I have a 95 honda civic. The head gasket blew on it and I have a guy that fixed that for me. The catalytic converter was all clogged up. Got that fixed...had trouble code 19 which is for the lock up control valve. I found out what that problem was...wire came out of the connector. I took off the valve/solenoid and put the wire back in the connector. The car is still acting really weird. When driving the car it seems like it holds up at 3000 rpms. I have to let off the gas to get it to shift. It does this between 1st and 2nd gear and then between 2nd and 3rd gear as well. I have no trouble codes now...and the D4 light does not flash. What do you all think??

 

Have you tried draining the transmission fluid and refilling with Honda ATF? It would be best to do the drain and refill 2-3 times.

 

My dad's old Ford did this. It turned out to be the PCV valve on his truck. Not sure if it is definitely your problem but it might be worth replacing. It's like $12 from Honda and is a regular maintenance part anyway, so it should probably be replaced regardless.


And like RonJ said, change the ATF if you haven't already.

 

It's designed to stay in lower gear while you hold the gas on the floor. But the engine should rev up past 3000 doing that. So it sounds like a problem with the engine. Check the cam and spark timings.

 

Haven't had a chance to drain the transmission fluid yet. Changed the pcv valve this morning..that was already on the agenda. That definitely smoothed out the idle...it was kinda rough. Still having the problem with the rev limiter...heard about a limp mode?? Could it be that?? Talked to a transmission place this morning and they said it sounds like an engine issue and not transmission. Was told to change the fuel filter. Maybe spark plugs too??

 

If there's no CEL, then limp mode is unlikely. How old are the plugs, wires, cap, and rotor? Have you inspected them? If these are fine, then check the mechanical timing like mk said.

 

Plugs and cap are new. Wires and rotor are not new. If the fuel filter doesnt work out i'll go to wires and rotor next. Then if that dont work out I'll go back to the guy that worked on the head gasket and get him to check the timing again.

 

It's pretty easy to inspect the cap for damage, wear, and corrosion, and measuring the resistance of the plug wires can be done with a multimeter.

Checking the mechanical timing is also pretty straightforward after you remove the valve and upper timing belt covers. Then just turn the crank counterclockwise and look for this:

 

OK...Now I'm really confused. We changed the fuel filter...ran fine til I got gas then started again. Then out of curiosity..someone told me to try this...I unplugged the map sensor and the problem went away..sort of. In town driving is great...it shifts great. Now when I get on the highway it struggles to get to 70 mph....really acts like it has a governor on it or something. Should I replace the map sensor? Is there something else??

 

Really you must check the timing, as being out of time is one common thing that will really kill performance without turning the CEL on.

You might have a lot of crud in the tank, which clogged your new filter. There is also another filter in the tank.

To check the fuel system -- Loosen the gas cap to relieve any pressure in the tank. Disconnect the fuel return hose which goes from the regulator on the fuel rail to a metal line on the firewall. Direct the hose from the regulator into a container. Turn the key on but don't start. Fuel should flow out strongly during the 2 seconds the pump runs.. If it's just a dribble or none at all, you have a restriction in the fuel system.

With a sensor unplugged the computer has to guess and compromise to make the engine run at all, don't expect it to work properly. Usually a bad sensor will set a CEL code. There is also a way to test them with a voltmeter. Note that the MAP and TPS sensors have the same type of plug, and it is possible to switch them by mistake. The MAP should have a solid white as one of the wires.