1997 Civic HX M/T Issue
 

Hello Everyone,
This is my first post on your forum. I looked through the sticky posts to see if I could find and answer to my issue and did not see any related post. If you have resolved this issue on another thread I apologize and would appreciate it if you pointed me to it.

Here is my issue......

I accelerate normally shifting between 2000-3000 rpms. Once I am up to around 55-60mph and holding the throttle steady to maintain the posted speed limit it seems to gain power from nowhere and accelerate all on its own. I have no modifications at this point and have recently had an oil change, timing belt and services belts replaced, and spark plugs, wires, cap and rotor replaced.

The only thing coming to my mind is maybe the plugs are not gapped right or my clutch is sticking, but these are guesses.

does your car have a vtec engine? I heard that under certain conditions, it kicks in for more power although not usually when the speed is held steady.

Lots of possibilities. Is the engine having any other problems? Is the CEL ON? Is your gas mileage lower than normal? Any other helpful information?

Is the ignition timing set to spec?

The engine is not vtec, its sohc. My gas mileage does not seem to be any lowerm, and I do not have CEL on. Today I changed my plugs which were all a bit off on the gapping. One of which seemed like it had a bad spot near the firing point. If the new plugs do not cure the problem Im going to change the wires next. Then I go to the cap and rotor next. I was told today that I may need to change my fuel filter too. As far as other helpful info goes, I have none.

I think the idea of a basic tune up of the ignition system is a very good idea.

When done, checking the ignition timing may also help. Remember to "jumper wire" the service connector above the ECU during this procedure.