Distributor problem

[lx 1986]

I changed the distributor recently on my 86 Honda Accord LX, 2.0L, 2bbl Keihin carb, automatic. And now when I turn on the ac the rpms pulsate and will not stabilize when I'm in drive at a stop. This will also happen sometimes when I start the car but the idle will stablize after a few seconds. Has anyone had this problem after installing a new dizzy. or know why this might be happening. My old distributor didn't do this and will this damage my engine. Trying to find out if it is distributor that is still under warranty.

Work done : New plugs, wires, pcv, o2 sensor, alternator, starter, ignition coil, air filter, cleaned out egr. starter switch, distributor, cap and rotor

thanks

[conozo]

Download the shop manual to get more information but there is an ac idle boost solenoid with vacuume lines just near or under the brake proportion valve. If thats not working right you can disconnect it and plug the vacuumed hose as a test. To see if that is causing it.

[ShiRen]

Did you check the spark timing or try to put the new distributor back in the same position at least?

[lx 1986]

conozo
I do have a spare ac idle boost solenoid and thought it might be that also so I switch it out but still have the same problem but I'll try what you suggest.

ShiRen
Timing is perfect had a mechanic confirm it. The cap and rotor were also changed out to see if they were the problem. No luck problem is still there.

From what I read it sounds like it's the distributor it self that's the problem possibly the external igniter someone posted awhile ago about what sounds like the problem but not sure if there problem affected the ac and the car was in drive and idling at a signal. When driving you can't tell that it's doing anything. The bouncy idle when starting the car happens once in a while and goes away after 5 seconds and I don't know if that person had that problem either. He just said his rpms would jump up and down and when he bought a new igniter it fixed the problem. I think it was DrSnooze's post about repairing the distributor.

[ShiRen]

Depending on what the problem was with the old distributor you can swap the ignitors if you want, just put thermal compound under it, can be bought at most pc parts dealers. You can probably even just restore the old one, put your new cap and rotor in it, disassemble it and lube up the advance mechanism, replace the seal if you need to. Seal is a dorman #917-136, once you have it apart you can pop the ring off the cog and pull the seal out, just take note of which way the cog went on because removing it is the only way you can get the timing 180 out. Guide to restore it is here: https://www.3geez.com/forum/3geez-accords/66468-lazy-mans-distributor-overhaul-tec-distributor.html though I know you've seen it.

There is actually not a lot to go wrong with the distributor itself, they can just leak and gum up. The ignition coil and the ignitor can go bad though, I just don't know why you'd have a new distributor and a bad ignitor, unless its not new. I replaced my ignition coil with an MSD Blaster 2 though because 32 year old coils can cause funky issues and I wasn't going to bother to sit there and scratch my head over ignition problems.

[lx 1986]

The one that's in there is about 3 wks old was suppose to be brand new. Maybe I got a piece of junk right out the box. The one it replaced was 2 1/2 yrs old Cardone reman. The mechanic told me to replace old one because I was having problems with the car starting after it was warm and I could hear the car misfiring when I'd go uphill and the rpms started to drop when I would come to a signal the idle got rough and I had to keep my foot on the gas to keep the car from dying. Ac would drop rpms but remain steady never did it pulsate like it does now.

Mechanic said it was distributor pickup coil causing this. So I decided to buy new instead of reman this time so I could just put it in and be done with it but no such luck. It's still under warranty though. I posted here 1st to see if someone else had this problem and maybe it was something else causing it. I can return the piece of junk for a replacement. Sorry I bought this and didn't go with the Cardone reman. I replaced the distributor before and never had a problem except when they needed to be replaced due to age.

My Cardone has an internal leak. I went for years driving with the original with an internal leak before I replaced it with the Cardone. My ignition coil is only 1 month old so I'm ok there. Maybe your right about the igniter not being new or maybe it's sub-standard quality and failing right now. I'll keep your suggestions because I may end up doing what your suggesting in the end. I'm going to get the replacement and see if that works 1st. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll send one that works!

Thanks for the info and help

[ShiRen]

You know... this is really starting to sound like carburetor (read: giant vacuum monster box). I have a total of 4 vacuum lines so I dont know much about it, but the testing procedure for *everything* is in the manual and I doubt there is a mechanic alive that knows what the hell is going on in there without looking at it.

[lx 1986]

Yeah it does sounds like a carb problem especially with what I'm describing.

I do know when I changed the dizzy the starting problem went away along with the uphill misfire and drop in rpms. The car has plenty of power the only thing that's weird is the pulsating idle with ac in drive at idle. Ac blows steady at both high and low idle even with it pulsating and the pulsating when I start the car only happens once in awhile for a few seconds then goes away. That's why I suspected the dizzy and not a ac problem.

Seems odd that this started after I replaced dizzy. Old dizzy ac dropped rpms lower but idle does not pulsate it drops but is steady. Never had it pulsate on start up either warm or cold even when dizzy was failing. I thought maybe it was a bad ignitor because Dr Snooze sounded like he had a similar problem.

Mechanic told me the 3geez are notorious for distributor problems. He says the pickup coil goes bad on the remans. So maybe it's the pickup coil that's bad. So I was thinking the pickup coil although new could still be the problem when there is an extra load on it. No ac turned on there's no problem with the idle. Maybe sub-standard part. I bought a Cardone to replace it but had to send it back for refund because I couldn't get the rotor on the post. The post was not machined right. I was trying to exchange the Cardone in place of this one and found they wouldn't let me switch brands in exchange. Lucky for me the rotor wouldn't fit unless I pounded it on. I would have been out another 153.00.

[Dr_Snooz]

I'd be looking for vacuum leaks myself.

[lx 1986]

Dr Snooze

Can't find any vacuum leaks to save my life. I tried 3 times with carb cleaner.

In your post (Lazy man's distributor overhaul, v. 2.0) you mention a myraid of problems such as (Symptoms include wild tach hopping and, in my case, a very strange electrical cut-out while cranking). In my case the tach isn't hopping wildy but pulsating only with ac on. And once and awhile when the car is warm on startup but only last for a few seconds and then is steady. The ac is not on.

I'm thinking I might have got a bad dizzy even though it's new it wouldn't be usual especially when everything now days is made in other countries.

I saw on youtube a guy bought a new dizzy for his toyota. He installed it set the timing and it ran like a piece of crap. He reinstalled the old one and it ran better than the new one so he so returned the so called new one.

Your post about the dizzy is pretty good, real good pics very informative. What I really like to know is there any other electronics inside of the dizzy besides the pickup coil and igniter in case I one day need to change the internal seal.

[Dr_Snooz]

Have you tested the vacuum can on the dizzie itself? It could be leaking.

There are three electronic parts on/inside the dizzie. One is the igniter, which mounts on the outside. The second is the pickup coil. And the last is the cam position sensor. I've only heard of that going out one time. If it does, it's definitely not replaceable and you'll have to throw away the dizzie at that point. It should give you a code if it fails though.

The test for the igniter is on p. 24-9 of the manual. The cam sensor I wouldn't worry about. It's basically just some magnets in a wire frame. There isn't much to go wrong there. You can probably find a test for the pickup coil online easy enough. Test the components and then move on to the next thing. The manual outlines a fair number of tests for the ignition system in ch. 24 of the manual. It's worth going through them if you suspect problems.

[lx 1986]

Dr Snooze

No I didn't test the can on the dizzy never thought about it. Will test to see if there's a leak. I have to wait till the weather gets better though. As far as the igniter and pickup coil goes I can't tamper with that because the dizzy is still under warranty. If it is the igniter and/or pickup coil then me sending it back for an even exchange should take care of that unless they send me another piece of new junk. Should have stuck with the Cardone reman. Thanks for letting me know what's inside of the dizzy very helpful.

I will post the out come of what I did.

[Oldblueaccord]

Id bump the timing up a little.

[Dr_Snooz]

I can't tamper with that because the dizzy is still under warranty.

You're testing it. Not smashing it. You need to know if it's genuinely bad. otherwise you're wasting time and money.

[lx 1986]

Dr snooze

Time was an issue when I 1st bought this piece of junk because I needed to have my smog done. I usally get my smog done a month before it's due just in case some repairs have to be done. I had to replace the alternator a week before the dizzy. Then I had the distributor problem. (By distributor problem I mean slow start and drop in rpms in drive at idle and uphill misfire, The drop in idle with the old dizzy remained solid once it dropped to a certain level even with the ac on, no problem with ac pulsating at idle or sometimes when the car is started after it's been driven). I looked at the old dizzy and found the problem, it was the vacuum advance. It was cracked along the seam where it's molded together. Cardone's housing is made of plastic. All this ate up time. Got the car smogged though. Time is not the issue now.

The waste of money is a done deal when I bought this piece of junk. The warranty is good for 1yr. As far as labor I do the work myself so no problem there. Only good thing about this is they will let me use dizzy until I get the new one.

With this new dizzy these problems are altogether different. I'm just going to exchange it and hopefully be done with it. I've been waiting for my refund for the Cardone I bought from them to post to my account. I'll post back what happens.

Oldblueaccord thanks for your info to. I also thought about that.