Hello to all, I am a new member to this forum and I am in desperate need of some help. I have a 1997 Accord EX 4cylinder 2.2 with a manual transmission and 148,000 miles. It began running really rough at startup and would require several minutes to smooth out enough for me to drive it. That became progressively worse to the point where it started to run roughly after it had warmed up. The CEL is on and I took it to Autozone and had them to pull the codes for me, it is showing the following codes: P0302, P0304, P0130, P1300, P1399. I have done the following to it in an effort to get it running correctly:

New plugs
New wires
New distributor cap
New rotor button
Cleaned EGR ports
New O2 sensor (the one under the car by the cat)
Replaced distributor with a used one
Replaced Main Fuel Pump Relay (I put my original one back in afterwards because the problem still existed)
Tank of premium fuel & a can of Seafoam

The car will start sometimes and run fine in the driveway but after a few miles on the road it will become very sluggish and appear to want to die at red lights or stop signs. Other times it will be rough to start and will require several minutes to smooth itself out. I can no longer drive it for fear of becoming stranded. I'm sure I have left something out that may help you guys in helping me but if I have please let me know what and I will provide the info. Thanks to all in advance.

 

Being that you replaced the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, and distributor and it still has the same issues, i would look into making sure the timing is set properly and also do a compression check. Sounds a little like an issue i had a while back with an old 88 integra that had a cylinder with low compression.

 

I don't see P1399 in my shop manual for the 96. When a code comes up that is not in the shop manual, I'd lean towards a faulty PCM (aka ECU).

I don't like suggesting an ECU, because that is the last item you test, so you could be throwing parts at the problem. I'd suggest finding a u-pull-it yard for a 96/97 EX AT PCM for an automatic or try a search on car-part.com for junkyards nearby. You may find one at a decent price near you, since you can sort the list by distance or price.

You may want to test your fuel pressure as well.

 

Thank you for your response. If one or more of my cylinders had low compression would my car still run smoothly at times or would it run rough always. I ask because I have started it up at times and it runs smooth and strong in the driveway for over an hour without any hesitation of any sort.

 

Thank you for your response. On the printout I received it lists P1399 as cylinder misfire and the probable causes as blocked EGR passages and valve clearance out of range. I'm not sure if it was a typo or not but in your reply you suggested I get a PCM for an automatic, mine has a manual transmission.

 

In your case, a PCM for a manual transmission from the 96/97 EX. I don't like suggesting a PCM until you eliminate other causes. I would consider this option if you found a cheap one nearby.

I also could not find P0130 either.

A different way to check for codes is the OBD1 way. The common diy thread on top of the gen tech help forum has a link to check engine codes. On your 96, you can still check codes using this method too. It takes about 5 minutes and a thin paper clip or a piece of wire.

Here is a video on how to do this as well. You don't need to remove the glove box. That blue connector can be unplugged from the housing. Your car will only have the two pin connector.

 

Test the engine coolant temperature sensor under the distributor. Should be 2000-2500 ohms across the two pins when the engine is completely cold and 180-250 when the engine is completely warmed up(fans cycled on)

 

Both O2 sensors are underneath the car. Did you replace the primary one (upstream of the cat)?

 

If you unplug one spark plug at a time (while the engine is running rough) does the engine tone change for each? If you can remove a plug wire, and nothing changes, you've found your problem cylinder. The way I hear it, one bad plug/wire/cylinder can cause multiple misfire codes. If you bought aftermarket plug wires, I would try putting the originals back on.

 

^^^ O'Reilly & other auto parts stores loan out compression testers for free. Look at the plug porcelain color while they're out.