Hi,

I have a 1994 L reg civic ESi VTEC automatic and need some advice on several problems I have with it. I have taken it to the garage several times with money wasted and little success so it looks like I will have to learn how to fix it myself. I'm no mechanic but I've bought a haynes manual and some basic tools. If I need any spares or tools please mention this and I'll get hold of them (ebay for this?).

1) The first and most serious is a non-starting issue. It's a little complicated but basically if I do more than one or two very short journeys the car won't start again and I have to sit for about two minutes then try again, at which point it normally starts. When this happens you can hear the starter turning over ok- although often it sounds very slow. Sometimes the engine starts and then after about two seconds it dies again. Once again, I wait about one or two minutes and try again and it works. I can visualise a battery problem, as if there just isn't enough juice to turn it over fast enough. If the engine fires though wouldn't that keep the momentum? Also the battery's been checked by two garages and they both said it's fine and the garage that sold it to me said it was new about 18 months ago. I know you can get bigger batteries but I'm not sure that's what it is. I thought perhaps something is taking too much current such as dirty contacts, distributor or spark plug gaps too big etc? Just a guess!

2) When the engine is first started it sometimes settles into very high revs (e.g. 1500rpm) as if I'm putting my foot down and sometimes very low revs (650rpm). I haven't noticed a pattern yet and don't know if it's significant but it doesn't seem right. Sometimes the starter fires the engine almost instantaneously and sometimes it sounds close to death and starts very slowly.

3) While idling, the revs periodically go down for a second then back up, as if there is some kind of momentary power loss. Otherwise the revs are constant at approx 700 rpm. There is no obvious trigger for it.

4) I noticed while idling the other day the revs go down when I turn on my headlights. It was very repeatable and only very subtle but I could tell by the sound of the engine when my lights were on and off! I think this happens when the cooling fan switches on during idling too, is this normal?

5) The steering often feels unusual and a little out of control. There doesn't appear to be any play in it but it's almost as if the wheels go off and do their own thing and the feedback in the wheel feels unusual. If I could liken it to a supermarket trolley, when I go around a very tight corner or very small roundabout the wheels reach a point where they want to turn into the curve, pulling me into the centre, rather than wanting to straighten out. I often have to be careful because it this point the wheel snatches away from me and I have to pull it out of the curve. Also at speeds above approx 60 the wheel feels like it's moving all over the place and I have to work very hard to hold it straight. The whole problem only started when I took it in for it's MOT a year ago. They changed a track rod end but they said they checked them and the tracking, balancing and alignment several times and I had another garage check the same. I noticed an improvement twice- once when I lifted the adjustable steering wheel up (it's normally low) and once when I changed a front tyre which was worn. The car's roadholding is occasionally poor in the wet but the tyre treads are still deep and the worn tyre is now a spare. I can't afford new tyres to experiment! As I say the problem never used to be there (I think) but maybe I'd got used to the car with the faulty track rod end or maybe I used to have the steering wheel at a different height. Also I don't know much about toe-in and caster angles but no-one's actually mentioned these to me before and I think they may be significant? By the way I have power steering and Ceat Spider tyres (they sell them at kwik fit).

5b) I've noticed for a few months now the pulling power of the car has rapidly diminished. This I put either down to the engine or the brakes binding. There is no noise from the brakes though and it seems a coincidence that I also have engine issues. The mpg appears to have dropped from 30 to 28mpg. The powerful VTEC acceleration has dropped right off making overtaking a nightmare and there is almost no pulling power idling on the auto clutch.

6) Exhaust- a year ago the exhaust blew and the garage took off the third section near the rear of the car with the silencer and swapped it for (I think) a Stainless one. The silencer is *massive*, about twice the size of the old one. Now the car sounds like a tractor it's so loud and you can't hear anything above it on the motorway, it's ridiculous. I took it back to complain and they said they only had one type and it would cost £300 for a Honda one which I agreed wasn't necessary but I couldn't afford to scrap the new one and get another brand. On top of the deafening noise though when cold-starting there is a tremendous rattle, sounding like from the back end. When the engine is idling on the parking brake it's not too bad but when I put my foot on the brake and slip it into Drive and just sit on the brake, it gets much louder. I noticed today that if I turn the steering wheel to its absolute extreme left or right it goes quiet! I was told that cheap exhausts' innards often rattle when cold and I've heard that stainless are generally noisier but the rattle is definitely wrong. When starting from warm though the rattle's not there. I have had a cursory look at the back end and I can't see anything obvious but it's hard to get under the car to look.

7) Vibrations- apart from the exhaust, when I get up to 60 ish the car just rattles all over and on poor surfaces it's even worse. It feels like I'm driving my dad's Morris Minor. Can I smoothen the ride? Could there be a link either to the steering or exhaust issues?

8) When I put my foot on the accelerator there is a quiet 'ssshhh' sound coming from the engine bay, which varies in pitch as my foot moves up and down. I think it carries on after I take my foot off and slows down as the car loses speed. It sounds like a cyclical noise, not a release of pressure. Almost as if there's a miniature spinning part or a vibration. It doesn't appear to do anything adverse, it's just a little worrying and annoying. You can hear it at low speeds quite clearly but at high speeds the sound of the exhaust blocks anything else out.

9) The electric windows are very slow to operate. Can I speed them up easily? The passenger's central locking is sticky too so I took the fuse out. It used to open after about five cycles and the actuator did work, but but just a small amount each time. Can it be easily fixed? The rubbers also let rain into the door cavity which leaves through the drain holes but I'm worried about it damaging the steel or electrics. Should I worry?

10) There is a small cable (approx 4mm dia) hanging loose at the front right of the engine bay, near the radiator. It has a connector on the end with a hole through it for a bolt. I suppose it's an earthing strap which has come loose but I've been told it's probably not the engine earthing strap as it's too small. I do know it has to be fixed but I don't know where to fix it, what it's for or the best method for fixing.

11) When I turn on the blower I get loads of dried leaves coming out of the grilles! I want to clean out the ducts but don't know how or if it's a big job and can't find any documentation on it.

12) Sometimes the lights on the blower console are off (or low) and I don't notice until I move the lever or push a switch and they come back on. Dirty contacts perhaps?

13) Antifreeze- it's coming time to top up the levels- what is the best practice? Do I need distilled water, do I need to drain first, what ratio do I top up with? Will my previous coolant be compatible? I don't know what's in there now.

14) One final tip- I've heard a lot of electrical problems can be improved by removing the connectors and cleaning the contacts with shop bought contact cleaner. Is this required, a lot of work or unneccessary? Will it fix any of my problems?

I'm up to 1500 words now so I'll leave you with that!

Many thanks to all in advance.

This post has been edited by slystav: Oct 3 2008, 08:24 AM