My 94 Honda Civic is sputtering. Acceleration is weak and the sputtering causes a bit of a jerky ride. The sputtering happens inconsistently at all different speeds including idling.
The temp gauge just shot up close to the red -- don't know if this is a different problem or not.
I replaced the distributor recently, could this be related?
Thanks....
Dunno - but the distributor was the first thing that came into my mind. If you check the timing I think you will see it jumping like a hop toad (technical description). I think that distributor has failed.
Mike
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Fill the reservoir to the MAX line and check each morning before leaving. No tap water . . . Your engine needs to be FULL of coolant, since any air can throw off the computer when sensors aren't fully emmersed.
'Curly'
My aftermarket distributor is still good. :D
The problem was simple: new plugs and wires. Turns out I was running on
3-1/2 cylinders, amazingly.
Congratulations and thanks for the feedback!
Mike
Years ago I had a Hyundai Excel. I had some routine maintenance, including a tune-up, done right before a two-day drive from Massachusetts to Florida. On the morning of the second day it was running roughly and I couldn't get it past 70 MPH on the highway. At my first stop it kept threatening to stall, so I popped the hood in the hope that it would be something obvious and easy to repair.
It was: one of the plug wires had come off the plug and was dangling free. I'd been running on three cylinders. Put it back on and problem solved.
I've also had a Dodge van that ran for months on five of six cylinders; finally got around to changing the plugs and wires, and one wire had disintegrated completely inside the plug boot.
Modern cars, even relatively crappy ones, are impressively resilient.
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