car is struggling up hills

[dakiid]

I have a automatic 1990 honda accord lx. It has 142k miles and to my knowledge everything is stock except for the muffler and exhaust pipe I just had replaced.

I just got my license a week ago so I started driving my car more. I noticed that the transmission feels like it just locks up sometimes when going up hill.

usually from a dead stop, I accelerate up to about 20-25 mph and the car goes into 2nd gear and around 2200 RPM. now as I start to climb the hill, the car slows down but doesn't respond if I step on the gas harder. the RPM stays around 2200 and it doesn't downshift or up shift. the car slows down to 20 and usually it crawls up the hill at 2000-2200 RPM. Now if I hit a hill at 30-40, the car shifts into 3rd and climbs the hill without a problem and it downshifts to 2nd if necessary. when it does downshift back to 2nd it usually drives normally and I can make it up the hill maintaining 30 without the engine sounding like its about to die. The problem is I cant always hit hills so fast. Also, everytime I go up a hill from a dead start, the RPM locks up around 2200, the engine sound like its about to die and the engine check light comes on. And the hills im going up arent that steep or long. I drive my mom suv the same way and it handles fine so im sure its not the way Im driving.

Any Ideas?

other info. I have literally floored the pedal a few times trying to make it up hills and the car just continues to crawl at 2200 RPM.
also the car died on me for the first time while in motion today. I was coming to a stop at a stop sign when the car just turned off. had to turn the key about 5 times to get it to restart again.

[91ExSedan]

Check fuel filter, Intake, and whens the last time it was serviced?

[moddified]

Check fuel filter, Intake, and whens the last time it was serviced?

he's right , i changed the relay and fuel filter . . . but then my car need'd a distributor so get it checked

[dakiid]

Check fuel filter, Intake, and whens the last time it was serviced?

umm not sure about when it was last serviced. I had it for about 6 months and it sat in my driveway most of the time. just started driving it daily last week. It had a oil change 6 months ago but I dont think that is being serviced?


also can u link me to a guide on how to check these things and what to check for because im a noob when it comes to cars.

Good news is Im taking auto class this year in high school and the teacher lets us do work on our own cars so hopefully I can get hands on help from there instead of going to a mechanic that is going to charge me a ton.

And thanks for the quick response.

[91ExSedan]

change your oil asap. Do you have old gas aswell?

[moddified]

this ones for the relay , im going to search around for more , im about to start drinking my ninja

http://techauto.awardspace.com/mainrelay.html

[dakiid]

change your oil asap. Do you have old gas aswell?

ok I will try to take it out and get that done tomorrow. and no the gas isnt old, filled it up to a lil bit above the halfway mark twice.

this ones for the relay , im going to search around for more , im about to start drinking my ninja

http://techauto.awardspace.com/mainrelay.html

ok thanks and lol

[batever]

For power you need air, fuel, spark, correct timing, and oil to lubricate and cool the engine.

I think out of these three air, fuel, spark, and correct timing are the places to look first.

Is your air filter clogged? change it.

Check the fuel pressure at the fuel rail.

spark-you probably have it, but if the car is sitting it can't hurt to check the condition of the plugs, wires, and the distributor cap and rotor.

check the timing with a timing gun.

and see what happens.

[dakiid]

out of all those things, I know how to check none of them

[91ExSedan]

Air filter is simple to check..
Unscrew your box, and peek inside. If its dirty, its robbing your power because of restricted air flow.

[CB7Man]

Its all in your tranny it sounds
If you floor it in 2nd gear at 2200, and it wont upshift, something is wrong with the tranny, or something is out of alignment.
Is the tranny's "throttle cable" attached? Check that, it is what actually upshifts.
Try useing Sport Mode and remember you DONT have a nice V-8 to plough up hills, you have a near-20 year old ECONOMY car
Also kicking the pedal will incur and upshift
Might want to think about replacing the tranny fluid. At 140K its overdue.

[dakiid]

also the sport mode randomly blinks sometimes. I need to find the error codes so I can know what it is trying to tell me.

Any more links because honestly I dont know the location of most of these things you guys are posting. Im usung google to try and find them and how to fix them but Im not finding that much helpful info from google searches.

And thanks guys

[CB7Man]

Find the throttle body for your engine.
Attached should be the cable for the transmission
Check this.
Make sure it moves when the gas is moved

[batever]

also the sport mode randomly blinks sometimes. I need to find the error codes so I can know what it is trying to tell me.

Any more links because honestly I dont know the location of most of these things you guys are posting. Im usung google to try and find them and how to fix them but Im not finding that much helpful info from google searches.

And thanks guys

Underthe glove box, on the right wall of the passenger side, there is a small connector handing down with 2 holes in it. YOu have to get down on the floor to see it.. this is the service connector. Take a bent paper clip or a staple or something and plug both end into the holes.

When the connector is jumpered like that it does a numb er of things, but one thing is it tells the car's ECU (electronic control unit, the computer that runs stuff in the car) to tell you what the error codes are.

Now turn the ignition to the "on" position. The check engine light on the dash will blink a series of long and short blinks. long long short is 21. long short short is 12.

like that.

write down the codes and let us know what they are.

And take the jumper wire out of the service connector before driving the car.

[batever]

You're gonna need/want a manual for your car. Haynes makes a decent one and Autozone sells it, it's around $21.00. The Chilton manual is not so good for this year range of car, I'm told. Or since you are taking an auto class, spring for the Helm manual, which is "official" one that the pros use. It's around $80.