I want to do a compression test today.

Other than warm car, all plugs out, and WOT,

Do I need to remove a fuse or disconnect anything to make sure no fuel is in the cylinders?

Any other steps?

I cannot find any reference in my Honda Shop Manual?

 

You can pull the fuel pump fuse with the engine running to empty the fuel rail. Also try to spin the engine over for the same length of time for each cylinder.

you can do a "dry" or "wet" compression test, the difference between the 2 is on a "wet" test add a few squirts of oil through the plug holes. You should see a increase in cranking compression with oil added.

A leakdown tester will show you actual cylinder leakage, and is more accurate than a compression check.

 

Thanks, I put this off for a day.

 

You shouldn't see a big (>10-15psi) increase with the oil...anything greater than that indicates possible piston ring issues.

 

Some tips on how to crank the engine without powering up the ignition, fuel pump, or ECM.

http://www.baustnet.com/honda/misc/compression.htm

 

I always do my compression test with a charger attached to the battery to make sure I get consistent cranks throughout the test...

 

i don't think the force of the cranks would change the compression readings

 

Howdy, all, I'd like to jump in on this thread as a newcomer to the site and a recent purchaser of a 2001.

I ran a compression test yesterday since I noticed some pretty forceful blow-by coming out the valve cover cap, and a heavy whiff of hydrocarbons when the car first starts.

My test scores:

CYL DRY WET
1 220 275
2 225 272
3 230 270
4 230 280

I ran all the tests twice. It took 6-7 cranks to get max scores. I also noticed that when I repeated the wet tests and put in a healthy squeeze of oil the second time, the wet scores climbed to 290-300 second time round.

Anyone know what the compression (psi) specs are for the 2.0? These readings seem to indicate a significant amount of wear to me for an engine with 11:1 compression ratio and just 29K miles.

I'm thinking about taking the car back to the dealer since the car is certified. It appears to be in otherwise excellent condition, except for some slight valve noise.

What scores should I expect for this car? Any suggestions?

 

What did you end up doing Hydraman?

 

280? What the heck, this is what the manual says:

Nominal: 228psi
Minimum: 135psi
Maximum Variation: 28psi

I don't know why your numbers are higher than they should be, but they look consistent and healthy to me. Maybe your gauge is screwy?