88 lxi cant find idle sometimes

[5 Speed Speeder]

This has only happened twice to me. When the car is at full operating temp and I go to start the car, the car wont idle and I have to stay on the throttle to keep it from dying. If I put it in first and get moving it will idle in neutral afterwards. What should I be looking for? This is an intermittent problem. Out of 100+ starts it has only happened twice and both times the car was at full operating temp. Could this have something to do with the main relay?

[5 Speed Speeder]

Does anybody know if there is a difference between radiators for the automatic and standard transmission? my radiator developed a leak and i am trying to order a new one, but most of the places online don't specify whether they fit the automatic or standard transmission. i have a standard transmission and my radiator only has two hoses. could anybody with an automatic transmission let met know if their radiator looks any different than mine?

[Dr_Snooz]

I think the only difference between the standard and auto rads is that the auto will have a couple extra hose nipples for AT fluid. You should be able to use either one. The intermittent problem will eventually get bad enough that you find the cause... Not really a help, I know.

[5 Speed Speeder]

Does anybody know what size wrench I need to remove the sensor I have labeled on my radiator pic above? I don't want to have to bike six miles to the hardware store holding a radiator to make sure I get the right size

[Dr_Snooz]

You can always measure it. Or buy everything you think might work, then return what doesn't.

[5 Speed Speeder]

i ended up just buying a monkey wrench...


i recently took out my back seat, and stuck a 72"x34" piece of plywood in the back and converted my backseat and trunk area into a sleeping area for when i take road trips. i drove up the east coast this weekend and gave the bed its first test run. it's very cozy. on the trip i realized that my accord really doesnt like moisture. i plan on replacing both cv axles and all the vacuum lines really soon.

[derolph]

i drove up the east coast this weekend... on the trip i realized that my accord really doesnt like moisture. i plan on replacing both cv axles and all the vacuum lines really soon.Are you thinking the CV axles and vacuum lines are related to the moisture issue? How? If it your car misbehaves during rain and high humidity, you might need new spark plug wires; and, check your distributor cap for cracks.

[5 Speed Speeder]

The cv axles really just need to be replaced, they started making noises when i'm not even turning the wheel. also, i think some of the vacuum lines are weak because when it is wet and cold the idle behaves differently. i replaced one of the lines on top going from the charcoal canister to the throttle body and an issue i was having in the wet and cold stopped. but i do think my problems are distributor related. my tach has started bouncing at certain rpms in certain gears and it seems like it's starting to miss sometimes when under load in fifth. i'm going to replace the spark plugs and wires soon. i'll grab a distributor from the junkyard just in case my problems get worse.

[derolph]

my tach has started bouncing at certain rpms in certain gears and it seems like it's starting to miss sometimes when under load in fifth. The RPM bouncing is a symptom I experienced some years ago when I determined I needed to replace my distributor.

[5 Speed Speeder]

The RPM bouncing is a symptom I experienced some years ago when I determined I needed to replace my distributor.


The thing is, it's a fairly new distributor. Has maybe 20,000 miles on it. The bouncing tach problem started recently. before, it would just get stuck at 4000 in second. Something may have messed up because I forgot to tape over the leftover connectors when I took out the ac compressor. I'm not really sure how all the electrical stuff works, I'm still new to working on cars.

[derolph]

Without looking up exact dates, I'll give the general history of my experience with distributors in my 88 Accord. The year in which the bouncing rpm behavior and other distributor-related misbehavior started was 2011. I bought a Cardone reman, i.e. re-manufactured, distributor from a local auto parts store; the distributor had a lifetime warranty. By 2014, a new issue had arisen. The engine ran rough in a narrow rpm range of about 2300 - 2500 rpm, most noticeable at about 2500 rpm. And, this was noticeable in all gears except 1st, as I recall. In 5th gear, an engine speed of about 2500 happened to often be about where the engine speed would be when driving on an open highway. If I were cruising on a level road, the problem was not very noticeable but any uphill sections of road where the engine was under more load would make the engine roughness more noticeable. I suspected the distributor but took the car to a repair shop to get their assessment. They took the car for a test drive and agreed that the distributor was probably the cause of the problem. I asked the guy at the shop to annotate on their invoice that the distributor needed to be replaced so that I would have a professional opinion to backup my request for a replacement under warranty from the store where I had purchased the distributor.

I went to the store. They were not selling Cardone distributors at that time, so they replaced with distributor at no cost with a Richporter (a Canadian company) distributor. BTW, the store was Advanced Auto Parts.

I should add that the Cardone distributor had less than 20K miles on it when I had the problem with it and got it replaced.

[Liamk182]

Any pics of the bed conversion? Sounds very interesting...

[5 Speed Speeder]

here are some pictures of the plywood. it's 1/2 inch plywood. just put bedding on top of the wood with a pillow. if laying on your side, it is a little harder unless you are really small. the widest part of your waist will have to be before the shelf where the speakers sit if you are lying on your side. also, if you have a huge belly (or really big bones) this set up might not work even if you are lying on your stomach or back(you really have to be big though). i have a big blanket underneath the bottom cushion of the backseat to provide support on the board's edge. there are three different support areas underneath the board. one at the trunk, one underneath the shelf where the backseat used to rest, and on the edge of the backseat cushion where you put something underneath to provide support. you dont want to put too much weight on the front edge of the plywood or in between the trunk and the middle support. just use common sense really... if you can cut off the shelf, this setup could even work for somebody with a huge belly. i hope to cut off the metal all the way to the edge of the back window when i have the materials.

[Liamk182]

For some reason I can't see the attached pics, certainly sounds interesting though! I'm 6ft and 240lbs so I'm not sure I'm ever going to fit comfortably ha.

[derolph]

i hope to cut off the metal all the way to the edge of the back window when i have the materials.Do you mean the metal that supports the back seat when it is is normal position? If so, then you have no intention of ever using the back seat again, right?

I think I would not cut that metal away. I believe doing so would jeopardize the structural integrity of the car body/chassis.

[5 Speed Speeder]

For some reason I can't see the attached pics,
certainly sounds interesting though! I'm 6ft and 240lbs so I'm not sure I'm ever going to fit comfortably ha.


I'm 6ft and 150 lbs. You could definitely fit length wise but for bigger people, it will feel like a coffin. I'm cutting off the speaker shelf so I can roll on my side.




Do you mean the metal that supports the back seat when it is is normal position? If so, then you have no intention of ever using the back seat again, right?

I think I would not cut that metal away. I believe doing so would jeopardize the structural integrity of the car body/chassis.



If the structural integrity of the car is relying on a flimsy piece of metal that I can bend by pushing on it, i think I'm screwed either way if I get in a wreck. Cutting it off would open up space for a lot more storage. I could even fit two people back there.

If i cut it off, is there anything I could do to increase the stiffness of the chassis/body without sacrifycing space?

[Dr_Snooz]

I think I would not cut that metal away. I believe doing so would jeopardize the structural integrity of the car body/chassis.

x2. Proceed with great caution here. You're removing metal from the truss system that keeps the entire rear suspension from moving about when you go around corners, over bumps, etc. It may seem inconsequential, but you're likely to find out why it's there after it's too late.

[5 Speed Speeder]

x2. Proceed with great caution here. You're removing metal from the truss system that keeps the entire rear suspension from moving about when you go around corners, over bumps, etc. It may seem inconsequential, but you're likely to find out why it's there after it's too late.


So which has a stiffer chassis, the hatch or the coupe? The hatch doesn't even have the speaker shelf I was talking about chopping off. Has anybody done this and seen a big difference or is this just speculation?

[Oldblueaccord]

Coupes.

for reason you mentions there is more metal and less open area in the rear.

They make bar kits for hatches (civics) for this reason.

[walgenboy]

Hi 5 speeder,

I've been lurking on here since last October when I bought an 89 lx-i automatic. I snagged the car as fast as possible because it was a 1 owner car with only 81000 miles!! No rust, garage kept, it was a miracle it even existed. Anyway, since I got it I've been doing the necessary work and learning it's ins and outs. I'm a mechanical engineer and things not working perfectly drive me completely nuts. Despite a few oil leaks from 27 year old rubber seals ive found nothing wrong with this car.

EXCEPT that exact same idling issue you've experienced!! It has happened to me only a handful of times and it will only happen when the car is warm, just like yours. I have found though, that it seems to happen when the car has sat for about 30-45 minutes after being driven and completely warmed up. I will be experimenting more and will let you know if i solve it, but for now my theory is a temperature sensor that is not sensitive enough to explain to the ecu the slight temperature decrease, thus why the problem goes away after a short idling period or laying on the throttle for a minute or two- getting back to proper temperature.

Have you noticed it in that same time window as me? Or is yours directly after turning it off and restarting?

[5 Speed Speeder]

TYeah, that sounds about right now that I think about it, both times it happened after the car had been sitting warm for at least 30 minutes. I was reading up on the TW sensor and I think that might be what caused the problem. I guess the sensor helps the computer determine how much fuel to send depending on the temperature of the coolant, so maybe something was out of whack and the computer couldn't figure out an idle



Here's a thread talking about the tw sensor: http://www.3geez.com/forum/efi-tech/60400-tw-sensor.html

[5 Speed Speeder]

walgenboy, did you ever figure anything out? I have a hypothesis that the problems occurs when the coolant gets heatsoaked and the tw sensor reads too hot for a cold start. that's just one idea though. it's only happened to me those two times so I really dont know. I do know that after a cold start, I have to wait for my coolant temp to reach near operating temp, otherwise my car will bog and jerk at 3k rpms, but that might be completely unrelated

[Oldblueaccord]

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/921/azZBp5.jpg

Your theory is totally correct.

The car will be lean for about a 2-3 minutes in the situation you describe.

Some sensor is heat soaked and giving a false reading and he injection is not quite correct.

My car does it every time I drive to my Moms,22 miles, and then sits for 2 hours while we goto lunch and then I bail out as fast as I can. :rolleyes:

[walgenboy]

TYeah, that sounds about right now that I think about it, both times it happened after the car had been sitting warm for at least 30 minutes. I was reading up on the TW sensor and I think that might be what caused the problem. I guess the sensor helps the computer determine how much fuel to send depending on the temperature of the coolant, so maybe something was out of whack and the computer couldn't figure out an idle



Here's a thread talking about the tw sensor: http://www.3geez.com/forum/efi-tech/60400-tw-sensor.html

No, I haven't officially come across anything. I did remove my coolant temperature sensor and do some resistance check using hot water and couldn't find any problems. I think we're on track though with it just being heat soaked and not properly telling the engine temperature to the computer. Probably a design issue since it doesn't seem to have any other negative effects!