Car stalls when stopped

[89Accord_R]

Whenever I drive my car, especially when start it (doesn't matter when), the car stalls. In neutral it stalls, when the clutch is engaged, it stalls. When I'm at a readlight, the RPM's will drop between 0 and 250, then it stalls. Do I need to adjust the carb or is it something else. :wtf:

[89Accord_R]

I do pump the throttle 2-3 times before trying to start it when it has sat for atleast an hour or two

[89AccordCpe]

bad pcv valve

[89Accord_R]

where's that at? I have no clue about the engine. Can I fix it myself with almost no experience? I am short on money as it is.

[blok2400]

heh i can tell this is old and you probaly dont need it anymore but thats right in where the carb is and its easy to fix. and replace it by removing that net like thing on the carb and going down to the pcv

[RustyHo88]

to test the pcv valve, you should clamp the pcv hose going to the pcv filter on your air cleaner with vice grip pliers. if the valve is working, you should hear a clicking sound. if not, then find it, take it out, and try blowing in it. it should be a one way valve i think. anyway, it could also be your slow idle mixture cut-off solenoid on the back of your carb. it should be pretty close to your idle screw... it will have a wire coming out of the back of it. it could also be a warped or chipped flywheel, but i highly doubt that. there are lots of pictures on this site about where the pcv valve is... its connected to the intake manifold, close to the black egr box on the drivers side of the engine. you can download pauls manual for more info on it too... but you should get all the info you need from other threads on this site. just search for 'pcv valve.' if i find something, ill post it later... right now, its dinner time!

[joebeets]

Lots of possibilities. Could be a vacuum leak. Any vacuum hoses disconnected? Tug on them to see.
There's an plastic knob behind the carb you can tighten to raise the idle. temporarily till you find the problem, or permanently if u don't care.

[86AccordLX]

had the same problem, but it was intermittent

i think it was changing the fuel filters that fixed it (probably the secondary fuel filter which is underneath the car by the driver side rear tire). I can't be sure though, because I also changed the PCV valve and reconnected the hose leading to the air filter (make sure you have a clip for this).

[A20A1]

The plastic knob is the throttle stop screw and might get you into trouble if you raise it and the problem decides to fix itself. at which point you'll have a high idle problem.

Vacuum leaks to the PCV valve because the valve is stuck or loose or the hose to the valve is broken or loose will cause problems like you have. There are other points at which vacuum will leak, like the brake booster diaphragm that is inside that big black can behind the brake fluid resivoir. There is also a hose on the brake booster leading to the rear of the intake manifold that cracks or comes loose cause of heat expansion and vibration.

Those are the major ones. and fairly easy to get to and replace (minus the brake booster diaphragm).

Also there are two vacuum lines to the distributor... they should be snug... but I don't mean baked on like some vacuum hoses are, because they are so old and dry they wont come off.
New hoses have an oily appearance to them and are flexable and firm but squishy. Though flexability isn't the way to tell old from new. Most old hoses leak where they attatch to the vacuum ports... the ends no longer grip onto the ports cause they are died out, you'll nottice that if you remove them the end of the hose remains expanded.

Sadly I could safely say 80% of your hoses are dried out... however some are long enough where you can snip the expanded ends and still reconnect the hose back to the port giving a snuger fit then before.

check your ignition timing... err... well maybe not if you don't feel comfortable doing it... but thats what I would suggest is make sure you're getting vacuum to you advance diaphragm and that the advance diaphragm is advancing correctly and that the ignition timing is still set right to begin with.

If you had enough money for a vacuum guage ($30?) you can check for vacuum leaks... you can buy a 5/32" Vacuum "T" fitting and splice into one of the hoses leading from the manifold vacuum port and check the vacuum signal. Buy a few 5/32" to 5/32" vacuum connectors so you can remove the "T" fitting reconnect the vacuum lines and test a different place.

(EDIT: NEVERMIND ABOUT THE "T" FITTING JUST UNPLUG THE VAC HOSE AND PLUG ON THE VACUUM GUAGE TO THE PORT... I MUSTA BEEN REAL TIRED NOT TO SEE THAT.)

18" - 22" should be what you get on the vacuum guage.


there are other tests like spraying carb cleaner in small areas, which then gets sucked up by the leak in the hose and when it goes into the engine you'll hear the idle raise briefly.

run thru the basics that don't really cost much...
Checking fuilds of the car, oil and coolant/water.
Spark plugs and wires... make sure everything is secure and that the plugs are not worn or overly fouled with oil or carbon deposits.
Check the cap and rotor... red dust sometimes appears within the cap showing signs of distributor wear... also you'll notice crystals on the 4 points on the inside of the cap... but I don't know if that means it's old.
Like mentioned before the fuel filters, maily the rear one causes problems so replace both for sure if you haven't done so in a while and replace the cap and rotor too... replace the spark plugs only if needed. The plug wires should be okay if you don't see heavy corrosion on any of the metal contacts.

Back to the PCV Valve... I'll see if I can find the pic pointing out its location... it might be in the frequently asked question section as well...

hmm.

http://www.3geez.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=69
The link above should show you the general area to look to find the PCV valve.