87 LX Intermittently Running Like Ass

[Zarkoff500]

Last week, my 87 LX died on my way to work while I was on the freeway. I was low on fuel but there was no sputtering or indication that I was running out, it just died while I was going up a slight incline. I pulled over to the side of the freeway and after a few minutes it started back up and I made it to a gas station. I put 15 gal in it and figured that low fuel may have been the cause.

Monday, on my way to work, I had just hopped on the freeway and not long after getting up to speed it started stuttering, shaking and barely had any power. Once I got off the freeway it wouldn't idle and was smoking a little. I kept the revs up so it wouldn't die and after a few stop lights it was idling and running fine. The rest of the day and all of Tuesday it ran normally. I am not sure if the car dieing on Friday and this are related.

Today it started running even more poorly then it had on Monday. Again, I had just reached freeway speed and the stuttering started again but the shaking and power loss were more severe. Again, it would not idle and was smoking but after a few minutes of non-freeway driving it was back to normal (with no smoking).

I think it is a fuel problem but am not sure if it could just be water in the gas system that maybe accumulates over night and when I first drive in the morning causes the car to run like crap until it has worked through the system (is this even a possibility?), or maybe a fuel pump or filters?

This doesn't sound a lose vacuum hose but I suppose that one could be cracked?

Any suggestions on what to check would be appreciated.

[Jasonf860]

I'd start with fuel filters. A clogged one could cause assloads of problems.

[nskforlife]

go get your alternator checked ASAP.
i just replaced mine a week ago, it had the same symptoms, never died on my tho, well, it idd but in places where i could git it to start again. lol
go get your starter, battery, n alternator checked just to be on the safe side. but ya goodl uck man

[VTEC_Inside]

It sounds like we are both having the same problem. Does yours also occur primarily in the colder weather?

I have changed both my fuel filters and the fuel pump. I put a see-through fuel filter up front and I have confirmed that there is fuel getting there when this problem occurs in my case.

Hopefully we can get this solved because its frustrating to have to pull over and wait for the car to decide it feels like going again.

Interestingly enough, mine did this today. I was able to pull into a parking lot and poke around while it was still running like ass. I opened the EGR wide open with my finger and the idle picked up, it almost sounded like it was running fine. Yes, it was IDLING almost fine with the EGR wide open.

In my case, if I am able to shut the car off, it only has to stay off for a short time before I can start it right back up and it runs normally.

I thought it was an intermittent vacuum leak, but I don't think it would idle as LOW as it does if it wasn't able to pull in fuel. Part of me suspected the possibility of too much fuel today, especially after opening the EGR.

This one really has me stumped.

[VTEC_Inside]

go get your alternator checked ASAP.
i just replaced mine a week ago, it had the same symptoms, never died on my tho, well, it idd but in places where i could git it to start again. lol
go get your starter, battery, n alternator checked just to be on the safe side. but ya goodl uck man

Interesting... I shall have to carry my multimeter with me to check voltage next time this happens.

In my case it has never died when this happens though.

Were you able to determine what was wrong with your bad alternator?

[Zarkoff500]

go get your alternator checked ASAP.
i just replaced mine a week ago, it had the same symptoms, never died on my tho, well, it idd but in places where i could git it to start again. lol
go get your starter, battery, n alternator checked just to be on the safe side. but ya goodl uck man
This sounds like a good place to start. Thanks!

It sounds like we are both having the same problem. Does yours also occur primarily in the colder weather?
It seems like the colder weather may have something to do with it. When it was above 50 degrees, it was running just fine. Once the weather dropped below 50 it has ran pretty rough when it first starts (almost like a cylinder is bad), but once I get the revs up and drive for a minute, it smooths out and runs fine.

[Keachman1]

My 88 LX used to do the same thing to me. I found out that the computer under the drivers seat was not supplying voltage to the idle cutoff solenoid reliably. The car would lose power and I would have to mash the gas pedal to the floor to keep the car running. It would do it worse in cold weather. I removed the computer after I had already removed the black vacuum box from Hell. I found the wire that supplys voltage to the solenoid at the connection to the computer and soldered it directly to one of the wires in the connector that has voltage when the key is in the run position. Look at your wiring diagram and you should see the two wires I am talking about. Make sure the wire has no voltage when the key is turned off or the solenoid will stay open all the time and may cause dieseling. After I did this, I've never had this problem occur again. Of course you can't do this if you have all your emissions in place but you may try another computer to see if this helps.

[russiankid]

Change your fuel filters, plugs, wires, and air filter. Check the vacuum lines for cracks or any of them that could be broken.

[VTEC_Inside]

My 88 LX used to do the same thing to me. I found out that the computer under the drivers seat was not supplying voltage to the idle cutoff solenoid reliably. The car would lose power and I would have to mash the gas pedal to the floor to keep the car running. It would do it worse in cold weather. I removed the computer after I had already removed the black vacuum box from Hell. I found the wire that supplys voltage to the solenoid at the connection to the computer and soldered it directly to one of the wires in the connector that has voltage when the key is in the run position. Look at your wiring diagram and you should see the two wires I am talking about. Make sure the wire has no voltage when the key is turned off or the solenoid will stay open all the time and may cause dieseling. After I did this, I've never had this problem occur again. Of course you can't do this if you have all your emissions in place but you may try another computer to see if this helps.

This sounds like an extremely good possibility.

Its also a common component for both the '87 and '89 (unlike some of the other emissions shit I suspected).

I'm going to tap a switched 12v into the harness connector so the next time the car acts up I can throw the switch and see if it steadies out. If it starts to behave normally then I'll know I've got it. Then I'll worry about why its screwed up in the first place.

[shepherd79]

my car did about the same. my fuel pump went out. it would work for a while but one day it just died on me while i was getting off the highway. check the fuel pump. it may be a good time to replace it.
I don't think it is your fuel filters but i would replace them just in case. they are cheap and easy to do.
You said that the car will run fine above 50 deg, but it will choke when it gets colder. well, two things, check plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor.
also your carb may be freezing up.

[Tailfin]

I've had that problem and I think shepherd nailed it on the last one there... It sounds very much like the carb is icing up. When the car is warming up, and cold air is going through the small opening in the carb, lower pressure and all, it creates very icy air. First, make sure your choke is opening properly. If it isn't, you'll run rich and that cools the combustion chamber temperature. That aside, make sure the hot air diaphram on the air cleaner housing is working. I removed the vacuum for that, plus they tend to fail, so I just propped the hot air door open for the winter so it took the heated air from the exhaust.

I'd venture to say the reason the EGR opening helped was because the exhaust gas was warmer.

Also make sure the coolant line going to the carb isn't blocked, but the hot air diaphram is more likely if you ask me.

[VTEC_Inside]

I've had that problem and I think shepherd nailed it on the last one there... It sounds very much like the carb is icing up. When the car is warming up, and cold air is going through the small opening in the carb, lower pressure and all, it creates very icy air. First, make sure your choke is opening properly. If it isn't, you'll run rich and that cools the combustion chamber temperature. That aside, make sure the hot air diaphram on the air cleaner housing is working. I removed the vacuum for that, plus they tend to fail, so I just propped the hot air door open for the winter so it took the heated air from the exhaust.
I'd venture to say the reason the EGR opening helped was because the exhaust gas was warmer.
Also make sure the coolant line going to the carb isn't blocked, but the hot air diaphram is more likely if you ask me.

I would have to agree if the condition repeated itself more frequently. As is, I may have the problem one day and not the next in almost the same weather. Other days I will drive for 30min towards work and it will start to act up, yet nothing on the way home.

In my case the choke is wide open and the hot air door is closed (ie allowing fresh air in) as it should be when the car is warm.

The exhaust gas being warmer does make sense as well except for the fact that it was literally an on/off switch for raising the idle over a course of a couple minutes. I even held it open for a good 10s yesterday and the instant I dropped it the idle dropped with it. If it was an icing issue I would expect it to have dropped more gradually.

The other thing is that in my case simply shutting the car off for half a minute will get it back to running normal. For that reason I'm liking the slow mixture cut-off as a possibility as it would get cycled as I turned the car off an on.

Advice and suggestions appreciated as usual.

[Tailfin]

Indeed... I do think the iced-up carb is Zarkoff's problem though... If the EGR did it instantly...the first thing I'd suspect is timing or running rich... Hmm, actually since the exhaust gasses are inert, I'm not sure if that's considered "leaning," since those gasses would not be part of what could potentially be "burned." But something like that...

[VTEC_Inside]

Well isn't this special. I had planned on stopping by my dads house today to use his garage and at least poke around in some shelter.

I thought I smelled gas this morning and a couple times today, but not before today.

Good thing I had planned to stop because gas was leaking out the top of the float adjustment screw.

I fiddled with it and got it to stop. Now instead of a fuel level at the top of the range, its just at the bottom, maybe a little lower. No way I was going to try and get it higher after it stopped leaking.

I'm starting to think F it, I'm just going to try and get another carb.

[VTEC_Inside]

Bring on the tears. I just came back from a short drive and I could smell gas again. I didn't even have to remove the air cleaner, I could see that the carb was covered in gas.

Looks like the RSX gets to see a little more winter duty than I intended.

Going to drop by Honda tommorow to order a new top hat gasket and float adjuster screw.

[Tailfin]

Well sounds like you best be sure to get a new needle and seat, o-ring and such...well...then may as well get the carb rebuild kit...well...may as well get a weber then...well...I'll shut up now :-D.

[Zarkoff500]

I had attempted to post an update but something went wrong and I lost the post. The update is that the fuel pump was causing the car to die. It had died three times when at 1/4 tank. It is too soon to tell if the rough running was caused by the fuel pump or not.