Can some one please give me some guidance, advise , and or some suggestions on how to repair my car, and what may caused the breakdown in the first place.

I purchased a 1991 Honda Civic Lx, automatic trans, with 65,000 original , mint condition.
The other night, driving home from work, i drove it about 3 miles and i was just about to get on the highway, the check engine light comes on, and the car starts to sputter, and won't run over 1,000 rpm's.
The car would still idle, but i could barely move it, when the smoke starting to come out from underneath. I got out, opened the hood, and noticed the cat converter was BRIGHT ORANGE/RED.
After i let it cool down, the car would pretty much start right up, the check engine light would stay on, and i could only rev it to still around 1,000 rpms.

Has anyone ever been a party to some thing like this, and if so, could you give me some kind of assurance that i did not do anything major in terms of $$$$.
Kind of on a budget. Thank you.!!!

 

Whenever the CEL comes on, check the code on the ECU. On the OBD0 models (1988 to 1991), that is done by pulling down the carpet where the passenger's feet would be. There you will find a window with an LED behind it. Turn the key on but don't start. Count the blinks of the LED. Look up in code chart sticky posted at the top of this forum.

Misfiring or running rich will overheat the cat converter due to overloading it with raw gasoline. Hopefully it did not melt down inside.

 

down inside what, the cat?

 

yes, inside the cat. Pull the CEL codes and let us know what they say.

 

I didn't email anybody anything. I just asked about this problem on this forum.
Is that wrong? or were you speaking to someone else, and not me?

 

Was speaking to you. Just clarifying what mk378 said. Here's the CEL code link he mentioned.

https://www.hondacivicforum.com/foru...le-codes-3682/

 

WellFedHobo - I think he was referring to your signature comments..

 

Oh. That clarifies things lol.