[brendang2000]

Hi all.

I recently took a trip out to California from Arizona in my 2001 CR-V (96k miles). It ran fine the whole way there. The day before I was going to head home, I filled the gas tank, drove it back to my friends and parked it. The next day, I left. The first big hill I got to on I10, the Check Engine light (MIL) started flashing at me and the vehicle started running very poorly. It could barely get up the hill at Indio, CA. I stopped for fuel once just over the Arizona border, fuel level was just under half a tank, and it was still running very poorly. Thankfully I made it home; total trip home was just under 400 miles. I was convinced I got bad fuel. So I drove it around until the low fuel light came on, and then filled it up. Oddly enough, before the refill it was running normal again. As a test, I was driving around with my fuel pressure gauge attached as I wanted to see if the pressure dropped when it was running poorly. As soon as I filled it and started it up to leave the gas station, it started running poorly again, however the fuel pressure was spot on! Hmmmm. I started to suspect the problem isn’t fuel related. I read a lot of posts about the distributor causing the flashing MIL, so I tested the CKP/TDC/CYL sensors and even the CKF sensor. All where within spec. Now, I know this means they were good when I checked them and that they can still be bad. So as a precaution, I ordered a new distributor, for $114 it’s worth a try. Note, since I’ve owned this vehicle, it’s always had an odd no-power/power issue; you’d hit the gas, there’d be no power, but suddenly there’d be power again, like throwing a light switch. While waiting for the distributor to arrive, I did a compression test (all cylinders were about 138# dry), tested the plug wires, and adjusted the valves (some were a little tight, one was loose). When the distributor finally arrived, I pulled the cap and seen the cause! See picture. Somehow, moisture got into the distributor! I did a complete tune-up under a year ago and live in Arizona, I don’t remember the last time this car was in the rain! LOL All terminals/screws in the old distributor were corroded and I can’t get the rotor off anymore. Glad I got the new distributor! Installed the new dizzy and it’s running fine again, I hope this fixes that no-power/power issue too, time will tell. I guess the moral here is, even though a problem seems like one thing (fuel), you should always start with the basics (distributor cap). Hope this helps someone.

 

[Carbuff2]

Back in the days of distributors, we always applied a very thin smear of grease around the edge of the dizzy cap. This served to reduce moisture both from water spray and ambient humidity.

 

[ms3224a]

Wow! Double-wow since you're in dry Arizona.

Makes me thankful for the coil-on-plug ignition my 07 Accord has.

 

[Mountaintop]

That picture makes we want to pop the hood and take a look, although mine is running fine (right now). Glad your solution was simple.

 

[Wildcat]

Makes me thankful for the coil-on-plug ignition my 07 Accord has.

Except for my old rust-pile '97, all our others are coil-on-plug. I don't miss spark plug wires, distributor caps/rotors, etc. at all. We do get some coil failures now but they are easily diagnosed and even easier to replace.

Although I learned decades ago...always use Honda's OEM wires, cap, etc.. They last. I've gone 75k on a set of wires/cap on my '97. When I've tried off-brands (even the premium sets that cost as much as the Honda OEM wires), they've failed within 15,000 miles. The only other brand I've tried is NGK, and they may have been Honda's OE supplier for the wires. No issues with the NGKs either.