My Honda Civic 97 Fail The Smog Test Meas 69 What Can I Do

What does it mean if a Honda Civic check engine light is flashing?

Mike Stittman has got it covered. A flashing check engine light is indicative of the converter getting a way too rich mixture. You have the potential for the cat to go boom. Not good. And since this is the OBDII monitoring system a flashing “Check Engine” light means that same thing on any vehicle equipped with OBDII. OBDII started appearing on some vehicles in 1994 and was incorporated in all vehicles in 1996. For the most part, the codes and indications are universal regardless of the make of the vehicle.I'll bet your Civic's got some high mileage on it. I'll bet you've never had the 02 sensors changed. I'll bet you don't even know what an O2 sensor is. It's the O2 sensors that have a direct input to the engine management computer for maintaining proper fuel mixture ...air to fuel ratio. The O2 sensors have a normal service life of about 60-75K miles. They are like spark plugs in how they "fail" ...very slowly and over a long period of time. Sometimes a failed O2 sensor will put the check engine light on ...sometimes not.Get you car into a good reputable shop or the dealer and have the problem taken care of ASAP. And yes, it will cost money. Probably going to be an expensive repair. I'd earmark at least a grand ...O2 sensors are expensive and you may end up needing the cat replaced. Prepare for the worst ...be happy when it turns out better.

What does it mean if a diesel engine throws white smoke?

White smoke from a diesel is usually from unburned fuel. When combustion is incomplete, a diesel mist comes from the exhaust. It is very common when starting a diesel in very cold weather.It can occur from bad rings or valves not properly sealing the combustion chamber, an engine running too cool for complete combustion, defective injectors, or bad injector timing.The other possibility is a leaking coolant system. Coolant can enter the combustion chamber from a cracked block or head, a bad injector sleeve, blown head gasket, or even a leaking intercooler.The difference is that coolant smells sweet, and white smoke smells like fuel.

Is it okay to drive your car without thermostats?

If you take out the thermostat then the coolant will just flow 100% by the water pump. Assuming that your system is properly sized so that cutting off flow with the thermostat will result in the proper operating temperature being met then running without a thermostat will always result in a lower than intended operating temperature.Here are some things that will happen:Your engine will run cooler than the desired temperature most all of the time andit will pollute more since it is tuned to run at the designed temperatureYour heater will take longer to become effective since the coolant is used to warm the heater core heat exchanger so you may, on cold days take longer to warm the cabin andmore importantly, it will take much longer to defrost the windshield using the defroster function.Probably it won’t hurt short term to the car engine itself, I don’t think. But in the long term operating it significantly below the designed temperature could have a number of effects, perhaps on lube viscosity, various carbon buildups that lead to other engine performance problems and possibly permanent damage.I once had a mechanic shop replace the thermostat and flush the coolant. When I get it back the car took forever to warm up the heater and get the engine to the temperature. I eventually took off the thermostat housing and found he had placed it about half way off and clamped it down with the housing out of position- it didn’t leak but the gap on one side pretty much made it free flowing.

Will exhaust leaks at manifold gaskets cause the engine to misfire?

I'm going to address the issue that has so far been overlooked. Most gasoline passenger and light duty trucks on the road today utilize electronically controlled fuel injection. Exhaust manifold leaks have the effect of “fooling” the oxygen sensor. Exhaust gas travels in pulses with high and low pressure zones. Exhaust gas leaks out during the high pressure event. Outside air is drawn INTO the leaking area during the low pressure event. The result is an oxygen sensor that reports a lean condition. (Too much air in relation to fuel). The Powertrain Control Module (PCM) will then increase fuel delivery to compensate. With a leak of sufficient magnitude, the PCM can end up substantially increasing fuel delivery in an attempt to “correct” the perceived lean condition. The engine (or that half of the engine) actually ends up running quite over- rich (Too much fuel in relation to air). Spark plug fouling can result, which in turn may lead to a MISFIRE. If this situation occurred on , for instance, a 98 Ford F150 with a V8, the following may be present. Lean exhaust code and misfire codes set on the bank with the exhaust leak present. The exhaust leak did not cause an immediate misfire. But it is the root cause of the resulting mayhem.

I had new speaker and amp installed and now car won't start! Can this be caused by bad installation?

Oh these are always fun. Though I can't give you a diagnosis over email, I can tell you it is 100% possible to kill a car with a stereo installation.  Your amplifier needs a signal to turn on or it will stay on always and kill your battery. Stereo install guys turn on the car and stab a test light into random wires looking for one powered only when the car is turned on. Unfortunately they have been known to splice into a CAN data bus. The CAN network in charge of communication for your security and locking could be disabled keeping your key from being authorized. Or the CAN network for your chassis systems can be shut down that deals with communication for your engine, transmission, and typically traction control. A CAN network is typically a 5 volt system but it suplies power in micro amps as it is only used for communication and not supplying a load such as switching a relay, lighting a bulb, or spinning a motor. Splicing into these to supply the relay to turn on the amp effectively grounds the circuit and does not allow for the digital signal to propogate. Sometimes it easier and they just blew a fuse while poking around with a test light, or shorted a harness by running a screw through it while mounting components. Had a lowjack installer put a screw through a floorboard and into a fuel tank once, cause a check engine light due to an emissions test, luckily it didn't burn down the car first. I have fixed at least a dozen of these problems on Benz's in the shop after a car got towed in from the stereo shop.

How much should it cost to replace a gas tank? How do you know if you are being overcharged?

The tank itself isn't all that expensive. The lion's share of the cost will be the labor involved. If you know the shop's labor rate ...I'm guessing in the neighborhood of $85/hr or so ...and it will probably take at least 3 hours to do ...doing the math (3 x 85) ...brings labor in the $300 range. Add the new tank, for which you'll pay at least double (maybe more) the listed retail price for the part (this upcharging for parts is standard practice at *any* shop), and you're looking to lighten your wallet by at least $500 ...probably closer to $700 when "rag charges", "environmental charges" and taxes are added.To do the job, the first thing done is to empty the fuel tank of gasoline. The shop may suggest you conssider replacing the fuel pump ...especially if this is an older/high mileage vehicle. Labor to replace the fuel pump ...which livesinside your gas tank ...will essentially be the same as replacing the gas tank. If the tank is being replaced because it's rusting internally and rusting through, then there's a very good chance the fuel filter ...which is integral with the fuel pump, will be clogged with rust particles. If you have an older vehicle with a sepearate fuel filter then consider having the fuel filter replaced as part of the gas tank swap. Cars with fuel injection will have an electric fuel pump inside the gas tank. When the fuel pump dies, the car dies ...engine quits ...right there ...boom. Dead. Hopefully that doesn't happen while merging onto, or driving on, the Freeway. But when it happens it won't be good. You'll need a tow.And why do you think the shop is trying to overcharge you? You have *ZERO* idea what's involved in getting your car back into good health. You are paying for the *expertise* and skill of the mechanic working on your car to make a repair you, yourself, are incapable of doing ...nor do you fully grasp the ramifications of the job. But you think the shop is gonna rip you off. So go around and get second opinions ...from other shops in your area. But do yourself a *big* favor and do not select the cheapest shop ...better to find a highly reputable shop that does exceptionally competent work ...and pay a little more for this. You want the repair done right the first time and you don't want to come back; pay the extra money. A wise car owner will have a "maintenance fund" on hand ...funded with about $1000 ...in order to address major repairs.