Team Honda Thread

[darcane]

Originally Posted by brucepick

Good luck on your search!
I scoured craigslist for several months and finally got an HX that consumed oil.
It's better than it was, I think, but it has its issues.

Thanks Bruce! My best lead so far is a '98 with 179k miles. Owner has marginal knowledge of history of car (thinks timing belt was changed by previous owner at 125k, but not sure) and it's priced a little higher than KBB. But, every HX seems to sell over KBB here and it looks pretty solid with no major defects.

[Gasoline Fumes]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Tried a beaded seat cover yet? You might be surprised how much more comfortable it is with the air gap they provide. I call mine "my air conditioning" - it goes in the car for maybe 6 weeks of the year.



Wow! That's a huge jump. Congrats!

I generally don't go above 55. Diminishing returns aren't worth the increasingly harsh ride ... and the reduced grip on loose surfaces (I do drive on gravel roads from time to time - though lift-off oversteer can be fun ).

FYI: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post265379

Oooo!

The beaded seat covers aren't like sitting on marbles? I've been tempted to try them, I don't even have the option of turning on A/C.

That was the thread that made me pick 50 PSI.

[MetroMPG]

No! Well, sitting on many evenly spaced marbles is not like sitting on one marble.

[pletby]

I've had a few instances while bump starting where the engine wouldn't fire. I think the battery was still good. I had to pull over and wait a few minutes before it would fire. I could still crank the engine. I double checked last time to make sure I had the key in the 'run' position. Any ideas?

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by pletby

I've had a few instances while bump starting where the engine wouldn't fire. I think the battery was still good. I had to pull over and wait a few minutes before it would fire. I could still crank the engine. I double checked last time to make sure I had the key in the 'run' position. Any ideas?

Sorry it's proving a little frustrating.

Since the car fires up, I don't think your problem is the battery or anything mechanical. So if you have it in the run position and not just in the "on" position and it does not fire on a bump start, I would suspect your technique. Sometimes when I lift the clutch I do it just a little too little and nothing happens, so I do it again. Occasionally I get a slightly harder bump than I would prefer, but usually my passengers never notice the bumps until I tell them about it, so I know I practice the technique reasonably well.

I would say keep practicing under safe conditions, where you can pull over as you wish, where there is not a lot of traffic to hassle you.

[blackcivic96]

I agree and have similar issues as well. I have found it can depend on how far you let the clutch out as well as how fast. It is easier at high speeds and can be done at lower speeds, it just requires a little more attention.
@pletby- If the bump doesn't work, I always use my key as the last resort.
If you are unable to bump, can you use the key? If not it could be the battery or fuel pump issue, but I am just shooting in the dark.
Sorry for any typos posting from my iPhone
-Dave

[brucepick]

My guess is that even cranking the engine using starter did not get it started. In that case I'd suspect tuneup parts - plugs and distributor cap and rotor. Often they're rated for 50k miles or more but you can see wear after 10-15k.

The distributor itself can get worn to the point where it needs a rebuild. You could ask Califprnia98Civic for diagnosis rips; he rebuilt his.

[brucepick]

I've had a couple rough days.
I'm about half way through my current tank and I think it's at about 52-53 mpg, not pushing close to 56 like I usually am these days.

Once this week I had to run the a/c some due to the heat.

Then, and this is potentially much worse, this morning my 40 AH lithium [LiFePO4] deep cycle battery would not maintain needed voltage while driving. I charged it up at work and then on the trip home, after about 25 miles or so the voltage dropped to about 10V. I've never had it that low, even driving three hours. I'm attempting another recharge on an alternate but I'm not sure what's up here. I sure hope this battery hasn't given up the ghost. It's what powers nearly all my electrical, with the alternator deleted due to disconnected.

[BackBlast]

Originally Posted by pletby

I've had a few instances while bump starting where the engine wouldn't fire. I think the battery was still good. I had to pull over and wait a few minutes before it would fire. I could still crank the engine. I double checked last time to make sure I had the key in the 'run' position. Any ideas?

This happened to me in my '91 DX hatchback. Sometimes it wouldn't bump start (and I believe I'm reasonably skilled at doing this, it's simply not... starting...), and when that happened I also couldn't start it with the starter either. Crank and crank and I got nothing. If I Waited about a minute and let it rest without an attempted start, that would fix it and then I could get it started (bump or crank). Sometimes if I could coast that long it would start, other times I'd have to just let it sit (pulling over, or sitting at a light with angry people behind me). This was common enough for me that I stopped turning the engine off unless I knew I could coast a *long* time - so I seldom did so. I got the hang of when I could usually get away with it, but it was always a risk.

I never did figure out *why* this happened and none of the repairs I ever dumped into the vehicle made any difference.

[Vman455]

Well, I'm sitting just above our team average at the moment--51.85mpg vs. 51.37! Mainly because I just finished up a long road trip to New Jersey with my best-ever and third-best tanks (finally breaking the 56 mpg mark). I'll fill it again tonight or tomorrow and see what I got on the last leg, hopefully bringing my average up a little more.