engine won't run when hot (I think)

[rbeaud]

It's an 88 Accord DX, 5sp with 191K. It sat idle for about 2 months. Car started and ran at first go, but was rough initially. Car also would not idle after initial warm-up; it died unless just a wee bit of pressure was applied to the accelerator. Spayed what seemed like half a can of car cleaner into the carb. Helped a little.

Noticed the spark plug boots were not snug over the plugs; fixed that. Car would then hold idle. Following this on the last three trips, the car would run very rough. So rough that the car would shake really badly, like one or more of the cylinders was not firing (like when I found a bad plug wire). The engine would then just loose power and the rpms would drop until it died. Car could be restarted only if it cooled down. I pulled and replaced the plugs. Old plugs were badly sooted (black).

Temperature gage seems to take a long time to reach temp and it seems that the car dies right about when the needle starts to climb up from the bottom.

I know this is long winded. I hoped one of you might find a clue in some of this.

Cheers,

Roland

[Grant2k]

is sounds like it's running rich. also, have you played with your fast idle adjustment at all?

[AccordEpicenter]

make sure the auto choke isnt sticking, also take out your air filter and see if it makes a difference... A kid i know with an accord lx had his air filter soo clogged with dirt that his car ran like utter trash

[ACCORD EX]

i would check the spark plugs wires and change them if they haven't been changed for long , change sparks , check the coil !

MIKE

[njpeter]

my weird erratic running problem in an LX, which looked to be a fuel pump or ignition problem, was finally traced down to some reallly bad plug wires..the engine would only misfire when under a certain type of load, started and warmed up like a dream, I was tearing my hair out on this one boys..and again, overlooked the obvious choice. Sounded like glazed plugs or other wierd problem ( like that thermovalve that controls manifold heating was stuck open)

Mice like to nest in the air intakes in winter in idle cars..so if you see ANYTHING like leaves or bits of tissue in the airbox, get a leafblower( and wear a dustmask)

I ended up buying a brnad new fuel pump ( again-I couldn't find the %^%^^%%&receipt for the last one, which had a lifetime guarantee ( bad idea selling me something like that ) but with 90k miles on the pump that was int ehre, I figured better safe then sorry, you could be in real trouble breaking down $60 miles from home. $100 was cheap piece-o-mind..and the other pump is npow a working spare..along with the spare coil and distributor I was swapping in looking for the source of this strange problem.

[A20A1]

Make sure the plugs have good contact with the head... like on the threaded part.

Also check your coolant level.

[ACCORD EX]

BTW if the plugs ain't honda NGK's , they are with a head that is screwed on which comes out taking a wire out ! , happened to me and my car was running on 3 cylinders !

MIKE

[rbeaud]

The plug wires have been the thread of a couple suggestions. BTDT, bought cheap plugs only to find that Honda plug wires are about $10 more. When the cheap plug wires failed and the car ran on 3 cyls., I returned them and bought new OE plug wires. That was about 1 1/2 yrs ago. I'll check the resistance of the wires to be sure they are good.

This weekend I swapped the thermostat to solve the slow warm-up issue. I think it is something triggered by the engine at operating temp. The car ran well, if a bit rough, until the upper rad hose got too hot to handle (thermostat open). Then the car did it's little dying routine.

Tomorrow I'll be removing all the vaccuum hoses and checking the sending unit in the intake manifold. It probably wouldn't hurt to look at the O2 sensor. I'm sure those don't come cheap.

Cheers,

Roland

[1988starter]

A new O2 sensor for my GF's 86 accord was 20 bucks

[rbeaud]

Well, for anyone that is interested the car runs again. I replaced the plugs, t-stat and got some improvement. Accidentally disconnected the air suction tube from the air cleaner element and all was well. Coincidence? Possibly, but I'll take it for now. Hopefully this will all go away when I can get to a Weber conversion.

Cheers,

Roland

[shepherd79]

did you replaced thermostat with stock one or one of those low temp or high temp ones?

[rbeaud]

Originally posted by shepherd79
did you replaced thermostat with stock one or one of those low temp or high temp ones?

Just the stock, aftermarket t-stat.

Cheers,

Roland