had a suspicion it was fuel injector related). so far…runs like a top again!

as a matter of fact, i added some Lucas oil stabilizer to the oil, and lucas to the gas, wow…the car feels incredible. lighter. quicker. so much more ‘fluid’.

i still have some hesitation around VTEC engag. point, disengaging and engaging. but i think this has to do with my lack of tuning and proper ECU.

so…ill keep this updated with any further changes.

3

Do you a way to look at your O2 sensor voltage? That might not be reading correctly, especially since you have been running it rich for so long it might be fouled out and as time went on the problem got worse. I would also pull your spark plugs and take a look at them, if they are black and sooty you might be able to take a wire brush and clean them, but it might be easier just to replace them.

After you sort this out I would get the car tuned, running it rich like that is only going to tear up the engine over time and waste money on gas.

4

i near forgot to mention, i also turned my fuel pressure down a bit. unfortunetly my fuel pressure gauge broke (?) so i don’t know what it is at, but hot dam it feels good.

spark plugs - ill check tonight when i get home and update after

as far as tuning goes, i was just trying to read some info on it, what would be the simplest way to go? i really have no idea and i do know that i need to devote some $ to it otherwise this investment will be a rock in years to come.

so, once i get this sorted out…can i just drive somewhere and give them money or ? i just always felt that my car needed so much additional work prior to being tuned. but may be it just needs tuning?

i used to have a VAFC II that i loved, i heard that can be useful in tuning as well. i just need a direction to go in, or a list o steps to go by. TIA for any help/advice you can offer.

ooh, and i do not have a multimeter currently, ill have to see about getting one this week and getting it checked.

5

Pulled the plugs. Fouled as all heck. My best guess is they are about 5 years old! And I sold the car about 6 or 7 years ago.

Tried to post a pic but won’t take from my phone for some reason.

6

running better and better - but still bogging down.

this issue ive had for years as well; coming out of or into vtec in 4th and 5th gear…i have a hunch it may be DT my fuel pressure. going to check out the o2 sensor this week sometime

TIA

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[QUOTE=13pulgadas;2329286]

running better and better - but still bogging down.

this issue ive had for years as well; coming out of or into vtec in 4th and 5th gear…i have a hunch it may be DT my fuel pressure. going to check out the o2 sensor this week sometime

TIA[/QUOTE]

Which B18C is it? Type-R or GSR? What ECU are you running? Before you start chasing your tail with fuel pressure and other things get the right ECU in the car and go from there.

That plug is showing serious carbon buildup. I can only imagine what the inside of the engine looks like. You are right in assuming if you dont fix this your going to be stuck later.

8

[QUOTE=TurboG2teg311;2329811]Which B18C is it? Type-R or GSR? What ECU are you running? Before you start chasing your tail with fuel pressure and other things get the right ECU in the car and go from there.

That plug is showing serious carbon buildup. I can only imagine what the inside of the engine looks like. You are right in assuming if you dont fix this your going to be stuck later.[/QUOTE]

thanks for the reply

B18C - not C1 or C5 . just C.

ECU is… 37820-p06-a50 - which i believe is from a …Civi? the guy i bought the car from took out the ECU that was in it once upon a time to put in his racing integra. i currently have no CEL…which is nice.

i have no idea what the correct thing to do here is. i had the car for almost 7 years, sold it about 3 years ago, just got it back about a year ago and seem to have lost almost all knowledge (what little there was) i had about my little Teg

what is the best way to approach this whole situation? i am heavy on Time and light on Money. thanks for any and all help

pic of the ECU https://goo.gl/photos/Sq1a7m8XbEozAjJy7

~Joseph