clicking Black Box / surging idle

[1987HondaAccord]

well, i've had the surging idle problem since about when i changed out the auto for a manual tranny. once the car has warmed up a little, the engine revs up to about 1900 and then falls to around 1200 repeatedly going up and down. it only happens when i'm stopped, and the idle is nice and smooth, right where it should be when the car is moving without the tranny engaged. today i was looking under the hood for a vacuum leak, and decided to start it up, and see if i could hear anything strange. i noticed that something in the black box was clicking. it revs up then falls pretty quickly and then the click, revs back up again. the click happens just before it starts reving back up. any ideas? should i just rip the box apart or is it supposed to act like this?

thanks in advance.

[adams86lxi]

Sounds like your fast idle valve to me. Its located on the back of the intake manifold and has a couple small coolant lines connected to it.The first thing i would check is the coolant level. If the coolant level is low and that valve sees air it will cause the rpms to do that over and over again. Mine does it every time my coolant level is low. If that doesnt help it then you can try to adjust it. There is a little cap on top with to screws on it. Take that off and there is a little screw down in that, that you can adjust but most likely you just need to get a new one. Just get a junkyard one. Shouldnt be too much.

Good luck ian.

[1987HondaAccord]

ok, sounds good. i actually had a leak in the coolant line (dripping major coolant), so some air probably got in there when i was changing it. how would i bleed that valve? its like the highest one in the whole system.

hows your turbo doing?

[adams86lxi]

ok, sounds good. i actually had a leak in the coolant line (dripping major coolant), so some air probably got in there when i was changing it. how would i bleed that valve? its like the highest one in the whole system.

hows your turbo doing?

Well you dont actually bleed the valve. You just make sure the coolant is topped off. Also make sure it is still full once the thermostat is open too. Let me know what happens.

The turbo is going like crap. I have been waiting for parts from this stupid guy on ebay for the past few months. Its rediculous. That and the car has a major miss to it around 3000+ rpms.

[1987HondaAccord]

i adjusted the idle screw, and it seems to have solved the problem.

are you gonna make it to the meet? i'm sure everyone wants to see the turbo.