Engine sputters sometimes when accelerating but acts normal when restart

[zedjr10]

My car will sometimes sputter when accelerating and do it continuously but if I restart car it will act normal and accelerate just fine. Sometimes i can just stop and idle and eventually drive again with no issues but restarting engine it always fixes it. Also if i just come to a stop and let it idle while this is going on it idles just fine also. I was thinking fuel filter at first but it doesn't continue after a restart and the intervals between these symptoms can be prolonged byt are getting closer together lately. Am really at a loss. This car is a manual with stock f22a in it. No mods anywhere as far as engine goes. BTW there are no cel light coming on and engine never actually dies. It will idle fine if u just don't accelerate. Am thinking fuel pump, bad tank of gas or fuel filter.

[zedjr10]

am thinking fuel filter, bad tank of gas or fuel pump. It wont let me edit my op. The intervals between it acting up now are getting closer adn closer. So icm wouldn't do that. Must be fuel or some wierd electrical problem. Oil from cam seal was spilling all over those wires back there. I thought it might of been that at first as AC went out one night also. Oil leak is fixed now. Time will tell as a pattern shows itself. Any thoughts are appreciated.

[Grumpys93]

Spark plugs oil free?

[zedjr10]

Spark plugs oil free?

yes they are. It isn't a miss like one cylinder missing. It is a sputter from all cylinders and is almost certainly fuel or electrical. I thought maybe a bad tank of gas but immediately restarting car and the sputter stops. It will also eventually go away if u just keep driving it. As of now i suspect fuel filter, fuel pump, icm, the fuel pump relay(pgmi or something), or something electrical.

[zedjr10]

Anyone got an opinion or possiblity? Hard thing to test when it is intermittently happening.

[SSMAccord]

I usually lean toward the ICM given its tendency to start to act erratically as it begins to fail.

[Grumpys93]

Yep, that’s what I was leaning towards next, when was the last time the fuel filter was changed? Other thing I hate about ICM is the high failure rate, which is why I went COP, just get rid of all the High failure items.

[zedjr10]

Yep, that’s what I was leaning towards next, when was the last time the fuel filter was changed? Other thing I hate about ICM is the high failure rate, which is why I went COP, just get rid of all the High failure items.

What is COP? The fuel filter has less than 10k miles and icm has less than 3k. Car sat for a year. I might put a fuel pressure gauge in. If I had one in now I would probably know what is going on. Wouldn't the icm show erratic behavior in my tach if it was failing? I am leaning towards fuel related.

[Grumpys93]

Not necessarily. COP is Coil on Plug, instead of having one coil for all 4 spark plugs and relying on the rotor wheel and ICM, each spark plug has its own coil. I am using d17 coil packs which came on the first gen j series engines.

You have to get a mini cop kit harness and motherboard. I got mine from here:
https://nomisind.com/products/copmin...gk-spark-plugs
Simon is an awesome dude, install wasn’t hard at all, just required some cutting.

For the COP holders, I worked with simmonstuning https://m.facebook.com/SimmonsTuning.

im happy with the COP kit, it actually helped the car idle better.

However, I am chasing down why I am having blow out in high boost. I think it’s due to a week Coil, since I’m running junkyard coils and not brand new ones. Which new ones will be purchased in the future.

[zedjr10]

gotcha, thanks for info to know that is possible. I didn't know we could transfer to better ignition systems. I am leaning towards icm now also as this happens only at low rpms it seems. I wish i had a fuel pressure gauge hooked up so i can eliminate some things. I think i am going ot order one now and install it soon. As that is a useful gauge. So lower rpms i mean like between 1k and 3k. Has never sputtered so far above 3k. Sounds like icm.

[zedjr10]

I usually lean toward the ICM given its tendency to start to act erratically as it begins to fail.

am beginning to agree it is ICM. Because it is at lower rpms consistently and totally erratic. What about that pgmi fuel controller box. I forget the name of it exactly. It can't be fuel filter cause it never happens at higher rpms and it isn't consistently happening. Fuel pump also but i thought maybe something was in gas tank clogging pump but then why does problem go away once i idle or just wait. How does the thing get unclogged all on it's own while car still running. SO rules that out i think. Fuel filter i rule out cause it is inconsistent and never at above 3k rpms. Car always starts up perfect. So ICM is left with the that fuel relay box controller(whatever it is called). It is an aftermarket rebuilt dizzy. Cheap one as new oem is expensive. Anyone have recommendations for an ICM brand. NEW oem of those are like 330 dollars i think. Might as well do a coil pack conversion for that price. Hitachi or Delphi seems like my best choice as my other choices on rockauto are generic resellers. Which one you think?

[zedjr10]

I jsut swapped out another ICM and same thing. Must be fuel. I am going to order and install a fuel pressure gauge.

[Grumpys93]

Have you inspected the main relay? Maybe a solder joint is going bad. As for where to put a Fuel Pressure gauge, You could put it on top of the fuel filter, drill and tap into the banjo bolt. I haven't looked at a stock fuel rail in a long time so I am not sure what options are available.

[zedjr10]

Have you inspected the main relay? Maybe a solder joint is going bad. As for where to put a Fuel Pressure gauge, You could put it on top of the fuel filter, drill and tap into the banjo bolt. I haven't looked at a stock fuel rail in a long time so I am not sure what options are available.

The main fuel relay is called right. I heard that commonly goes bad and just needs soldering most of time. Is that right? Will look at that next. Is it right beside the cruise control box? As far as fuel pressure gauge i want inside so i can see what is going on with the fuel pressure.

[zedjr10]

main relay replaced but still same sputter. My possibilities left IMO are fuel pump, fuel filter or foreign object in gas tank.
Symptoms are
1. Entire engine sputters but no backfiring and seemingly no misfiring. It is like someone just turned off fuel so it can only idle.
2. It still idles properly even when this is happening. I can just let off gas and it idles fine but will still sputter if i hit gas.
3. Symptoms range in time it does this. From a second or 2 to 10 to 15 seconds on occasion.
4. All other electrical components work fine while this is happening.
5. This has always happened driving at lower rpms between 1200 to 2700. Never yet has it sputtered above 2700.
6. If I cut off engine and restart all symptoms go away.
7. This happens no matter the engine temp.
8. Engine never sputters while revving up engine. It always happens while driving at low speeds and rpm's.
9. Engine never sputters above 35 mph. I also rarely go anywhere that speed limit is above 45. So am not sure how accurate this symptom is.
10. Symptoms have became more frequent over a month and about 140 miles of driving.


things ruled out and why?
1. Cat- Sputtering happens when engine is cold or warm and restarting car it immediately goes away.
2. o2 sensor- no cel. O2 sensor is new and this started with old O2 sensor replaced a few weeks ago.
3. Main relay- Was replaced today.

other possibilities?
1.something else in dizzy besides ICM which was replaced a couple days ago(I had a spare i put in).

Any other possibilities please share.