Honda Car Forum

Hi all !!
I could use some pointers. I have a 93 civic ex with 122k miles, mostly
highway. Recently I have been noticing these symptons with my car:

- It takes a while for the starter motor to crank the engine to life
(battery is fine)

- it sometimes dies when I put it in drive or reverse and attempt to drive
off

- Have noticed a definite loss in power at speeds > 60 mi/hr, especially
noticeable when climbing slopes.


any help greatly appreciated.

thanks,

Tony.

I'd suspect either:

--Distributor coil (how old is the current one?). Replace. Cost: Around $150 for
parts and labor. Around $100 if you DIY. Buy only OEM. The spontaneous dying
when moving to drive or reverse suggests this, but it could be the next items,
too.

--Fuel filter and air filter. Costs around $30 if you DIY. Maybe start here, as
these need to be replaced about every 2 years/30k miles anyway. (The owner's
manual may say 4yrs/60k for the fuel filter, but other sources, like the UK
Honda site, say every 2 yrs/30k miles.) I do not think OEM is essential on
these. The loss of power would make me suspect these in particular.

--Spark plugs and ignition wires. Costs around $60 if you DIY. Go with OEM
recommendation.

--combination of the above

Updates are welcome, to help people who search the archives. :-)

Good luck.

"Apurba Mukherjee" <mukherje@purdue.edu> wrote
> Hi all !!
> I could use some pointers. I have a 93 civic ex with 122k miles, mostly
> highway. Recently I have been noticing these symptons with my car:
>
> - It takes a while for the starter motor to crank the engine to life
> (battery is fine)
>
> - it sometimes dies when I put it in drive or reverse and attempt to drive
> off
>
> - Have noticed a definite loss in power at speeds > 60 mi/hr, especially
> noticeable when climbing slopes.
>
>
> any help greatly appreciated.
>
> thanks,

Apurba Mukherjee wrote:
> Hi all !!
> I could use some pointers. I have a 93 civic ex with 122k miles,
> mostly highway. Recently I have been noticing these symptons with my
> car:
>
> - It takes a while for the starter motor to crank the engine to life
> (battery is fine)
>
> - it sometimes dies when I put it in drive or reverse and attempt to
> drive off
>
> - Have noticed a definite loss in power at speeds > 60 mi/hr,
> especially noticeable when climbing slopes.

Clean the distributor cap inside and out - cost zero!


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"Apurba Mukherjee" <mukherje@purdue.edu> wrote in message
> Hi all !!
> I could use some pointers. I have a 93 civic ex with 122k miles, mostly
> highway. Recently I have been noticing these symptons with my car:
> - It takes a while for the starter motor to crank the engine to life
> (battery is fine)
> - it sometimes dies when put it in drive or reverse and attempt to drive off
> - Have noticed a definite loss in power at speeds > 60 mi/hr, especially
> noticeable when climbing slopes.
> any help greatly appreciated.
> thanks,
> Tony.

Fuel pressure low? Clamp the return hose test. Or check the spark quality by
unplugging each plug wire at the distributor, noting the jump gap and idle.

--
Rick