Honda CRV i-Vtec 2002 - Cold starting and judder

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Mon 31 Aug 2015 16:41
Honda CRV i-Vtec 2002 - Cold starting and judder - CRVfan

My 13 year-old Honda CRV (petrol), 67,000 miles, owned from new, has become less easy to start in the cold weather and runs 'rich' when it starts; it is difficult to achieve a smooth clutch release until the engine has warmed-up (after a minute or two). Once warm, it runs perfectly. This fault has gradually become more apparent over the past 3 or 4 years. Apart from this, there are no other problems; it is still a very good car and drives as well as it always has. I thought that it could be the ECT sensor but my local Honda agent tells me that they have never ordered this component, nor the other temperature sensor in the radiator, for my model. Any ideas?

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Mon 31 Aug 2015 17:58
Honda CRV i-Vtec 2002 - Cold starting and judder - elekie&a/c doctor

Basic service items checked?Spark plugs ,filters,correct engine oil?May be an idea to check inside dizzy cap for corrosion on contacts and rotor arm.Also battery needs to be tested.

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Tue 1 Sep 2015 15:42
Honda CRV i-Vtec 2002 - Cold starting and judder - CRVfan

Basic service items checked?Spark plugs ,filters,correct engine oil?May be an idea to check inside dizzy cap for corrosion on contacts and rotor arm.Also battery needs to be tested.

Thank you for reply. My CRV is a second generation model: there is no distributor for ignition; each spark plug has its own coil. The battery reads 12.6 volts and the indicator shows fully charged.

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Mon 31 Aug 2015 17:59
Honda CRV i-Vtec 2002 - Cold starting and judder - hardway

Doesn't mean it's not got a faulty CTS!

Try unplugging the CTS connector,

green/yellow and red/white wire colours and try and start it up.

the ecu ought to "see" an improbable signal and ignore it and just pull a reading from it's memory.

if starting has now improved you've probably have got a bad signal from the CTS/wiring

Though what really should be done is plug it in to a scan tool set to live data and read just what the ECU is "seeing",

It might be the CTS is reading minus 20!

Get it scanned and live data read by someone who actually WILL test it rather that your local agent who clearly doesn't care or has no clue!

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Mon 31 Aug 2015 19:53
Honda CRV i-Vtec 2002 - Cold starting and judder - hardway
Oh and one other thing,
on a cold engine the resistance of the CTS should be the same as the inlet air temperature sensor.so if you have a DVM....
But going back to your original post I like your agent haven't come across any faulty CTS on Honda's,
plenty of faulty distributors,
and more than a few faulty fuel pumps.
Something to bear in mind.
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Tue 1 Sep 2015 15:52
Honda CRV i-Vtec 2002 - Cold starting and judder - CRVfan

Thank you for your replies. I will indeed do what you have suggested. The Honda parts guy was very helpful and really did more than he needed to. He offered to check the demand for this particular sensor on their data base and the fact that there had never been a requirement for it on this model CRV (I gave him the VIN) made me rethink my amateur diagnosis. He also said that it was a part which failed on other Honda models (he mentioned some of the Civics).

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Tue 1 Sep 2015 17:20
Honda CRV i-Vtec 2002 - Cold starting and judder - hardway

As stated in my experience Honda's are pretty reliable so my first suspect is the dizzy,

though that usually means non start,

no spark.

But I have come across a noticable number with faulty fuel pumps,

a simple test if you know someone with a 'scope.

faulty pumps can present with a number of symptoms,

a 'scope waveform rules it out or in pretty quick.

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Wed 2 Sep 2015 12:16
Honda CRV i-Vtec 2002 - Cold starting and judder - CRVfan

Thank you again . As I said in my reply to Elekie, this model CRV is the first to have individual coils for each sparking plug - so no dizzy.

I am going to take your advice and have the ECU inputs checked live by (hopefully) a competent guy with a plug-in scanner. I do not want to start spending on replacement parts in hope! Diagnosis is everything.

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Thu 10 Sep 2015 14:32
Honda CRV i-Vtec 2002 - Cold starting and judder - CRVfan

Thank you again . As I said in my reply to Elekie, this model CRV is the first to have individual coils for each sparking plug - so no dizzy.

I am going to take your advice and have the ECU inputs checked live by (hopefully) a competent guy with a plug-in scanner. I do not want to start spending on replacement parts in hope! Diagnosis is everything.

Engine management system scanned when cold; no sensor problems; the engine coolant sensor and the outside temperature sensor showed 10 and 11 degrees respecttively. The mobile mechanic suggested that it was likely to be a build-up of dirt over 13 years in the throttle body assembly so I will clean it and use v-power fuel to assist with the clean-up. After the scan etc. he started the engine and said that it was running really well. Thanks to all for useful posts.

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