1994 Rough Runner
 

1994 Honda Civic EX 4cyl 5 Speed

Sorry, I signed in thinking this was for all Honda's, I hope someone will still help me. My Civic runs real rough at low rpms and startup. It will run fine when I push it but in 4th gear at low rpms it sputters. I am now getting really bad gas mileage. I changed the spark plugs and fuel filters. I have heard people say to change the cap and wires but part changing is getting expensive.


I barely fit in this car... LOL

Is your check engine light turning on while driving?

I don't like throwing random parts at it. But you can check the cap & wires.

Do this when the engine is cold, & it's completely dark. Like 4am...
Open the hood & turn off all lights.
Start the engine & look for arcing or visible discharge (blue glow) from the wires or cap.
Any visible glowing (or worse yet sparking) is bad insulation needing to be replaced.
Spray/mist water with a windex bottle makes it brighter & more visible.

You can also check the resistance of the plug wires. I don't remember what the acceptable range is, but that's in addition to (not instead of) looking for arcing.

Other things...
How is your PCV valve? If it's getting plugged & pushing oily gunk into the throttle body, that might cause some of the problem.