# Civic stuttering under acceleration? \*HELP\*
**URL:** https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274
**Category:** NYSpeed Automotive
**Created:** [October 1, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274 "2009-10-01T04:39:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@SilverGT](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/SilverGT)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/21 "2009-10-01T13:56:15Z")
so was it the answer? the spark plug wires? was that the problem?
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### Author:  [@livin4hockey](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/livin4hockey)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/22 "2009-10-01T14:18:48Z")
Yeah I can only assume so. They have to get the wires tomorrow so once I get it back it should be running fine again. The mechanic showed me that one of the plug wires was bent inside. Again, I’m still learning a lot of these little things, so I wouldn’t have been able to see that.
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### Author:  [@JayS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JayS)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2009, 5:44am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/23 "2009-10-02T05:44:43Z")
Glad it’s fixed.
If you’re looking for a cheap scanner just make sure it supports the CAN protocol. A lot of the cheap ebay ones don’t.
This is the cheapest I found on ebay that did:
[http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Brand-New-CAN-BUS-OBDII-OBD2-OBD-2-Code-Reader-Scanner\_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ\_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem3ca3f6ed38QQitemZ260448906552QQptZMotorsQ5fAutomotiveQ5fTools](http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Brand-New-CAN-BUS-OBDII-OBD2-OBD-2-Code-Reader-Scanner_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem3ca3f6ed38QQitemZ260448906552QQptZMotorsQ5fAutomotiveQ5fTools)
A cheap scanner is probably one of the most important tools in my garage now. Yeah, I’d like one of the really expensive ones that can read live data and vehicle specific stuff but the little $35 one I got on ebay has served my friends and I well.
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### Author:  [@08GT500](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/08GT500)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2009, 8:24am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/24 "2009-10-02T08:24:53Z")
It’s a civic :rimshot:
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### Author:  [@99\_civic\_si](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/99_civic_si)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/25 "2009-10-02T16:47:46Z")
it’s not fixed till it’s fixed. Keep us updated as to if that does the trick.
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### Author:  [@Adictd2b00st](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Adictd2b00st)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/26 "2009-10-02T17:15:15Z")
> [@08GT500](#):
>
> It’s a civic :rimshot:
probably the worst joke ever…now if it were a dsm…
back on topic, keep us updated hopefully the plug wires do the trick but you may have multiple problems
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### Author:  [@livin4hockey](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/livin4hockey)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/27 "2009-10-02T17:59:28Z")
Well the car ran fine for the commute home today. However, after about 15 minutes of country road cruising at speeds ranging from 45-60mph, I came to a light. When I stopped at the light my RPMs dropped to at least below 1k and the car vibrated a bit as if were about to die. The battery light flashed on for a fraction of a second but the car recovered. It did this again when I parked but the light did not flash. I don’t know if this is related or not. I replaced the battery 1 month ago. I’ll see how things go over the weekend, I have to do an oil change tomorrow.
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### Author:  [@travisn](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/travisn)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/28 "2009-10-02T18:05:37Z")
sounds like a vacuum leak, but unlikely on a stock car. my 240 used to do that all the time when the bov vented to atmosphere
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### Author:  [@livin4hockey](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/livin4hockey)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/29 "2009-10-02T18:22:47Z")
I forgot to mention that this vibration and shake when at a complete stop also occurred a couple times right after I replaced the battery. After a few days with the new battery in it went away.
While I’m at it here, I’m approaching 150k miles. Any other typical maintenance needed near this point? I’m only the second owner but don’t have any maintenance records.
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### Author:  [@travisn](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/travisn)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/30 "2009-10-02T19:26:07Z")
the vibration and shake sounds normal for a car at 400rpms’s trying to get back up to idle. lol
I would definitely do water pump/timing belt. flush the radiator. change the tranny fluid. if its an auto put an inline filter on the cooler line. distributor cap/rotor, fuel filter.
I’m pretty sure I have a fuel pump you can have if its determined yours is on the way out.
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### Author:  [@Saxon](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Saxon)
#### Post date: [October 2, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/31 "2009-10-02T20:16:42Z")
the easiest way to read the code is:
[http://www.team-integra.net/sections/articles/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=34](http://www.team-integra.net/sections/articles/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=34)
figure out what code it is, then come back and tell us, it could be a number of things ranging from distributor problems to a clogged catalytic converter (seen that multiple times with the symptoms your describing)
anyways get the code and let us know what it is
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### Author:  [@livin4hockey](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/livin4hockey)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2009, 8:17am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/32 "2009-10-03T08:17:35Z")
The code has been read. I took it to a shop, they scanned the code which said the plug wires were faulty. They replaced the plug wires and reset the light so there’s no more CEL. We’ll see if it comes back at all over the next few days.
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### Author:  [@livin4hockey](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/livin4hockey)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/33 "2010-02-20T18:39:08Z")
Last night my '98 Civic stuttered under acceleration and finally the CEL started flashing. Pulled a P1399 code today, which from what I’ve googled is a random misfire code. I did a good amount of searching on other forums and it seems like there are tons of things it could be. Plugs/wires are all new within last 10k. I’ve seen other people claim it was a clogged EGR port, valves needing adjustment, dirty injectors, and the list goes on. I also came across cases where each of these were gone through and still the code remained.
So it could be plenty of things. I’m just looking here to see if anyone has experienced this code before and what they did. Got the CEL reset today and drove it about 10 miles so far without trouble. Hopefully this won’t come back. FWIW, I just had the oil changed Wednesday and then roughly 200 miles later this occurred. Thanks in advance for any insight!
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### Author:  [@JDMSIR](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JDMSIR)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/34 "2010-02-20T19:10:43Z")
Nothing to do with an oil change, just see if it comes back on after awhile, it could be a “Random” misfire but it wouldnt hurt to look at the plugs( take them out and look at them), check the wires, cap, rotor, etc…
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### Author:  [@livin4hockey](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/livin4hockey)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/35 "2010-02-20T19:14:59Z")
Plugs look brand new. Wires were just done in the beginning of October. If it comes back I’ll take another look at them. Weather has been garbage lately and I don’t have a garage :tdown:. Could be just that though, a “random” misfire.
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### Author:  [@yunvme666](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/yunvme666)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2010, 5:58am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/36 "2010-02-21T05:58:38Z")
make sure the valve cover isnt leaking onto the plugs, if those are down inside the head… the grommets get dry and shitty all the time… but ya i looked on identifix, and theres just loads of hits for a disty…
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### Author:  [@livin4hockey](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/livin4hockey)
#### Post date: [February 28, 2010, 12:19pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/37 "2010-02-28T12:19:08Z")
Ok so 1 week and 400 miles later and the light came back on today. Pulled the same P1399 code as well as codes for misfiring on cylinders 1, 2, and 3. Got it reset and drove another 5-6 miles to get home without it coming back on.
Now I know there was a huge recall on the ignition system in Honda’s because apparently the wear and tear on the system would sometimes cause the car to just stall randomly. I don’t know if that recall has been service on my car or not, but is there any chance this could be it? I gotta go to the dealer this week to get it fixed, hopefully it’s not expensive (but who am I kidding, right?)
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### Author:  [@livin4hockey](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/livin4hockey)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2010, 8:08am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/38 "2010-03-01T08:08:23Z")
Came on again this morning on the way to work. Same misfiring problems and it stutters under the acceleration before I get into higher RPM’s and it smooths out. After about 10-15 minutes though it appeared to go away. By then the car had warmed up but the light still continued to flash. So it seems like it’s only a problem when the car is warming up and idling. Taking it into the dealer later today, but does anyone have any better ideas? Or could it still just be a number of things :roll2:
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### Author:  [@Cleck](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Cleck)
#### Post date: [March 1, 2010, 8:34am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/39 "2010-03-01T08:34:26Z")
Try checking your cat and o2 sensors? After reading on some Honda boards it looks like some are caused by this, one guy said his MIL was blinking, a dead giveaway for a cat problem.
If you’re having problems in that area, you need to check spark, fuel delivery and/or compression. One of those is causing you to miss.
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### Author:  [@livin4hockey](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/livin4hockey)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/civic-stuttering-under-acceleration-help/74274/40 "2010-03-03T15:44:43Z")
Update! Dealer blamed the coil, cap, rotor, plugs, and wires. Basically they wanted to do a full tune up. Apparently the dealer said the wires that were on the car didn’t go well with Honda’s. These were put on by another mechanic back in October when my car last threw a CEL. Didn’t have many options being in the small town where I work, definitely regretting that now.
So after 2 hours of fiddling around (lol what a noob!) in the parking lot of Advance Auto Parts, I put in some NGK plugs, NGK plug wires, new distributor cap and rotor, and a new air filter.
Now the dealer did recommend that at the very least I start with replacing the ignition coil. However, upon removing the distributor, the two small screws connecting the wires to the ignition coil would not budge. Now they’re pretty much stripped :(. So I left the coil be since I need a car right now, and we’ll see how things go with the new parts. Car started up fine and seems to run well. I guess we’ll see how it goes from here. If the coil does end up needing replacement, I’m going to have to figure out a way to get those screws out (vice grips maybe). The distributor cap did have a good amount of wear to it though, so I’m hoping that’s the solution.
Also, does anyone know if NGK plug wires are supposed to snap on to the distributor cap? I tried pushing them on and getting them to snap but got nothing. It just seems like I can pull them off too easily.
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