1999 Civic DX sputters when cold

@Hibo, Id check the basics,distributor cap and rotor, spark plugs, (I prefer NGK), weak Ignition coil. Try holding the accelerator pedal down a little when you start the vehicle when its acting up that way you are meetering the air flow through the butter

First I would test the coolant and air temp sensors. Those cars don’t have mass airflow sensors so they rely heavily on coolant and air temp to calculate the fuel/timing. Make sure the ignition components are in good condition.

It wouldn’t hurt to do a fuel filter if the car has a lot of miles and it has never been done before. I think the Honda one is about $15 bucks and it’s super easy to replace. My girlfriend’s 97 Civic had a pretty nasty looking fuel filter when I cut it open. I would check things first before you start throwing parts at it. That is my last resort, not my first.

need help with the same problem my kids car is having issues starting in early cold morning first start ups. Did the adjustment to the fast idle valve assy like Eric advised worked great the in warmer days. Buy this morning it was 36 degrees and back to hard start again.. Have a spare electronic air valve may replace it next. But don’t wish to throw replacement parts at it.. Any clues will be welcomed.. 97 honda predule.
Did the bleeding of the anti-freeze too… v-tec engine,

David, Thank you for the tips. but have already replaced the plug wires with new over the summer with new plugs. Had the Distr replaced two years ago oil shaft seal leaking to cap. May change the fuel filter today. under 20 dollars..

thank you for the tips… No I don’t have these tools…but do have DVOM..
Have friend and the auto zone with a scan OBD reader but no codes generated..

Quoted From Hibo:

need help with the same problem my kids car is having issues starting in early cold morning first start ups. Did the adjustment to the fast idle valve assy like Eric advised worked great the in warmer days. Buy this morning it was 36 degrees and back to hard start again.. Have a spare electronic air valve may replace it next. But don’t wish to throw replacement parts at it.. Any clues will be welcomed.. 97 honda predule.
Did the bleeding of the anti-freeze too… v-tec engine,

This is the reason you need to turn it back 1/4 turn instead of leaving it bottomed out, there was actually a great video response to my Honda Idle video about this very thing.

That said forget about a sensor problem, if there was one the computer will set a code. Idle problems are often mixture problems so of course look for vacuum leaks but if the FITV is acting up because it was not adjusted properly or is having some other issue then this could be the cause. Not all of this will apply to your situation however there are some points in my “Idle Speech” that might help you so I’ll post it now as well as a link to that second video about the FITV.

The video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMjQry8m … h_response

Idle speech

There are a lot of things that can contribute to an idle issue, in fact in the end it may still be there to some degree because of the nature of that engine however here are some things to start with.

First start with a good tune up, use NGK or Nippon Denso plugs, don’t change the wires if they are OE, if they aren’t OE you might consider NGK wires as they are very good and less expensive then OE. A quality cap and rotor should be good. A new air filter also helps.

Don’t change the PCV valve, if you see an aftermarket PCV valve in there put a Honda in, believe it or not I’ve seen idle issues caused by aftermarket PCV valves, the OE’s last just about forever so you can easily justify the expense.

Next a good valve adjustment, this goes a long way to smooth out the idle if done correctly, mess it up and things can get a lot worse though.

While you have the valve cover off check the timing belt tension, if you feel a lot of slack this can cause the cam to ‘chunk’ as it spins causing a rough idle. If you think the belt has been on there for some time then you might consider changing it and resetting the tension properly, if it’s not ready for replacement you can reset the tension to take up the slack.

DO NOT adjust the idle screw under any circumstances, it is set at the factory and that is the reason it was sealed in the first place. If you find that the seal has been broken and you have a low idle and you have done all of the above then you might turn the screw out a little to see if that helps the idle but only enough to try and bring it back to where it was before it was adjusted in the first place.

Last clean the screen in the Idle Air Control valve, this can get clogged up with carbon over time and cause the flow through it to be restricted which can cause idle issues.

If you still have a ‘rough’ idle after all of this THEN look to the engine mounts as you want to be sure the engine is running correctly before you go for those as the one in the back is a real pain to replace.

the issue is starting the car the first time in cold weather at 36 degrees last time.. did the fast idle set up and did the back off 3/4 of a turn from seated position.
why only in cold start first start up ? problem and yes bleed the anti freeze and topped off..New plug and wire not OEM from honda, air filter too.. NAPA..parts.
After the first start the car starts fine….97 honda predule v tec.
Cleaned the thottle body out and sprayed off all the carbon deposits and vanish.. Any further tips welcome.. Thank you all.. have a great week.

@Hibo, remove your spark plugs 1st thing before you start the vehicle in the morning(1st start of the day)and look for signs of antifreeze on top of the pistons, its very possible you have a cylinder head gasket that seeps overnight and fouls a spark plug