Questions and Answers
Civic Needs To Be Fixed
Q. I have a 1990 Honda Civic with a 1.5 liter PGM-FI engine. The car was in to be inspected, and failed due to a check engine light. The car went in without problems, but that is another issue. The car starts fine, and runs fine, up to 3,500 rpm. At exactly 3,500 rpm, the engine hesitates, coughs, looses power, and regains everything below 3,500 rpm.
The shop ran codes for me and found Throttle Position Sensor and TDC Position Sensor. The rotor was loose, and the distributor cap was full of brown dust, so both were replaced. This did not fix the problem. Will replacing the igniter and coil help? Do I need a whole new distributor?
David
A. I don't understand, if the codes said there was a problem in the TPS and TDC circuit, why did they replace the distributor cap and rotor? If the reason the rotor was loose is because the distributor shaft moves side to side, and I suspect this likely, the only thing to do is replace the distributor. If you don't and there is play in the distributor shaft, the new cap and rotor will get eaten up in short order.
If they did that, that is not fixing the problems indicated by the DTC's. That's like changing the tires to fix a bad radio. Conversely replacing the igniter and coil will do nothing to fix the TPS and TDC sensor circuits. Why don't they actually check the TPS and TDC sensor circuits for the problem? That would be the best thing to do to fix the problem.
I think you should find yourself another mechanic and fast, while you still have money in your wallet.
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