Jerking at low rpm.

Today my car started jerking at low rpm, about 5% throttle.

While I depress the acceleration pedal up to 5%, the engine will rev, but once I go beyond 5% throttle, the car will suddenly surge forward. (Reading from my VAFC).

And when I try to hold the rpm at about 2500rpm when car is stationary, the rpm will rev up and down.

This symptom maybe due to:

Faulty Throttle position sensor (TPS)

Bad connectivity at the sensor (oxidized sensor plug)

TPS not calibrated

Or poor tuning.

(In my case, I had my TPS changed, plug cleaned, TPS calibrated and tuning was untouched.)

Since the VAFC was reflecting that the throttle sensor was working fine (I can see the % change gradually as depress the pedal), I suspected the signal into the ECU or the ECU or setting might be faulty.

After simple trail and error, I found out my ECU plugs was not seated properly (The catch on the plugs was worn off).

Long term fix will be to change the plugs from my spare harness.
My short term fix now is using cable tie (Very long ones) to hold the plug in place.

EG6 Fender Brace

I decided to get the fender brace to reduce the flex between struts and the A-pillar area.  By comparing the few generations of the CIVIC, you can see that the A-Pillar moves closer to over the wheels over the years.  I have drawn a straight line down the A-pillar to illustrate the difference.  So guess which civic has the least flex.

Picture edited from SuperStreetonline.com

Picture edited from SuperStreetonline.com

 

Just got this set of fender brace from Ultra Racing (best bang for buck and easily available locally) to re-enforce the area between the struts and the A-pillar.  The installation should relatively straight forward but tedious.

I have ordered new door hinges, so that I can get everything done in one shot.  Since the hinges is likely to giving way soon.

I will update again with the installations and measurements after my hinges arrives.

Rough pedal / throttle feel

My throttle / acceleration pedal was feeling kind of rough since a month ago and just recently the throttle was not able to close fully if I let go the pedal smoothly;  I had to give it a quick tap before it will close.  The solution is usually to replace the throttle cable (SGD$35).

In my case, I suspected that it is mainly due to the lack of lubricant on the cable.  The area I choose to lubricate is the part where it is exposed the most.

 Remove the rubber boot.

 Using lithium grease

 Apply generously to the cable around the area covered by the rubber boot and exit.

Fit back the rubber boot














In my case, this simple lubricating process resolved my rough throttle issues and saved me some cash and time.  So do try this before deciding to get new throttle cable as replacement.

Beware: Fake Skunk2 Pro Series Throttle Body

I recently came across a fake Skunk2 Pro Series Throttle body and I couldn't find any information on this.  Therefore, this post is meant for your awareness.

The pic above taken from SKUNK2 website is the REAL Skunk2 Pro Series Throttle body (Comes in black or hard anodized).  The thing I noticed about the fake, was that the minor details like the machine chamfers round the edge was missing, it was just a straight edge unlike the original as point out by the red arrows above.

I was lucky that I have been staring at the TB for months (couldn't afford one ;p), therefore I was able to notice the difference.

So take note, before parting out your hard earn cash for fakes.  

Note: This is not a post to promote SKUNK2 products, but as a means to keep everyone aware that there are fake SK2 TB in the market.