1995 Acura Integra Engine lack of power, speedometer not wo

Tiny
BMX4637
  • MEMBER
  • 1995 ACURA INTEGRA
  • 4 CYL
  • FWD
  • MANUAL
  • 124,000 MILES
Hey, 95 Acura Integra stick shift with original b18b1 engine with problems.

1. Very low power, I need to rev up to about 1000-1500 rpm to release clutch in first gear slowly. Any lower than that the rpm will immediately bog down and jump the car forward and back. (I pretty much need to ride the clutch for it not to jump).

2. Recently I noticed a slightly higher rpm at cruising speed (~300 more) and less dip of rpms between shifts (It would drop about 700 rpm but now only drops about 500). Therefore to go the same rate of typical acceleration the gas pedal is pressed a bit more. (Basically my engine is working harder).

3. Speedometer does not work. At first it would jump up and down about 10 percent of the time while driving but now it doesnt move at all. My car is obd1 so my check engine light displayed a code saying my wheel speed sensor isnt working. I took a look at it and there was a little metal piece to fit inside missing. I went to the junkyard and grabbed one from the same engine. After doing that the speedometer shows too high (I will be cruising at 40 and it would show about 60-70) I could actually see my rpm (in third gear) and my speedometer move at the same rate and at the same position. So I just went to buy a rebuilt wheel speed sensor and put that in. Same thing, it shows too high. The same as with the old sensor.

4. Air filter is an aftermarket filter (one of those from auto zone) on the throttle body. When I bought the car air went straight in the intake manifold through the throttle body. Honda had told me this engine (or any hondas) (CORRECTION: DO NOT) use a MAF but I see wires and connections that are NOT connected to anything hanging around near the spot where the OEM filter would have been had there been an OEM air hose as well. What's supposed to be there?

p.S. The mileage sucks for a 4 cyl 1.8 liter engine and I'm talking about less than 20 mpg

I am a certified Aviation maintenance technician and perform all work on my car myself, so don't be afraid of technical terms. I understand cars degrade in performance through time, but something so simple can prevent the car from working while thinking something else major was a problem.
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 AT 7:18 PM

13 Replies

Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
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Hi bmx4637,

1. For an engine to act this way, there must be something very wrong with the control. Have you checked the ignition timing and timing belt installation? If you are not able to get the correct ignition timing, the timing belt could be out of sync.

2. For a manual vehicle, there should be no such occurrence unless the clutch is slipping.

3. Vehicle speed sensor is attached to the transaxle and not known as wheel speed sensor. Hope you got the correct item. If the speedometer is not in sync with the road speed, either the speedometer is inaccurate, transmission has been replaced with one of different gear ratios or the road wheels are not of the correct specs.

4. Which Honda guy told you all Honda uses MAF? Except the latest models, no Honda uses MAF. What they have is MAP which is located on top of the intake manifold for your model.

The air cleaner does not have any electrical components except for late 90's or 2000 and later year models where an Intake Air Temperature sensor is used. If anything is missing, the ECU would record the fault and trouble codes can be retrieved.

Quite often there are excess wire connectors for transmission controls, accessories and are not used for some models. Unless the ECU ias telling you some thing is malfunctioning, there should be nothing to worry about.

If the engine is running correctly, the mileage should increase.
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Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 AT 7:36 AM
Tiny
BMX4637
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Hey KHLow

1. Actually I have replaced the distributor and haven't checked the timing after that. This was a little over a year ago. The engine wasn't as bad before as it is now.

2. Yes, another person has told me the same thing about a possibly slipping clutch. I will look into replacing that.

3. I do have aftermarket rims, however the tire size is close to original spec so displaying 70 when going 40 couldn't be that since its such a big difference in speed. The transmission is original also so I would probably put my money on the inaccurate speedometer. That would require me to replace the instrument cluster?

I also have pictures of wires next to the vehicle speed sensor (I guess wheel speed and vehicle speed get crossed when talking to people).

4. My mistake I meant to put does NOT use MAF, thus the confusion of the open wires (see attached pictures).

My car is OBD1 so I had brought it to a place to check which wires to bridge. He had told me the speedometer fault was the only problem showing up. However I don't really trust some mechanics at mom and pop shops so I will check codes myself. I just need to find out which wires I must bridge on the B18 ECU


https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/442448_Camera_017mod_1.jpg


Very low Idle RPM, sometimes it will move up and down and get close to stalling but never does.


https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/442448_Camera_012mod_1.jpg



https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/442448_Camera_013mod_1.jpg



https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/442448_Camera_005mod_1.jpg



https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/442448_Camera_007mod_1.jpg



Other Defects found:


https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/442448_Camera_008mod_1.jpg



https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/442448_Camera_009mod_1.jpg



https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/442448_Camera_010mod_1.jpg

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Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 AT 4:22 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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I am a little under the weather at the moment so will try to answer as best as I could and if I miss out anything, please remind me.

The speedometer comes as a complete cluster assy.

Let me know all the additional wire color codes. Seems the wireharness is for an automatic and those wires are likely to be for the transmission sensors.

The erratic idling will be left as it is till we figure out the CEL codes.


https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/192750_SCS95Integra_3.jpg

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Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 AT 8:38 AM
Tiny
BMX4637
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Hey,

Ok so if I were to replace the instrument cluster the mileage would be different? Would the car allow everything to work?

Wire color codes?

I have bridged the service check connector and turned the ignition to on but not start. The CEL pattern was:
pause, quick blink 7 times, pause, quick blink 7 times, pause, long blink, pause.(Repeat)

Would this be 7 and 17?

This wouldn't give such a low idle would it?

Also you missed the timing question about me replacing the distributor if that would be a problem.

Thanks, hope you feel better
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Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 AT 8:24 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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7 quick blinks should be Code 7. A fault with the Throttle Position Sensor. This would cause the lack of power and erratic idling.

A long Blink followed by 7 short flash = 17. A fault with the VSS.

Low idling are mostly caused by a dirty throttle body, Idle Air Control valve and idling speed adjustment. Get the throttle body and IAC cleaned and readjust the idling speed.

Thanks, feeling better now.

As to the speedometer accuracy, unless the meter cluster had been replaced before, otherwise it should not be giving a wrong reading. The VSS would only provide the pulsing for the meter and the reading is controlled by the chips inside the cluster assy.

You might have to test with another cluster to confirm.

Replacing the distributor would only affect the performance if the ignition timing is retarded but if it was replaced 1 year ago and did not have have any problem till now, it is not likely to be the cause.

Reconfirm the trouble code. A long pause is a temporary stop for the next code whereas a short pause would be a continuation of the same code, usually after a long blink which denotes a count of ten ( 10 ).
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Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 AT 11:59 PM
Tiny
BMX4637
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Hey KHlow

Here's a video I put on youtube for the check engine blinks for you to confirm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPSDXWVSjpQ

I sprayed intake and throttle body cleaner around the butterfly valve while the engine was running, yet the idle remains to be low and somewhat hesitant (no change). Should I remove the throttle body and clean that on a shelf?

Thanks
Alex
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Thursday, December 17th, 2009 AT 2:15 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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Yes, the codes is 7 and 17.

Clear the codes and retest if the same codes come back. If yes, the VSS and throttle position sensor or their scircuit are faulty.
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Friday, December 18th, 2009 AT 12:26 PM
Tiny
BMX4637
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Hey,

I had just taken an old sticker that was on the instrument cluster and it revealed to me the speedometer was in kilometers/hour. I am looking to change the cluster with a used one to hopefully fix the error for VSS.

How would I be able to fix the problem for the throttle position sensor?

Thanks again,
Alex
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Sunday, December 20th, 2009 AT 3:36 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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Here are the procedures for testing the TPS.

CODE 7 - THROTTLE POSITION (TP) SENSOR

1 . Turn ignition off. Remove BACK-UP fuse (7.5-amp) from underhood fuse/relay box for 10 seconds to reset ECM. Retrieve codes. If Code 7 does not appear, problem is intermittent. Inspect for poor or loose connections at throttle position sensor, left and right shock towers, and ECM connectors. Test-drive vehicle and retest.

2 . If MIL is on and indicates Code 7, turn ignition off. Unplug 3-pin connector from throttle position sensor. Turn ignition on. Measure voltage between Yellow/Blue (+) and Green/Blue (-) wire terminals. If voltage is not about 5 volts, go to step 6). If voltage is about 5 volts, turn ignition off. Reconnect sensor wiring.

3 . Turn ignition on. Measure voltage between test terminals D11 (+) and D22 (-). Voltage should be about 0.5 volt at closed throttle, and about 4.5 volts at wide open throttle. Transition from 0.5 to 4.5 volts (as throttle is opened) should be smooth. If voltage and operation is correct, temporarily substitute known good ECM, then retest system.

4 . If sensor voltages are not correct on M/T models, go to next step. If sensor voltages are not correct on A/T models, unplug 22-pin connector from Transmission Control Module (TCM). Again measure voltages. If voltages and operation are not correct, go to next step. If voltages and operation are correct, temporarily substitute known good TCM, then retest system.

5 . On all models, replace throttle position sensor or repair Red/Blue wire between ECM terminal D11, TCM (if equipped), and throttle position sensor.

6 . If voltage between Yellow/Blue (+) and Green/Blue (-) wire terminals in step 2) was not about 5 volts, measure voltage between Yellow/Blue wire terminal (+) and body ground. If voltage is about 5 volts, repair open in Green/Blue wire between ECM terminal D22 and throttle position sensor.

7 . If voltage is not about 5 volts, measure voltage between test terminals D20 (+) and D22 (-). If voltage is about 5 volts, repair open in Yellow/White wire terminal between ECM connector terminal D20 and throttle position sensor. If voltage is not about 5 volts, inspect for short in Yellow/Blue wire. If wire is okay, temporarily substitute known good ECM, then retest system.


https://www.2carpros.com/forum/automotive_pictures/192750_ECMPin95IntegraFig05a_1.jpg



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Monday, December 21st, 2009 AT 8:10 AM
Tiny
BMX4637
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Ok thanks KHlow

I followed the list starting at number 2 (I had previously reset the ECM and developed same code)

results:

step2 - voltage between yellow/blue and green/blue wires was 4.95

step3 - voltage between test terminals D11 and D22 was 0.0 and closed throttle and 3.09 at wide open throttle. (Note: voltage became 0.5 at about 1/3 travel of gas pedal/throttle opening)

step4 - sensor voltages are NOT correct on M/T models

step5 - replace TPS or repair red/blue wire between ECM terminal D11 and TPS

I had checked conductivity of red/blue wire from the ECM terminal D11 to the connector for TPS and found no fault. Therefore Replacement of TPS must be needed

Please confirm results (in case I read it incorrectly). Thanks

Alex
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-1
Monday, December 21st, 2009 AT 10:53 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
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Try adjusting the TPS. Seems it is out of adjustment.
Adjust it to 0.49 to 0.5 V, with throttle fully closed and the problem shoud be solved.
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Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 AT 8:25 AM
Tiny
BMX4637
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Great, How would I be able to adjust it?

Alex
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Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 AT 3:32 PM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
  • MECHANIC
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With the volt meter attached, loosen the TPS and turn it anti clockwise till the desired voltage is achieved and retighten. Retest the voltage reading.

If the TPS had been removed before, check that the slots are seated correctly.
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Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 AT 11:26 AM

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