So I've noticed my car has been getting crappy gas milage lately, and then even more recently it might have a bit of trouble starting. Now this morning it won't start at all. It tries to start, might run for a second, then cuts out. There is spark, though the plugs were quite foul and dry. I can hear the fuel pump running and the fuel filther was recently changed.

Finally I hooked up a laptop out of desperation and it showed code 18, injector circuit(s). I cleared it to see if it would come back and sure enough it did.

So right now the battery is pretty drained and so I've got it charging. In the meantime I was hoping I could get some ideas on where to go from here, and how to diagnose DTC 18. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

i had a similar problem with my honda....only no codes were there cuz it's an 88. i had a broken ground wire and had to replace it. so i traced it back to the break, cut and spliced it with SOLDER...NOT A CRIMP. but then i had another problem...the injector was stuck open so it was just leaking all the time when the pump was on.

toar apart the intake and replaced the injector with a junkyard unit...no problems since.

 

DTC 18 sets when the PCM detects an electrical problem on one (or more) of the electrical circuits. It can't detect "stuck" injectors.

Turn the key on, and check to insure you have +12V to each injector connctor, on the pink wire. If you are lacking +12V on an entire bank, the injector fuse for that side of the engine is blown. If you are missing the voltage on one or a few injectors, it may be wiring problem, with broken wires.

If you have +12V to all the injectors, with the harness connectors off, check the resistance across the pins on each injector. Should get 12-15 ohms on each.

If you have the correct resistance on each injector, get a set of "noid" lights and install them, to check that the PCM is supplying the required ground to fire each injector in sequence.

 

Well each injector had between 12.2-12.4 volts and between 12.2-12.9 ohms. I don't know what you are talking about by "noid" lights. Maybe my dad does. Either way, does this mean that the problem is likely the PCM?

 

The PCM supplies the ground to fire the injector. Could be a faulty wire from the PCM to one of the injectors.

A noid light is simply a small bulb that connects between your harness and the injector, and flashes to indicate the electrical circuit is firing:

http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/ta36330.html

 

Ok, I looked at the schematic and I think I get what your saying. I'll try it out tommorow. That's probably it beacuse the PCM usually doesn't crap out like that, espically if it knows enough to throw a code.