Possible Random Misfire???
 

DTC: P1399 (generic code)
B16a2 Motor

From the net, I found that it is related to a possible multiple or random misfire. My question is, what could be the cause of this or if this code is even related to a random or multipel misfire.

Right now the car drives like ****. Safe to drive with this code? Reason I am asking is that the engine light was flashing so I pulled over and turned off the car. Then I chilled for a bit before I restarted it and the engine light was not flashing and it disappeared as well (I didn't reset anything, it happened on its own). When I scanned it again, the code was still there, but no engine light was present. Car drives really bad, I just want to know what the possible causes are for a random or multiple misfires.

Maybe something to do with fuel delivery or distributor???

could be numerous things. But basically weak spark and fuel is most likely what is causing it. Could be as stupid as a clogged fuel filter. First i would check your wires with an ohmeter. It should be no greater than 7000ohms per foot. If you could isolate which cylinder has the mis-fire that would be even better.

im going to check the resistance across the wires right now. it is not the spark plugs, because those were replaced with platinum ngk iridium 2-3 months back. Fuel filter was done last summer with oem honda fuel filter.

how would i aisolate which cylinder has the misfire?

it threw another code now:

p0303 - cylinder 3 misfire

any suggestions as to what should be done now?

I took out all of the sparkplugs and saw this:
these sparkplugs are only a few months old


http://www.uoguelph.ca/~hdave/sp1.JPG

(note these are civicnation's sparkplugs, not mine)

plug no.1 looks to be gapped differently.

Are the plugs white/tan? if they are.. you are running lean. If not.. the misfire is caused by poor spark. The gap of a plug also can cause a misfire


edit: on 2nd glance i think the angle of the plug made the plug look different

go back to NGK copper plugs, and while you're at it get some new plug wires from the dealership (parkway). this will solve your problems. it looks like you have a corona ring around the base of the porcelain. anyways, this will solve your problems.

Yup, get rid of those plugs. Platnums are a BIG NO NO it our cars. Especially in the DOHC Vtec motors.

i thought it was just iridium that we had to stay away from.

the service manual calls for platinum plugs for the b16a2 so i figured these would be good enough.

also, changed cap and rotor and still have the same problem. i will try changing the plugs and the wires. injectors were checked so i know they are working perfectly.

slowly narrowing down all the possibilities

the resistance across each wire is as follows:

1-12.3 ohms
2-10 ohms
3-8.8 ohms
4-6.7 ohms

do the wires need to be changed???

i forget how long the wires are. But it shouldn't be more than 7000 ohms per foot.

So if its 1.5 ft or 18" it shouldn't be higher than 10.5K.. get it?

But those numbers look normal.

were your plugs white? Look at the tip. I can't tell by the picture

the plugs were not white at all, one was just corroded to hell. i put another set of plugs in and it made no difference. so far it is not the plugs, not the plug wires, not the injectors, not the dist cap, not the dist rotor, what else can it be?

iridiums do not need to be gapped...... it looks like water got through the spark plug boot causing it to rust and causing a misfire. Get new plugs

i put in the old plugs i had and it got even worse (those plugs were working perfectly previously). i'll buy a new set of platinum tipped ngk g power and see if those make any difference.

im told it could be due to low compression or improper valve clearance. how would i check the valve clearance? should i get an adjustment done? and the compression, how much should the compression be for each cylinder on a 99-00 b16a2?

The car is virtually undrivable right now because it bogs and shakes too much.

could be a dozen things.

A leakdown test wouldn't hurt.

Also.. do you have any vacuum leaks? How did you check the injectors? Buying new plugs will only fix the problem temp. if anything. If you have a friend with a good scan tool that allows you to look at PID's you'll most likely find your problem.

I don't think I have any vacuum leaks since the idle is perfect. I put new plugs in and the problem seems to be gone, but I will double check it by letting it sit overnight and starting it up again tomorrow.

I checked the injectors by listening for the clicking of each injector (they all clicked, but they could still be obstructed).

Where can I buy or rent this scan tool that allows me to look at PIDs? What does PID even stand for?

With respect to the leakdown test, is it something I could do myself or do i have to get it done professionally? How would I do it myself if it is friendly to someone who is doing it for the first time?

no need to do the leakdown test because all the cylinders have higher then 200 ps1 of compression. the spark test revealed that the spark is yellow which means new distributor is needed :(



Thanks a lot chris_si98 for all your help, it was really appreciated

slapped on a new distributor today, and the car runs better then ever. thanks again for all the help guys!