GazS2000

I have a 99 s2k with 47k miles. No mods to the car.

It has an intermittent cylinder misfire problem and has had this for over 18 months. It has been into the dealer about 10 times and it still isn't fixed. The last time they found moisture in the wiring loom and resealed it all - no, still not it! It still has the same problem.

I really love the car - I've had it for 3 years and it is a great car, but Honda's inability to deal with this problem is really getting me down.

Has anybody else had a similar problem, or can anyone diagnose what the "experts" at my dealership seem unable to do? I wondered if it could be an injector fault - does this sound likely?

Suggestions gratefully received!!!

Gaz

HankookS2K

there are a LOT of things that could be wrong, ud think after 10 times at the dealer they would find something.

i had the problem as well, i have a my01 and basically it was going on for 6 months

i tried going to the dealer, got a valve adjustment, it was fine for a while but happened again. So then i just replaced the plugs, still misfiring, replaced injectors and coils, still misfiring

then i finally replaced my cat convert and im guessing that was the problem, the little backfires i was hearing went away after replacing that, and i have had no cel's since then. I guess the cat was really clogged up and was the cause for the misfires and the lil backfires i was hearing.

now im not saying its your cat thats the problem, but there are lots of components to look at, it could be plugs, injectors, coils, valve adjustment, cat, fuel pump, etc.

how bad are your misfires? are they noticable when driving? dramatic loss of power?

GazS2000

Thanks. First thing they checked were the plugs - which weren't the problem.

I never thought of the cat - but would that cause a misfire or backfire? This is a definite misfire and tends to be worst at low revs and/or idle.

You mentioned injectors and coils - I think I need to direct Honda there first and then to valves. Is this a sensible progression? Would a compression test reveal any leak in the valve seals (rather than a lot of dismantling and labour costs to physically check them)?

Gaz

Sorry - it is very noticable when driving - you can feel the judder of the engine effectively firing on 3 cylinders. If it happens at idle and you rev the car then it will feel fine at 2000 revs plus, but will then start again when it drops back to idle.

negcamber

Doubtful that it would be valve seals...that would cause you to burn more oil, but would probably not cause a misfire.

Usually, when a cat goes bad, the car has difficulty accelerating. The cat increases backpressure to the point the engine strangles.

Most of these misfires come to either injectors or coilpacks. Some though have been due to wiring issues. One owner found his solution in wiring from a piggy-back system on the ecu. You might also have your ground wires checked. Having seen a UK car, I was surprised how corroded the ground points were. That can definitely cause problems including rough running engine.

CKit

[QUOTE=negcamber,Jan 16 2008, 04:02 PM]Doubtful that it would be valve seals...that would cause you to burn more oil, but would probably not cause a misfire.

Usually, when a cat goes bad, the car has difficulty accelerating.

ChefJ

^ just make sure to have extra o-rings when installing. I destroyed 2 trying to get the fuel rail back on. They are easily cut with the raw metal on the rail.

Utah S2K

My guess is at some point blended fuel was used. It is common and becoming more problmatic. Check you owners manual's fuel recommendation (i.e. no MTBE). Using blended fuels will result in both misfires and eventual fouling of the cat.

Utah

CKit

I did that too. Three O-rings destroyed because I'm good like that...

When the manual says lube them up, they mean it!