Drivability issue
 

Hey guys,
I have a 98 Accord with a V-6.
Issue: when driving or just running, the engine looses power. When I am driving slowly it will sometimes die, when on the freeway it feels like the ignition switch was turnedoff. When I do experience this problem (intermittent, but usually when it is warm) it will sometimes keep running. When it does experience this conditionit idles at about 200 RPM, knocking and chugging. There is no noticeable black smoke, so I do not suspect a rich condition. Sometimes it will rev up when you open the throttle, but usually no response. After some time, it will start and run fine.

What I have done: I immediately checked the fuel pressure, as I figured if itis an electrical issue it would die completely.The fuel pressureis always above 43 p.s.i, even when this condition occurs. I finally got a code, and it was the catalyst below efficiency. As I was driving home, this condition occurred again. I looked under the car and the cat was glowing red hot, so I thought I had figured it out. As I had to order a replacement, I pulled out the factoryconverter and could see that it was damaged (holes in the honeycomb, and rattled). Unusual for a vehicle with only 110K on it? Just to prove the problem I gutted it out and temporally re-installed it. After several drive cycles, the problem occurred again!

I have searched through the pages, and haven't found anything that matches my issue. As I have good pressure to the rail, I have ruled that out. Does not match symptoms of an IAC problem. Distributor?? Tach is rock steady, and I have experienced problems with the tach when having distributor problems....

Any suggestions would be helpful!!
Thanks, Mike

RE: Drivability issue
 

This is just a guess, but I think that some of the debris from your broken Cat may have moved farther down the exhaust system and might be intermittantly blocking flow. When the car is running the exhaust flow will stir up the debris and clog the muffler. When you stop the debris will re-settle and allow flow. A way to test my theory might be to shake or tap the rest of the exhaust system and listen for stuff moving around inside.

RE: Drivability issue
 

When converter was glowing red, it was burning a lot of excess fuel. Something is causing excess fuel to enter the engine. Check the fuel pressure regulator vacuum line for smell of gas. If strong smell, the regulator diaphragm is ruptured and raw fuel is being pulled directly into the throttle body. This might cause your symptoms, however it would not be intermittent.

No Check Engine Light on at any time?

Look at the long term fuel trim w/ Obd2 scanner. If fuel trim is high, ECU is adding fuel because it thinks engine is too lean, which may be result of bad O2 sensor, or other problem. A false lean signal from the O2 sensor might result from an exhaust leak or other problem.

If you install another cat, it may also be damaged if the underlying problem is not fixed.

good luck

RE: Drivability issue
 

have you done the Ignition switch recall ?? If you do not know,,call your local dealer, give them the vin # and have them chk if recall has been done ,,if not , do it ASAP. and see if that helps your issue

RE: Drivability issue
 

Bad ignition switches all over the place, plugged EGR ports causing your problems too, spark is happening but not burning till the gas gets back to the CAT, tach is looking good and lastly is possible injector wire harness chaffing.