THis morning while on my way to work i made it 8 miles from the house and the car (168K 99 Civic) started to act erratic. It would be running along at 3000 rpms then drop to almost nothing and then quickly recover. It finally died but as i coasted along the shoulder i put it in neutral and was able to restart the car. This went on a few times before i rolled into a gas station. I had a 1/4 tank but figured maybe the gauge was bad (never been a problem before). I filled up the tank and drove home with no issues.

I can hear the pump priming for a few seconds when the key is turned to the on position. Maybe its a clogged fuel filter in the tank?? I read the solved issues, and it sounds like the main relay might be at fault? Any ideas?

 

Is the CEL ON or did it turn ON during the rough running?

 

Nope, only when the engine finally died. Then all lights were on CEL, OIL, etc etc... During the erratic performance and ride home it never came on.

 

Could be the tank filter, or the fuel inlet could have come apart inside the tank. When that happens, the pump will start sucking air and the engine will starve, even though you have 1/4 tank or so. The fact that it works well when the tank is full seems to confirm that.

How many gallons did it take to fill up? That's how you'd know if the gauge was lying when it said 1/4 full.

 

Yea, the gauge was correct. Only took like ~7 gallons to fill up. Fuel was a last resort, but so far it seems to have fixed it. I am going to drive it around later this evening when my wife is available to come pick us up from the side of the road!

 

You should read this thread:

https://www.hondacivicforum.com/foru...ghlight=fisher

 

Thanks RonJ, thats my car this morning! Guess i know what i will be doing when i get home. I'll let everyone know my findings. Thanks again!!

 

Anyone know how to remove the back seat to access the fuel pump? My manual says "remove the seat".

 

Download the 96-00 Civic manual at the link in my signature.

 

Thanks for the manual RonJ. Much better than my Chiltons. Anyways, got the fuel pump out and everything about it looked good. Connectors, seals, wires, hoses, screen filter was in-tact and didn't have any debris on it. Re-installed it and started the car. Pump primes everytime for 2 seconds. With that out of the way I guess I will be cruising the neighborhood trying to make it die again. Can't afford to brave the Houston traffic just yet!