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With situations like this I often find that someone has adjusted the idle screw on the throttle body, this should NEVER be done to correct an idle issue. Check to see if the ‘paint’ on the idle screw has been disturbed and if it has turn the screw out a little to see if the problem goes away, if it does and you now have a ‘hunting’ idle then I would suggest checking for vacuum leaks and just for good measure I’m going to post my ‘idle speech’ here for extra reference.
By suggestion I’m going to post my idle speech along with a couple of video links that I hope will help if your having problems with your Honda’s idle. First I’ll give you the link to the Solving Honda Idle Problems video, please remember that adjusting the FITV is the LAST step in the process and you need to back it off at least 1/2 turn after it bottoms out or it will not start properly when cold.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L788jKEVblYThe Bleeding a Cooling System Videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUp … =relmfuThe video response to the Honda Idle videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMj … onseLastly here is the “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 a 4 cylinder 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.I hope this info is helpful as I get a TON of questions about Honda idle problems, thanks for reading.thanks for that reply Eric, very informative, i suspect no vacuum leak around the engine but i do hear a hiss at the intake filter, its a aftermarket AEM intake and when the car is idling it makes a subtle hiss that pronounce at the filter, you mentioned about that idle screw well unfortunately it has been tampered with, i got the car used, so i suspect it was adjusted, i remember awhile back i had a rough idle and was getting terrible gas mileage but turned out it was my downpipe leaking for the exhaust, i got it weld and rough idle was gone and gas mileage improved. i was thinking is it possible if a can use a digital tachometer and adjust the idle back to spec? i do have the service manual so i know the procedure to set base idle
I would just follow the service manual procedure to reset the idle screw. A digital tach wouldn’t hurt, but I would follow the service manual. And you NEED to fix the vacuum leak around the aftermarket intake. Aftermarket parts often do more harm than good.
thanks for the reply Beefy, do you think that vacuum leak can be a contribution from that idle screw being messed with? as im now starting to suspect if the base idle is way out of spec, like maybe too much air allowing ? that could throw off the ecu correct? maybe thats causing my problem…?
I would follow Eric’s idle speech to the ‘T’.
If the base idle screw that is set from the factory has been adjusted, its going to open another can of worms.
thanks for the reply Dreamer2355, so it looks like i’ll start there i’ll follow the steps on the
“idle speech” and i’ll post an update thanks again guys^ yeah it was was tampered with alright, i read about the seal or paint mark on the screw but never really seen how it looked but i knew for sure it was gone because the slot for the screw was kind of abused i had to use a pretty wide flat head for it. yea i had to go in tighter because when i removed the iacv connector i was suppose to hear like a decrease in idle but it remained the same as i saw on my tach no change and was at close to 800rpm. so i can see how that can confuse the ecu and possibly the iacv, oh i forgot if anyone mentions the iacv is clean
^I appreciate your follow up on the advice given. I’m having issues on an older Civic I believe is relative to the IACV, but that’s for another thread. Thanks for sharing your experience.
When you removed the connector for IACV, was it with the engine off after warming to full-temp? Then you proceeded to restart?
In my manual for ‘setting the factory idle’ back to default/checking the idle, it specifically mentions to get the vehicle to operating temperature, then shut the engine off in order to remove the IACV connector. When restarting the car initially assist the engine RPM to stabilize at 1,000 yourself and then slowly relax the throttle until it idles safely on it’s own: proceed to check idle speed relative to speed screw itself. For my manual, it states somewhere around 420 +/- 50 RPM with the IACV not in use and without any load(the cooling fan not running, headlights off etc etc). Only the parking brake applied since equipped with a m/t, IIRC.
oh no problem HBVX,
im glad to share information to help othersT)for the idle reset procedure my manual stated i had to allow the engine to reach operating temperature and that the fan must turn on for one cycle then
you remove the iacv connector to disable it and if it happens to stall then you restart it with foot slightly depressed on gas pedal and keep it at 1000rpms and slowly let off ( in my case i did not encounter this because my idle remain the same ) then you proceed on adjusting the screw and set the base idle ( my car’s base idle called for 550rpm in park with no load,no accessories on ) im not sure if my manual is much different from yours but after i did this i shut the car off reconnected the iacv and in my under hood fuse box i had to remove the clock fuse to reset the ecu then start the car and let it idle for one minute with no load, then i had to turn on headlights for one minute then turn them off and follow up with the ac on and on max for one mintue then i gussed it is program to the ecu from then on hopefully that helps^Yeah, that’s what my manual basically says in more detail after the IACV disconnected check(for idle screw setting part of the steps). Now that you mentioned it, I’ll listen for hissing at the idle screw for kicks when I go to bash on my IACV later. Been rainy today/this week so we’ll see. I suspect my IACV is sticking closed at times when hot, but I don’t get a CEL, just rough idle. I’ve got another thread going for that. Anything I get Honda + idle issue I’m always reading these threads to figure out how they turn out. It sounds like you solved your issue and did a bang up job at that.
+1.
thanks HVBX,
hopefully i have took care of my problem too, yea honda and idle issues can be a pain haha they seem to be very delicate when it comes to this.
yeah when you have a chance you can listen for that hiss if the screw has been brought out to much it creates this vacuum that draws more air and if theres too much air goin in i can see how that can cause weird things to happen as was my case, is your iacv a three pin connector? mine is a two pin i believe they are both differently designed if im wrong^It’s a 2-pin like this ‘replacement’ offering from Standard Motor Products. The OE is about the same price b4 shipping as the aftermarket units seem to be around $190 or so, I’ll be buying OE if I can confirm it’s the IACV. I just hope cleaning can put this off. First, the screwdriver test during the lug symptom and then manually removing/cleaning and replacing the gasket/screen.
Not sure if the idle screw was adjusted b4 but I could always post pics of the ‘seal’ that is there currently. IIRC, it looks like it was disturbed previously so IDK…
^ oh ok cool mine is very similar to that photo, i would try that out first as you mentioned cleaning the screen on the iacv because thats a pretty hefty amount of cash for the part, if your going to completely remove it from the intake manifold to clean you will lose some coolant so i recommend that when you put it back to bled the cooling system so you dont get any air in the system and add coolant just to be on the safe side, i read a lot of threads of people cleaning and having worse conditions but i strongly believe is because of this important neglected step
^That’s a good thing to remember. I’ll get to test the ‘bleeder’ valve, too. Mine is where the top hose goes into the block front side of the engine, not the rear as in eric’s vid on bleeding the cooling system.
The shop that did the timing belt service 18 months ago used Prestone 50/50 pre-diluted. So, I’ve been wanting to eventually drain/rinse with distilled water/install Honda Type-II or at least older Premium Green that does not include 2-EHA (dexcool ingredient that ‘may’ harm certain rubbers over time).
Perfect chance to use the new Lisle spill-free funnel I got like in the vid! xD
oh yea the bleeder valves are so convenient. oh thats very true about the anti-freeze dont want to run the wrong stuff in therebut its funny now that you mentioned it i have peak 50/50 anit-freeze in my system im not sure if its a good thing when i got the car it had the green stuff in it already not the honda type 2 but so far so good havent notice any unsual leaks or behavior.. oh i know that funnel in the video is awesome! i gotta pick up one of those T)
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