pixie817

Hey ppl, can someone please help me diagnose my car and tell me what the heck is wrong with my 00 civic si bcuz im ready to pull my hair out.

so here's the thing...

driving the car, it sometimes lags, like shifting from neutral to 1st gear then to 2nd then to 3rd, you can hear the engine struggling right from the bat and the car doesn't seem to pick up speed. it's very slow, let's just put it that way! (i would change gears around 2000rpm or 3000rpm) I would be flooring it just to try to gain speed but still nothing happens. however, on the 4th and 5th gear, it seems fine, it drives normally. it's just the first 3 gears that is the problem.

also, i have a full catback exhaust system and i dont know if that could be a problem. and i gotta change my rotors(it is overheating, i will be changing to cdrilled rotors) and brakes as well so i dont know if that could be one of the problems. but im thinking it could be the O2 sensor or one of the sensors in there. I have also installed a cold air intake. PLEASE HELP!?? ANYONE???

im not sure if i made a clear explanation but i hope i did. if there's anyone out there that remotely knows what it is i am talking about, please reply back. pretty please! i could really use your help!

THANK YOU!!!

PS - I need to install a catalytic converter so that i could pass emission!! any suggestions?? any specific model that i would need to purchase for my 2000 civic si??? as you can tell i am new to the civic world so please any insights would be great!

CivicsGalor3

Sounds like it Could be an alternator/dizzy problem. Take a voltmeter and test your battery. It should hover around 14 dc ( I believe ) if it's well below that you have a failing alternator. My 2 cents

pixie817

Yup as soon as i go this car the first thing i did was get a tune up. it could well be the alternator too bcuz i have problems starting the car early mornings going to work especially if its just been sitting at the driveway for a while.

CivicsGalor3

Check both. It might be your distributor aswell ( dizzy ) the ignition coil. Those are my best two suggestions.

k_r_a_c_k_e_r

iTrader: (3)

was there really a need to make 3 of the same threads?..

pixie817

Ok thank you so much!! That was great help!

pixie817

Ya somewhat lol. sorry if that was a problem for you.

D.T.P

If you did tune up I assume you got new cap and rotar for the distributor. If not replace that. If you have then it could be actual distributor or alternator as previously stated. When my distributor went, my car was jerking under full acceleration. Also for the cat, go to a parts store and buy a regular cat. I believe part source has them for about $200 or so. May be little off.

newbie007

the symptoms you have were similar to what i was getting this past week.
Does the engine light flash at times when the car is struggling ? I was getting that.
i changed out the sparks, distributor cap and rotor. Problem solved, car is back to full power and no CEL.

D.T.P

Hmm forgot, should have started from this to begin with, does it have a check engine light?

pixie817

Yes the check engine light turns on and off. when i got the tune up done, im assuming my mechanic would have changed the sparks, distrib cap, etc, no??

so then it could be the rotor or alternator then?

but here's another thing, when i got my cold air intake installed, we noticed that there was a sensor that the guy installed and just after we took it for a drive, the car was on full jerk mode. and so we went back to the mechanic and told him what happened, soo he then fixed the problem by taking one of the sensor out of the cold air intake pipe and problem solved.

so now im thinking if i changed my alternator, put that sensor that is now just hanging freely off under my hood, would it make a difference?

i appreciate you guys' help!

newbie007

depends on how much you trust you mechanic that does your work.

if the CEL is flashing while you are driving, that usually indicates a misfire.

double check yourself by looking at the spark plugs and distributor cap. its really ez.

also might want to check if your PCV valve was changed. i forgot to mention that i had to change mine as well. it was a pain to do, but actually needed it to be done.

I believe the alternator just deals with starting the car and charging the battery.
what kind of Cold air intake you have ? i have an AEM one and it works fine, all the sensors are in place.

D.T.P

if the check engine light still goes on, get it scanned for codes. i believe all the codes stay in the memory untill you d/c the battery or take the back up fuse out. so get it scanned and see what it says.

pixie817

Im not sure which kind of CAI i have, but i will assume it is AEM as well. I bought it from a store in pacific mall. there is some sort of sensor that wasnt put in place so the mechanic left it off, it made the car jerk so he took it out and it fixed the problem.

It's funny cuz the EL goes on and off at random times especially when it is lagging in speed. sounds like it is misfiring.

hey scrid3r, can i go to a normal mechanic and get it scanned for codes? would they know what i'm talking about. i believe i have a new battery, i only have this car for 2 months now. the battery is still pretty shiny like it has just been put in.

thank you guys for all the input, this is very helpful!!!

pixie817

Maybe there is a hole on my exhaust pipe. btw it is a straight pipe exhaust, no cat converter. does that make a difference in fixing my problem?

Trybal

I went to C & D Masters in Brampton. $170 taxes in for a 2.5" Magnaflow Highflow Cat installed. They did it on a saturday too. Nice people and great service.

D.T.P

Straight cat wouldn't cause any problems. And yes you can go to any mechanic and tell em to scan your ecu for codes in memory.

newbie007

well it's illegal not to have a cat converter, you need that to pass an e-test. when you first turn on the car and its idle, is the CEL on ? you can find the code the car is shooting off yourself by shorting out a wire. do a google search of "How To Get The CEL Codes civic" and it should be the 1st result.

If its AEM CAI, it would say AEM on it.

definately get the plugs checked out. when my car was laggin in speed at 1st, 2nd,3rd gear my plugs were really worn, i had them in the car for 90,000km.

pixie817

Starting the car, the CEL is off, it's during driving when it goes on.

so if one wanted a tune up, mechanics wouldnt change all the necessary parts? i paid my mechanic $260 for a tune up. would he have changed the actual distributor?

another friend said to try changing the timing belt??

newbie007

depends, some mechanics could be shady and lazy.

take the car back to them and say that you paid $260 and it runs like crap.