89 accord wierd engine electrical problem?

[timber_cruiser]

My 89 honda accord is running wierd lately. It starts odd and seems to stumble at idle, and does not have normal power. I notice that the tachometer jumps when ever I step on the brake, or when the engine fans starts to run.

I rebuilt the carb about a month ago, replaced the spark plugs, cables, rotor and cap. the car ran great until recently. Any ideas on what would cause this?

I checked for vacuum, can't see or hear anything out of place. I am stumped!

[Hauntd ca3]

alot of cars will gain a few revs when you hit the brakes at stand still and when the fan kicks in
how much does it vary?
get a can of ether (engine start)and spray a we bit at each vac line and gasket between the carb and motor
to pick up leaks

[timber_cruiser]

The tach RPM swings pretty wild, from 500- 1800 RM. I did try the ether test for vacuum leaks, nothing seems to be leaking.

I think this is an electrical issue, but not sure where. The car is starting to stumble more and run rougher.

[Bass Man]

Double check your vacuum advance lines.
If you don't need to worry about emmisions, you should consider manuel secondaries and getting rid of anything that can effect idle.

[timber_cruiser]

I checked all the vacuum lines and carb gasket again with ether. I did not get any indication of a leak.

Whenever I step on the brake, turn on the headlights or blower fan, the tach swings widely and the engine falters.

[BITESIZE]

Alternator is bad, get it checked out. I've had this experience numerous time with the tach jumping like that.

[timber_cruiser]

Turns out it was a bad distributor. I was about to tear into the alternator, but decided to try a distributor swap first since it is an easy change.

I went from a Hitachi to a Tec I picked up at the junk yard for $25.

It was wierd how the problem came and went erratically. So far so good with the new distributor.

[Oldblueaccord]

Thanks for the update


I love the mechanical secondaries comment on this thread




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