Guys,

Ive done plenty of reading on this, but need a little advice/help . . .

Had my fit since Nov 07. The Fit has about 120k on it and all has been good in the way of maintenance history. At some point a few months ago, I filled up at a local gas station and almost immediately started having the chugging/hesitating problem that many of you guys have describer in the EGR threads. The car idles a little (very little) rough and when under load (on a slope typically) and between 2000-2300 rpms, the car has some issues. It feels like a fuel/electrical issue to me. If I drop it a gear and boost the rpms, problem goes away. Flat ground - almost never/never an issue. ONLY under a load, on a slope.

The other day it did it a little worse than normal and I noticed that the check engine light flickered off and on a couple of times going up the hill to my house. I could reproduce the issue.

I removed the EGR valve and gleaned it well using carb cleaner. I also replaced main air filter and filter to the crank case. (small one) The problem is not much less noticeable. No engine light for two days and it seems like, in general, things are about 95% but definitely not 100%.


What do I try next.?

Dave

 

If your check engine light is flickering on an off it sounds like your ignition coils are bad. If you start your car, do you have to warm it up for a good 10 minutes or else the car dies?

Test to see which ignition coils by starting your car and just simply unclip the ignition coil one by one, if you don't notice a drop in power then that coil is dead and if you notice a drop in power then that coil is working. I did this test myself and found out that cylinder 3 ignition coil was dead.

 

If your check engine light comes on, that means it's throwing codes. A lot of auto parts stores have free reading of the OBD-II codes as an added service. That's where I'd start.

 

Hey man,

Thanks for the reply-- When I first start the car, it just feels like its idling a little rough. After a few minutes, it smooths out. The car has never died on me at all . . . I also only got the engine light flicker the other day when I would drive up the hill to my house at the mentioned rpm. I tried it a couple of time and the same thing happened. The engine light (at the roughest part of the chugging)- would flicker on then go back off . This wasnt a "head bucking" chugging , but it was more than a little noticeable.

After cleaning the EGR valve inside and out and replacing the air filters, it seems alot better but not 100%

 

I'm with you man . .however the light hasn't stayed on. Just seemed like it would flicker on when I was undergoing the worst part of the symptoms then back off again and hasn't done it at all after my minor cleaning.

Dave

 

No problem at all, but if you don't warm up the car does it die? As you said in your first post, you said that you have kept up with all the maintenance correct? Have you also done the valve adjustment? My car never had it done I think till a month ago and I always have to warm up my car every time I started it. But back to the main topic, if your check engine light is going off and on then it's the ignition coils I believe because I had the same situation happen to me before.

 

Sorry,

No, the car doesn't die. It will idle a little rough then fine. I can also just take off and drive it without it warming up and no problem there either. If the check engine light went on and off and it were the coils, wouldn't it be an on going thing? As far as the valve adjustment, I suppose I could check with the dealer to see if they have that in the system. All maintenance were done at the dealer. There is a possibility that I missed one or something though.

 

get a new throttle body.

 

Sounds like the coils if you ask me but I do find it funny no one asked the original poster this question. Have you done 105,000 mile service? This includes changing the spark plugs. Id say while doing this the cooler plug if you don't mind running 91+ octane. Guys have been doing this all over this board for free extra power/smoothness

 

You definitely should look into getting an OBD-II reader, like the ultragauge. If the check engine light has turned on, the you have mature trouble codes. You might even have some pending trouble codes also. Get a reader and pull the codes and you'll know which part of the engine is the culprit (or at least get clues).

I'm with everyone else and suspect that if you've never changed the coils in 120k, that's probably the problem. I wouldnt try and get clever and just change the dead one because once one starts to go, the others are not far off so id change 'em all and then you are good for another 50k miles more (at least). If you do want to change just the one coil, the trouble code might tell you which cylinder is having problems.

 

Wow...i actually think I missed that 105k plug replacement....doh!

 

Found a set of 4 coils on eBay for $53! Replaced all four. No hesitation or misfires since!

 

I definitely have a plan!

Dave

 

If those are the same ones that I got the first time I changed mine then those won't last if you wanna push your car hard to pass someone. 3 months and I replaced mine again.

 

Every time you repair something that big (ignition coils, plugs, perhaps going form a massively clogged air filter to a clean one) you should perform the idle relearn procedure.


The easiest way is to yank the battery negative cable, run in the car, hit the brakes, horn, attempt to start with key, etc. this will sap up any leftover power in the system.

After at least 10 minutes have passed, connect the negative cable back up, start the car, and let it idle.

The proper procedure is to hold the throttle at 2500-3000 rpms until the radiator cooling fan kicks on. Start a timer for 5 minutes. every time the fan kicks on, stop the timer, wait for it to stop running the fan, continue the timer. Once 5 minutes of idling without fan operation passes (this procedure can take up to 10 minutes once fan kicks on initially) you can call it done. Turn motor off, let it cool for at least an hour.


The easy way is to let it idle for 30 minutes after you re-connect the negative cable. The procedure will finish properly. Just remember, turn it off and let it cool a while before using the car.


This will let the ecu redo everything so you have max efficiency once again.

 

Figured for that $ a pretty good way of diagnosing problem. If these play out I'll upgrade. So far so good though.

 

Check your plugs first.....

make sure they are the right ones and are torqued to spec...

then try new coil packs....if the CEL is stored you can find out where to look....

has your mileage been off?

 

Yeah bro. look at the spark plug threads for 1st gen. See here is the issue. There is a great article on vtec.net japan on the L-series motors. These engines were made for low octane in jdm/edm markets that is 95 octane so to prevent knocking with 87, Honda switched to a hotter plug. if you choose to switch to the cooler plug, u must use 91+ octane. the power band should be stronger while mpg goes up a mile or two.


Keep us posted.

 

Coils... all Fits get this problem right around 120k miles. I bought 4 aftermarket coils of eBay for under $70 and it fixed the problem in under 15 minutes. I also did the plugs & valve lashing too.