93 civic loss of power

Think of what will happen if your zip tie fails while you are
driving;gasoline (pumped by the in-tank electric fuel pump)will SPRAY all
over your hot engine parts.


Instant FIRE,perhaps even an explosion.

Well,it's YOUR butt....

 

Did you use the manual's directions and short out the
service check connector, etc.?

 

The only way to go on high mileage vehicles. Often, a timing light is
useless in such situations. Been doing it by "feel/sound" for years...

JT

 

Mostly, that works well. An exception is when the distributor is failing and
the timing is erratic - there is no correct setting then, and a timing light
will show the timing is jumping around. The timing light is a great
diagnostic help for that, as it points a big red arrow at the distributor.
Of course, if there is anything seriously wrong with the fuel or valves the
timing can't be set by ear (and sometimes not even set quite right with a
light) because the operation is never right.

Mike

 

you'd both be right if this vehicle had a chain driven cam, but this is
a belt driven cam, so the only way you'll get erratic timing is if the
belt is loose. go to a junk yard and check this for yourself - there's
only maybe 30% of belts set right. it's something i'd have a hard time
believing myself unless i'd seen it. so, if y'all have this issue,
check your belt tension.

 

and locate the service connector so the leads are jumped too - with that
done and a properly tensioned belt, honda timing is rock solid.

 

A failing distributor should be pretty easy to catch. Of course, I
working with relatively primitive cars (the newest being the '83 Civic).
Valve problems hopefully would be on the noisy side.

I'm used to the simpler old style vacuum advance distributors where the
timing was set with the vacuum disconnected. One could then use a
timing light to check the rate of advance when applying the gas pedal.
Easy task on an old V8 where everything is out in the open.

On my '83 Civic, the long sleep that it endured left the whole
vacuum-electro-mechanical control system in some disarray. For example,
when I first got the car running in May, the spark would advance by
turning the distributor counter clockwise which is the opposite of what
the manual calls for. Later, it would not respond at all and now it
seems to work (somewhat) as it should.

The vacuum for the advance is tapped of of the carb insulator which is
of course below the butterfly. Since manifold vacuum decreases when the
butterfly(s) are opened, how would this advance timing. The vacuum line
is a "T" with the other line going to "Control Box 1."

<shudder>

JT

(Amazed by those crafty Japanese engineers...)

 

I'm not an expert in later model distributors but if the centrifugal
weights are on their way out, that should cause erratic timing. Late
Hondas may not even have such things... Geeeez, I'm not an expert on
any Honda I guess.

Though off topic sort of, that was a common problem with my Studebakers
with Prestojunk distributors with the only good cure being a replacement
with the solid earlier GM Delco distributor. I had one NOS Prestolite
go belly up after a measly 16K miles and that's the reason they no
longer exist in my inventory (the distributors that is).

JT

 

update:

The platnum plugs are Bosh branded. I put them in last night, and they
seem to be just fine. I also installed the OEM spark plug cables I
ordered online.

I changed my zip tie out with the real bolt, blowing my car up didn't
sound like a good option.

I tried the "feel and sound" method of the distrbutor adjustment, but I
guess my feel and sound is not so great.

I figured out how to hook the timming light up, and found the timming
belt marks. The belt isn't shaking around or anyhting, but it does
look to be way off on its adjustment.

Thats as far as I got last night. I plan to get the adjustment done
tonight, and hopefully have a nicely running civic very soon.

Thanks to everyone with thier help again. I was worried at first to
ask such a general question 'why is my car slow", I figured I would get
flammed for posting that, but everyone has given good advice, and put
me on the path of fixing this car. Once all of this is done I may post
some pics on a website so you all can see. *wish this forum allowed
picture posting* Thnaks again everyone!!

 

Belt?

You should not be able to see the timing belt when doing
this adjustment. Maybe you mean the alternator or power
steering belt, which loop around the crankshaft pulley? The
crankshaft pulley is the pulley with the four timing marks
etched into it.

Clicking on a link to a web site with Honda photos on it is
preferable to me, and in fact I almost always go to such
web site links posted here.

Rough running cars come up a lot here and fortunately for
1990s or so and later Hondas, are usually easily remedied
with a proper tuneup or possibly replacement of a few other
not-too-expensive parts.

 

I've had erratic timing three times, all with gear driven cams. In our 64
Dodge the gear on the distributor lost some teeth (apparently not that
uncommon), in the '70 Volvo the plate the advance weights rode on wore so
the advance plate jumped rather than slid, and in the same car the
distributor shaft actually cracked. They are admittedly not mainstream
problems, but they are nearly impossible to pin down without a timing light.

Mike

 

the 93 civic has neither vacuum advance not centrifugal weights - it's
all electronically controlled with timing maps stored in the ecu.

 

indeed, they don't.

 

Which in turn limits the ability to resolve issues by the consumer. I
suppose (or hope) that failures are rare with Hondas. Detroit junk
OTOH, could cause a lot of sleepless nights...

JT

 

You can always get a Hondata programmable ECU,and a laptop will allow you
to reconfigure as you wish.

 

Less to go wrong or wear out. Good.
Follows the KISS principle!

 

if anything, it's easier - it either works or it doesn't. agreed, you
can't use your old skill set, but a new skill set is easy enough to
acquire, thanks to the net and the efforts of people like tegger.

 

No,

I just popped in the new distributer, and listened for when it sounded
best. I actually drove prob 100 miles on the car when it was not set
correctly, and I knew something was not right. I rode in the car 2
weeks ago and its still purring just fine.

 

Interesting. When the service check connector is not
shorted, the engine computer is sending a signal that will
tend to counteract whatever a person does with the
distributor housing, so the timing won't be set right.

Dunno what happened in your case. I suppose there are
"windows of opportunity" that make the shorting of the
service check connector irrelevant.

 

Don't decide until you try them... I've been running Bosch Platinum 2's in my
'87 Accord for close to a year now, and they're still working great.

No point shelling out for another set of new plugs right away, if you don't need
them.

Adjusting timing is easy: loosen the bolts on the distributor and rotate it
until it's right. READING the timing is a little tricky the first time, but
it's easy once you've done it.

A zip tie may be affected and weakened by the engine heat. A regular hose clamp
can replace the stock one.