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Car Forum / Honda Cars / January 2008Loss of Power
Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic loss of horsepower (almost as if the car is "choking"). It starts fine and all regular maintenance is has been kept up. One mechanic suggested carburetor, but when I took it to a specialist, he said the carb looked fine (it had recently been replaced). > Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic > loss of horsepower (almost as if the car is "choking"). It starts fine > and all regular maintenance is has been kept up. One mechanic > suggested carburetor, but when I took it to a specialist, he said the > carb looked fine (it had recently been replaced). Could be any number of things - can you be a little more specific with the symptoms? Does it happen all the time? Only when cold? Only when warmed up? On the flat or up hills? >> Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic >> loss of horsepower (almost as if the car is "choking"). It starts fine [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > the symptoms? Does it happen all the time? Only when cold? Only when > warmed up? On the flat or up hills? Hi, Checked fuel pump ground? Make sure fuel pump works well upto spec. >>> Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic >>> loss of horsepower (almost as if the car is "choking"). It starts fine [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Hi, > Checked fuel pump ground? Make sure fuel pump works well upto spec. Wouldn't really have the same effect on a carb'd engine - all the pump needs to do is keep the float bowl full. Still, hard to say for sure without more details from the OP. > >>> Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic > >>> loss of horsepower (almost as if the car is "choking"). It starts fine [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Had a similar problem with an 85 (carburated), Make sure the big hose from the exhost manifold to the air cleaner is in place and does not have holes or cracks, also check that the diverter valve in the air cleaner(Where that hose connects) operates properly.(on mine the link from the vaccum motor disengaged fron the valve). HTH JerryR >>>>> Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic >>>>> loss of horsepower (almost as if the car is "choking"). It starts fine [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > HTH > JerryR That would (or should) only affect things when the engine is cold... and we still don't know exactly when this problem occurs. > yjrybano2s...@yahoo.com wrote: > >>>>> Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > - Show quoted text - That is not so!. My problem showed up(intermmittently) when the engine was warm(after 30 min. into an hour trip) and when the engine was colder(during the first 30 min of use) JerryR >>> Had a similar problem with an 85 (carburated), Make sure the big hose >>> from the exhost manifold to the air cleaner is in place and does not [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > was warm(after 30 min. into an hour trip) and when the engine was > colder(during the first 30 min of use) That hose from the exhaust manifold shroud to the breather is intended to channel warm air from around the manifold into the breather *while the engine is cold*. Once it warms up, the diverter should close and allow cool air to be drawn in from behind the fender, and it should stay that way as long as the engine is warm. Piping in hot air will increase the chance of knocking and definitely NOT help your performance (REMOVING that hose would have helped, if the diverter was sticking or opening intermittantly). >>>> Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic >>>> loss of horsepower (almost as if the car is "choking"). It starts fine [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Still, hard to say for sure without more details from the OP. Hi, Ever experienced intermittent fuel pump due to poor grounding? In my case it malfunctioned whether cold or at operating temp, on flat roads and on hills. Fuel pump had been replaced some time ago. > >>> Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic > >>> loss of horsepower (almost as if the car is "choking"). It starts fine [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Still, hard to say for sure without more details from the OP. > In my case it malfunctioned whether cold or at operating temp, on flat > roads and on hills. Fuel pump had been replaced some time ago. Okay, so... when this happens, it just happens randomly? Does the power loss last for a while, or does it come and go? If it's intermittent, what do you do to get power back - pump the gas, turn the car off and restart it, etc.? > > In my case it malfunctioned whether cold or at operating temp, on flat > > roads and on hills. Fuel pump had been replaced some time ago. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > what do you do to get power back - pump the gas, turn the car off and > restart it, etc.? Full power never returned. That's why I thought maybe the engine was beyond repair. > Full power never returned. That's why I thought maybe the engine was beyond repair. I had a similar problem with my 1973 Toyota Celica. Being that that car is far older than yours, the cause may be entirely different.... My problem turned out to be a bad cylinder head that apparently wasn't getting proper cooling to the cylinders, or something like that. (Turned out that Toyota had a recall on the head, but didn't let their customers know it directly. I found out about it by complaining to a dealer service manager who was willing to listen.) I recall the symptom showed up mostly when trying to climb even a moderate hill, even when getting a good running start up. twb01 <webmaster@ariestwb.com> wrote in news:ff03be7e-d276-4fa5-acc5- ed7dfb1207fc@e25g2000prg.googlegroups.com: >> > In my case it malfunctioned whether cold or at operating temp, on flat >> > roads and on hills. Fuel pump had been replaced some time ago. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Full power never returned. That's why I thought maybe the engine was > beyond repair. maybe the timing belt jumped a notch(or 2),or the distributor timing is off?  SignatureJim Yanik jyanik at kua.net >>> In my case it malfunctioned whether cold or at operating temp, on flat >>> roads and on hills. Fuel pump had been replaced some time ago. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Full power never returned. That's why I thought maybe the engine was > beyond repair. Okay, that could be a number of things... as others have suggested, it could be that the timing belt has slipped a tooth, ignition timing could be off, there could be a bad cylinder or head gasket, a buggered valve... it could be something as simple as a clogged jet in the carburetor, which is fairly easily repaired. This would NOT likely be a fuel pump or fuel filter issue, as the engine normally runs off what's in the float bowl - if there's JUST enough flow from the pump to fill the float bowl at idle or low RPMs, the car would run fine until it used up that fuel, then die. So simple answer: you need to have more diagnostics done. It could be expensive... it could be something really simple. >Full power never returned. That's why I thought maybe the engine was >beyond repair. Does it shake, or is it smooth with its low power? Will it even get the car up to 55? I gather there's no smoke or smell? No potato stuck up the tailpipe? There's a bit of a shake. Speed tops out at 17-20 mph. No smoke. > On Fri, 21 Dec 2007 03:57:01 -0800 (PST), twb01 > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > No potato stuck up the tailpipe? > There's a bit of a shake. Speed tops out at 17-20 mph. No smoke. That sounds more like one or even two cylinders aren't working. At all. Have you checked that all cylinders are getting spark? (Sorry if you already answered that, my stupid newsserver is expiring anything older than a week...) >> On Fri, 21 Dec 2007 03:57:01 -0800 (PST), twb01 >> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] >> >> No potato stuck up the tailpipe? I have not checked the cylinders. > > There's a bit of a shake. Speed tops out at 17-20 mph. No smoke. > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > >> No potato stuck up the tailpipe? As maybe the least knowledgeable poster on this newsgroup, might I ask if it could be water in the gas? Did the 86 still actually have distributor points? I had an 87, but unloaded it long since. J. >I have not checked the cylinders. > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >> >> >> No potato stuck up the tailpipe? > As maybe the least knowledgeable poster on this newsgroup, might I ask > if it could be water in the gas? Did the 86 still actually have > distributor points? I had an 87, but unloaded it long since. Pretty sure they were all electronic ignitions by then. The ignitors have been known to fail as well, but that would generally cause it not to run at all. If one or two cylinders aren't working, that would more likely be the distributor cap itself, the spark leads, or the plugs. > Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic > loss of horsepower (almost as if the car is "choking"). It starts fine > and all regular maintenance is has been kept up. One mechanic > suggested carburetor, but when I took it to a specialist, he said the > carb looked fine (it had recently been replaced). Another thought--I got intermittent power loss on my '86 Accord. Turned out to be an intermittent clogging of the "nut and bolt" screen at the inlet of the fuel pump. The screen and pump at that time was one assembly and required pump replacement. Power loss was sudden-----never drove in front of a big truck for fear of getting run over. MLD >> Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic >> loss of horsepower (almost as if the car is "choking"). It starts fine [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > of a big truck for fear of getting run over. > MLD Yeah, that would happen with a carb - you'd run fine until the float bowl emptied, then lose power until it (partially) filled back up again. An intermittent/weak pump or dirty filter would cause similar symptoms. I think all 3rd-gen Accords used the same pump/pickup assembly, accessed via the trunk/hatch area. > Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic > loss of horsepower (almost as if the car is "choking"). It starts fine > and all regular maintenance is has been kept up. One mechanic > suggested carburetor, but when I took it to a specialist, he said the > carb looked fine (it had recently been replaced). -------------------- Air in the cooling system may do that. If there's enough coolant in the reservoir the air can sometimes be displaced. Have you been checking it or did it get too low? 'Curly' > Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic > loss of horsepower (almost as if the car is "choking"). It starts fine > and all regular maintenance is has been kept up. One mechanic > suggested carburetor, but when I took it to a specialist, he said the > carb looked fine (it had recently been replaced). clogged catalytic converter? >> Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic >> loss of horsepower (almost as if the car is "choking"). It starts fine [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > clogged catalytic converter? Could be. If it's the cat, you might also have overheating (the exhaust carries off waste heat). Could also be fuel problems or ignition problems. Or internal engine problems. Or, perhaps, you have gained lots of weight over the holidays and the car is working just fine. ;-) Jeff > >> Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic > >> loss of horsepower (almost as if the car is "choking"). It starts fine [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Jeff My old professor had a clogged cat. on her VW, long time ago. When she complained that it wouldn't go above 60 mph, the dealer told her she shouldn't go above 60. >>>> Hi, got a question about an '86 Accord DX. What might cause a dramatic >>>> loss of horsepower (almost as if the car is "choking"). It starts fine [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > complained that it wouldn't go above 60 mph, the dealer told her she > shouldn't go above 60. We had a clogged cat once. Vet made us force-feed him a buncha fish-flavored vaseline. |
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