88' Accord Idle Issues

[jpills310]

I have an 88' Acoord DX. it's got a 2.0 carburated engine and a manual transmission. The problem im having is that when i start my car, until it's almost fully warmed up the idling slowly increases up to about 2,500 to 3000 rpms. than i have to tap the gas to get it to go back down to normal idling. my other problem is that, mostly if my car is not warmed up but sometimes even if it is, te rpms will shoot up to about 4k when im in nuetral or parked. so when i come up to a stop light the car is screaming. the only way i have been able to stop this is shutting off the car. when i shut it off th car stutters like it doesnt want to turn off. and after that the car wont start for a while. i either have to wait or pop start it. Any help will be well appreciated! i tried messin with my idle adjuster but no help there. i tried to locate my idle air control valve or iac to clean it out, because i had read that might help but no luck finding it. i also cant seem to find any vacuum leaks either. Please feel free to help in any way. Thanks and appreciate it.

[Dr_Snooz]

I think your carb is getting tired. Try running some injector/carb cleaner through it. That should help. If you are handy, download the shop manual (http://honda.roadpwnage.com/manuals/pages/usdm-accord-1989-full.php) and try testing the various electric and vacuum controls and making a few adjustments. The run-on is probably from bad gas. For that matter, all your issues could be from crappy gas leaving deposits in your engine. Also check to make sure your throttle cable isn't sticking.

[TotaledTL]

Unfortunately I don't think there is a carbed Accord of this generation WITHOUT idle issues. Good luck tracking it down. Dnload that manual & do some reading on this board for help. Did you look in the carb tech section? There's a lot of info there.

[g.frost]

If you haven't already, download the manual:

http://www.pauldesign.ru/honda/shopmanual.html

Get the 88 'Supplement' too, and refer to section 12, Fuel and emissions controls before you get your hands dirty. I suggest you look at the Choke Opener. 12-126, and Fast Idle Unloader, 12-128 test procedures. Maybe the choke heater as well. 12-125

You need a vacuum gauge (and hand pump) $25-30 to really test, but a couple things you can do without one.

When cold, get the air cleaner out of the way so you can see if the choke and fast idle cam 'electro-mechanical/vacuum contraption' is or is not working. Start the car and observe the choke as the car warms up. Is it closed when starting, then does it open, first partly, then fully as the car warms up? it should.

Wait till fully warmed up. If the idle is racing, try manually turning the fast Idle unloader and fully opening the choke. Does it idle down now?

One more note:

The choke opener test says to take it off the carb. There is a (very important) vacuum source directly ported from the carb to the choke opener; (refer to 12-102 diagram...)It supplies the vacuum, so you need to plug it to test......

Instead of taking it off. Just remove the 2 hoses and plug those ports. Now start the car and see if the opener pulls under vac. Now squirt a bit of carb cleaner or such in & around the diaphragm to check for leaks.

For the rest, get a vacuum gauge.

[Accordaone]

I suffered through the same high idle scenario, and it was intermittent at first. Finally, the engine took off above the red line and wouldn't stop. A gal that has her own shop(she was a trained Honda tech) went right to the problem. She replaced the choke heater/loader assembly, and it's worked great ever since. It entails removing a rivet to get the old choke cover off, and placing a rivet on the new guy. There is an adjustment on the cover, so make note of it. Good luck!