86 Accord idles to 5k when warming, does not go down.

[Danderson]

I have an 86 Honda that when you start it cold, it will start at around 2k RPM, then hover around there, then it will shoot to around 4/5k and stay there. We used to ahve to tap the pedal to get the RPMs to settle, but now it wont do that. When i look at the choke, at start up it is closed. After turning the engine over, it opened to about 1/3rd. I watched it for about ten minutes and it does not open any further, even when the idle goes to 5k. I have to either turn off the engine and let it violently shake and diesel, or if i click the ignition to off very quickly a few times, it brings it down to around 2k where i can turn it off. I don't know TOO much about cars, but my girlfriend has written the car off as helpless so i seem to have free reign over it. Any suggestions? I don't know where any of the parts i've read most about are, like the Idle screw, or the Fast idle thermal valve. Pics would be great. Thank you in advance for anyone who can help! Also, i've read that i may need to tighten the FITV ring, but for the life of me can not find it. Please any help is greatly appreciated, as we now only have 1 car.

[Hauntd ca3]

do the simple sit first
make sure the throttle cable is slightly slack at closed throttle, make sure the cooling system has all the air bled out etc.
you dont say if you have carb or efi
makes big difference to the diagnosis

[Dr_Snooz]

Also, i've read that i may need to tighten the FITV ring, but for the life of me can not find it.

That's because you don't have one. It's a fuel injection part, so you can cross it off your list. Do some searching for "fast idle unloader" and "choke opener" (you'll have to do it yourself because my search doesn't work). Also, spend some time with Honda manual (http://3geez.wiki-tv.com/Honda_service_manuals), learning about the operation of the carb. It contains big blow up diagrams showing the locations of all parts, explanations of how things work and troubleshooting flowcharts to help you fix problems. I would recommend that you use the 1989 USDM Accord Service Manual, even though it isn't your model year. The '86 manual(s) are for the Russian market. Your US carburetor will be bristling with all kinds of additional smog parts that the Russian carbs won't have. Finally, spend some additional time reading through the stickied threads (http://www.3geez.com/forum/carburetor-tech/) on known carb issues.

This should be a fairly easy problem to correct. Now would be the time to negotiate some major concession from the GF should you get the issue resolved. It's good that you aren't listening to her. These cars are some of the best ever made. Unless you run them into something at high speed, they are rarely beyond hope.

[Deepdriller]

I had similar issues, although my idle never got stuck above 3-4k RPM. I resolved them today via replacing the automatic choke opener, plus about 5 feet of vacuum tubing.

See this thread for details:

http://www.3geez.com/forum/carburetor-tech/100737-throttle-idle-issues-1987-honda-accord-lx.html

If you actually want to fix the car download shop manual suggested by Dr. Snooz. You'll have to read it, buy the vacuum pump gauge (~$25) and run the tests. User g.frost has a lot of posts regarding the carb/choke opener and I referenced his post history and his posts in my thread a lot.