the dreaded CEL

[bimdub]

well after a routine Mobil 1 10w30 oil change I had a CEL just after startup....this I thought was a fluke and I reset the ECM....within two blocks it again came on, and again I reset it as the car seems to run fine.....

well it came on again and I double checked the gas cap and continued to operate the car. tow days pass and still it glares its :evileye: at me! I finally take it to get the codes and guess what!
P0301, P0302, P0303 missfire! on three cylinders? it seems to run just fine! well I chalk it up to probably ignition (fouled plugs) as I rarely get to really warm the car up during the winter months and had the same problem last winter.

I made the plans to inspect the spark plugs and check the valve adjustment (its hard since I had surgery this week and really am unable to do anything myself) I asked my buddy to take it out since it really rides way to rough for me right now (I had a hernia operation and the bouncing and snug seatbelt really put me in a lot of pain) and he took it for a 7 mile drive to Asotin at 55 mph in 2nd gear, using VTEC......needless to say it comes back and there is NO CEL!

I still plan on monitoring this and certainly will pull the plugs and inspect them very carefully as well as check the valve adjustment and do a compression/leakdown test, but I still think that its my driving that does this every winter.

I am running only 93 octane, Mobile 1 10w30, and Denso Iriduim plugs IK22 IIRC.....last time I had the Bosch +4 Platinums which worked great until winter hit....I think they were to cold for this application, and did not have a wide enough heat range?

I have similar issues from time to time with my old BMW 320is and when I take it tracking I switch plugs to a colder range than I use for around town as there seems to be no perfect plug for that combination of parts....anything below 3.5k and the AR52 racing plugs foul out and anything above 4k and the A55 plugs burn up.....and since it has a full race exhaust I did not like drivng it in town at 3500+ rpms....

anyhow, I am also going to have the fuel system cleaned to be safe, and I wish I knew if and where the fuel filter was? I have 49K on the clock and its under the Honda Certified Warranty still so worse case....Honda Care?

This is one of those time when I wish I was still in the emissions field and had the four gas analyzer and OBD2 test equipment that I had then.....:banghead:

I will keep all posted as to my findings.

[stantaur]

Had some similar issues with mine back when I was just out of warranty. Sent my injectors to RC Engineering and $99 later (for all 4 injectors) they found one partially clogged injector and cleaned / blueprinted all 4 with a readout of the "after" test showing 360cc for all of them. Smoothed out the car's idle and cruise, no more CELs.

[My_yella_s2k]

Carl - sounds good!
like I told you, get in and drive it!
The fuel filter though, is in the tank, and never really would warrant getting replaced.

[repiv]

Such misfire codes are always a PITA. They may be nothing or they may involve a very tedious series of trial and error "fixes".
When you feel better and have the time, I'd suggest you begin with a strong fuel injector cleaner. They come in 3 forms ...................
1. The cheap kind that runs a few bucks a bottle. Use it a bit stronger than the label says. Maybe 1 full bottle to 1/2 a tank of gas.
2. The moderate priced kind. This runs about 15 bucks a bottle and is for the slightly dirtier injectors.
3. The expensive kind that gets shoved into the fuel rail. This is generally done at a shop.
Of course, you can always have the injectors removed and individually cleaned for even more money.

Next, get new sparkplugs and confirm the gap before putting them in. It is fairly common knowledge that the Denso IK-24 plugs are problematic for FI. They work quite well for almost a year, then they start to develop a high rpm miss. I've also heard from a few rare cases where the IK-22 for NA can be "finnicky" not long down the road. I'm not a real fan of the Denso Iridium plugs. Also, what you've discovered with the Bosche+4 plugs is not uncommon. For some owners of S2000s, they don't work right out of the box.

If it's not too difficult for you, have the fuel pressure checked at the fuel rail.

Then, you should randomly mix up the coilpacks. Check the ends to make sure none of them are unusually burnt and no one coilpack stands out from the rest.
Then there's the valve adjustment.
Lastly, if symptoms simply don't go away, you're looking at trying a known good ECU.