I was at a DFW S2000 track/autocross event yesterday and developed a problem.

The first time I run thru the gears the car will work in first, but when I hit 8500 rpm in 2nd the power falls off abruptly. Then on any subsequent runs it is as if it can't rev. I was limited to about 7000 rpm for a run then it fell to 6000 rpms on the next run. I parked the car after that.https://www.s2ki.com/forums/images/smilies/eek3.gif

On the way home I noticed I was limited to 4500-5000 rpms.https://www.s2ki.com/forums/images/smilies/sleeping.gif

It feels as if it is not getting gas or the timing has been retarded dramatically, it is not a hard cut off point, but a soft one.

I did rinse the engine the night before, but I did it very carefully with a low pressure hose.

We checked the coils for water at the track. We also swapped the map sensor for a known good one. We made sure the fuel pressure regulator vacuum hose wasn't clogged. We reset the ecu and pulled the backup fuse to keep the ecu clear.

Anyone else had this problem before?

The fact that it will work once after it has set for a while makes me think it is related to fuel delivery. Either a clogged fuel filter (which appears to be in the tank so would be a real b*tch to check), faulty fuel pump or a faulty fuel pressure regulator.

One other oddity. On the last tank of gas (which was before I rinsed the engine) I only got 100 miles on a half of tank of gas. This sorta jives with the fact that on the way home I could only get 4500-5000 rpm. Running at 75-80 puts me at 4500 so whatever is doing this must cause me to have to get further into the gas to maintain speed.

I know for a fact it was working well the week previously because I just learned to launch my car and did three 5 second 0-60 runs which take all of first and 2nd gear. I only made 3 runs, but since I can only make almost one run now either the problem didn't exist or it took more than 3 runs to get into the problem area back then.

I will take it into the dealer Monday or Tuesday, but I would really like to have an idea of the prob so I can double check the dealer.

David b.

 

Is the oil level ok? VTEC may not kick in unless there is proper oil pressure.

 

Forgot to mention we checked oil levels and temp gauge reads normally.

Also it is not throwing any check engine lights or other codes.

David b.

 

VTEC is kicking in, but now the power falls off prior to VTEC engagement.

VTEC has always kicked in, even when power was falling off at 8,500 and 7,000 rpm.

David b.

 

Well, whatever it is has John Eagle Honda stumped.

I must have driven 5 different service adjusters and mechanics around. It is very repeatable and really is looking to me like a clogged fuel filter.

They say they have never seen anything like it and the electronic download of data on the car doesn't point to any one thing. They have sent the download to Honda to see if they can find anything.

All you have to do to initiate the problem is drive in any gear at either heavy throttle or 5000 rpms for a minute and then floor it. If you have done it long enough there will be no power. If you haven't gone long enough to "drain the fuel rail" (which is what I think is happening, which is another way of saying the pump can't pump enough to maintain fuel pressure) it will pull normally until it does run out of steam which is always at less than 7000 rpm.

If you have run it hard prior to flooring it, you can make it run out of revs and steam at 4,500 rpm.

Everyone says this is a first so I'll keep you posted.

No revs = NO fun!

 

i had a similiar problem in my celica about 6 years ago....

I would drive and the car wouldnt respond.push the petal to the floor and nothing.the rpm wouldnt move....it was weird, power loss at weird times at full throttle. it seems the cars computer was out of whack.


after a many times at the dealer they finally decided to replace the whole computer in the car. i received a new dash with a new instrument cluster......

but it did fix the problem...

hope that helps

 

I wouldn't mind a new ecu.

Not that I have had any problems with my old one, but that is a solution that doesn't involve "I did something wrong" or the potential for me to have to pay for something.

We did reset the ecu and I ran without the back up fuse all day, but it didn't impact the problem one way or the other.

I haven't seen the results of the diagnostics, but I would think that would show up, wouldn't it?

 

Well this has got to be the surprise post of the month! I won't give you too much sh!t and will just say welcome!

Do keep us informed. I thought for sure it was the MAP sensor and was very surprised when it did not cure the problem. It leaves me to wonder if the ECU somehow got wet or damaged during the wash down.

 

Do we have a multi-stage fuel pump...? Just a thought. That's what's screwed on my boat...

 

Was the engine hot when you rinsed it?

I had a '91 Integra that I rinsed off with a low pressure hose while it was hot, and I barely got it back home. I had to replace a couple minor things, but something about the engine was NEVER the same again. I put another 80K miles on it without finding what was wrong.