Hi everyone,

It's great to see a forum where people are helping each other and Civic enthuasiasts are getting along.

I don't know much (anything) about cars, so bare with me on some parts where I might not use the correct terminology or describe things rather colloquially

My dad used to drive the Civic before getting a new car and it pretty much sat around for about 6 months as he intended to donate the car, but decided it would be a good 1st car for me to have. About three months ago, we replaced the battery and started the car up for the first time in months and it surprisingly worked well. Fast forward to today, I've been having some problems with the car.


1) Engine fails to turn over at random times. It'll crank but won't start. Usually, a few minutes of waiting then trying again solves this problem.

2) It maxes out at about 60 MPH going up a slight incline on the highway, even when gas pedal is pushed down all the way.

3) Speedometer doesn't work at times. It'll start jumping from 0 to 70 and just bounce back and forth.

4) Check Engine light comes on at random times, but then will go away.

5) We noticed a considerable difference in how far you have to push down on the brake pedal between the Civic and the 2000 Accord my dad drives.

6) The mileage tracker is terrible messed up. It'll track me as going 5 miles when I've gone maybe a mile, but when I press reset, the numbers don't add up on the total.

7) We are pretty sure there is an engine oil leak somewhere as we are finding that the level on the dipstick decreases about a cm every week or two and are having to add oil frequently.



I really love this car as my dad has passed it down to me, but even I can't deny the facts and it is unfortunately in decline. We are hoping to alleviate some of the problems above, and hopefully let it run longer than it is on pace for right now. It'll be fun to work on it, but we're limited as to how much we can spend and so are hoping to limit it to under $200 or so.

I'm most concerned about problem #1, but would appreciate any and all help and tips or pointers to great tutorial websites, methods, what parts to get, etc.

Thanks in advance

 

1) could be several things, but need more info to help, and try tightingconnections on battery and starter for secure connections.
2) is it bogging? and in what gear?
3) could be a loose connection on the sensor or the wiring connected to the back of the gauge cluster
4) try getting a code reader from a parts place, and get the codes for the CELs to see the problem
5) check your brake fluid level, or your brakes are just very worn down
6) is it the odometer or trip meter?
7) a lot of older cars leak oil, and you can't really be sure where considering it changes from vehicle to vehicle

and for more info: what year? model? auto? etc?

 

Hi ej, thanks for the quick reply.

I'll try to give as much info as I can


It's a 1992 Honda Civic LX Automatic Transmission with about 120,000 miles on it

1) The connections are secure. At one point they weren't so we were sure to secure them.

2) Going up an incline (a slight one I must add), she simply can't go over 60 MPH. I have to maintain my foot on the gas pedal to just maintain that speed, and even then I feel bad because it sounds like the engine is working very hard to do so. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it sounds like it's in overdrive, just constant humming like it's trying to get into the next gear but can't, though I'm not sure exactly which gear it is.

3) Will definitely check that out. Would that be something that simply needs to be tightened?

4) Will do

5) Will do

6) It's the trip meter that drastically miscalculates my mileage. Funny thing is, when I reset the trip meter, the odometer seems to know the "true" mileage as when it adds up, the addition equals to much less than what the trip meter was reading.

7) Is there a way to find out for sure? Also, would simply adjusting to the level of engine oil weekly be a remedy, or is fixing the leak vital?


Thanks again, I truly appreciate the help. Let me know if there is anything else as I'm here to not only tune up my car, but also to learn

 

1) Resolder your main relay. Very common problem and the first thing to check for the random "cranks but won't start."
2) Check the linkage cable from the throttle to the automatic transmission. The tranny should "kick down" to a lower gear when you floor the pedal at highway speed. This is for passing other cars or climbing steep hills. Even at that though, since it won't go up a slight hill, sounds like the power from the engine is inadequate. Check the intake system. Sometimes mice will move into the air filter and intake pipe when a car sits around unused. Also the spark timing should be checked with a timing light. Bad spark timing will really kill your power and gas mileage.
3) and (6) are probably related. If the trip meter doesn't agree with the main odometer the speedometer unit itself seems like it could be defective.
4) You don't need a code reader for a '92. It uses a blink code system. If you're getting the "speed sensor" code that could mean problems with the sensor that are also messing up the speedometer and odometer.
5) If you can lock up the wheels and still not have the pedal at the floor, brakes are generally OK. Make sure the rear brakes are self-adjusting themselves properly. Problems with that will also cause the hand brake ("emergency brake") to not work very well. It's a good idea to take the wheels off and inspect all the brakes on a newly-acquired car.
7) Have someone watch in another car while you drive and see if you're getting blue oily smoke from the tail pipe. This means the engine is about worn out but it is usually much cheaper to just keep putting oil in than to replace it. If it doesn't smoke, park on a large piece of cardboard and look for oil drips. Try to trace back where they are coming from.

 

Check here for how to pull the code(s):

http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread/1901557