Just when this car was becoming reliable, the latest performance issue started. It felt like a complete loss of power and it actually stalled after I pulled to the side of the road. Symptoms are as follows

P0170 code
total loss of power on acceleration ( will accelerate if I press gas pedal further down )
decreased gas mileage ( although now I push it a little harder)

Seems to happen pretty consistently when I stop at a light from a higher speed (50-60) and the engine revs down. When I start up again, it has difficulty accelerating as if there are some big flat spots in the power curve.

Parts replaced

Cap rotor wires plugs ( honda)
fuel filter
rear O2 sensor and Cat ( aftermarket)
coil and ignitor (aftermarket)

I also put a voltmeter to the fuel pump and it does not loose power, so no fault ignition switch or main relay. Hard to tell if pump is actually pumping at that time, but failure there is unlikely.

thanks for the advice!!

 

check ignition timing

 

I took the car in yesterday to get it looked at by a dealer. The fee was pretty reasonable ( $100 ). It sounds like they hooked up some electronics and took it for a test drive.

The verdict was that the EGR ports were probably clogged. I didn't think of that because I cleaned them out 2 years ago, but I really don't know how long it takes to get clogged up again. When I did it two years ago, I think it was because of a check engine light and a code that directly pointed me to that issue.

I get the car back today and I will go through the EGR cleaning again. Hopefully all will be well again.

 

The egr ports were about as clean as they were when I worked on them two years ago. So apparently this was not the cause.

 

This is just an idea but it's worth a try. I think the P0170 code is a fuel issue. My first thought, based on my 91 accord, is the coolant temperature sensor. If it is failing then it reports incorrect data to the computer, the computer that controls your fuel and ignition timing. The computer doesn't know it's bad information, it just responds and makes adjustments. My 91 had some issues similar to what you are reporting and the sensor was the fix. If I remember correctly, the part was less than 20 bucks. It could even be corrosion on the connector for the sensor, after all, the little rubber boot that protects it is 15 years old.

Worth a try

Dan