edmfactory

hello guys!

Now since it's colder in the morning I have developed idling problems. When I start the car the idle bounces up and down, eventually reaches 0 and car stalls. After few attempts the car starts and idles low. After it warms up a bit it stops stalling but the rmp's are still at 300 - 500 when in park.

During the day the car starts fine, but the idle is still lower than usual.

I am gonna clean the Throttle Body and also will clean the IAC valve tomorrow. Maybe this will help?

What else can be causing this?

pentaq

A faulty fast idle thermo valve could be blamed. It goes under the throttle body where water lines come from IAC and thermostat case.

edmfactory

thanks a lot mate. I will check that also.

edmfactory

Ok I cleaned the throttle body. Didn't help anything.

Went ahead and cleaned the IAC valve, still nothing.

Replaced PCV valve. Still low idle problems.

Then I went by gut instinct and adjusted the throttle body adjuster bolt. Fixed the problem, or at least improved it by a ton.

I rotated the bolt 360 degrees counter clockwise. A full turn lol. Is that gonna create any problems for me in the future? Right now my idle is back to normal, but I am worried that I adjusted the bolt a full turn.

any opinions?

jdmcertified909

last tune-up? fuel filter replaced when? all these things come into play with idle. spark plugs wires cap rotor coil if any of these are at fault you can count on idle change.

edmfactory

tuneup was made about a month ago. Changed everything. Fuel filter was replaced 6 months ago.

I will repeat what I said. My idle is back to normal, but I have a question.

requoting myself

I rotated the throttle adjuster bolt 360 degrees counter clockwise. A full turn lol. Is that gonna create any problems for me in the future? Right now my idle is back to normal, but I am worried that I adjusted the bolt a full turn.

holmesnmanny

The idle adjusting screw is supposed to be set for life.

Normally when you start the car it's supposed to idle higher and slowly come back down as your car warms up. If it's not doing that you may have to take the top off the FITV and screw the plastic thing clockwise until it bottoms out.

edmfactory

yes it idles higher when i start it and when it gets up to temp the idle is perfect. Car runs like a champ. Everything is fixed now.

My question is how come after cleaning the throttle body and a terribly clogged IACV the idle became even lower than it was? I had to rotate the idle screw counter clockwise 360 degrees in order to get my idle back to normal.

I also replaced PCV valve and cleaned fuel injectors in the process. At that time these things didn't seem to help.

Thanks for the tips on FITV, I will check that if the problem returns.

holmesnmanny

You set the idle adjusting screw by unplugging the IACV and set base idle to 500 to 550

holmesnmanny

Oh, don't forget to warm the car up first.

edmfactory

^ thanks, will try that in the morning

edmfactory

my bad idle problem returned. It flunctuates when I am about to come to a stop it pulsates from 1000 to 1500 rpm and back to 750 when at a stop. While the car is stopped the idle is normal. It only does this once every time I am about to stop. When I am standing still it remains ar 750 rpm. The idle goes up and down every time I am slowing down.

The idle is also very rough sometimes and even shakes the car, but rarely.

Also on the highway, it seems like the rpms are higher than it should be, and they bounce, gears are not switching smoothly.

All of this is happening when the engine is fully warmed up. When the engine is cold there are no problems.

I cleaned the Throttle body 2 times, cleaned the IACV 2 times, cleaned the FITV, new plugs and new wires. New distributor cap and rotor, new intake (my old one had leaks). I checked for vacuum leaks and didn't find any.

Please help me figure this out. I have been messing around for 2 weeks and I can't figure out what to do next. Please someone.

edmfactory

bump

holmesnmanny

Change out the pcv valve. It could be sticking.

edmfactory

I did. New one from Honda.

typemismatch

I still don't see where you cleaned the fast idle valve under the throttle body.

Another thing, check your coolant, low coolant can cause idle surge.

AWDManiac

Do you have any check engine lights? I know you clean your iav but it still could be failing. Here's to test it.
1. Remove your intake from the throttle body.
2. The are 2 holes in the throttle body, one on the inside left and one on the inside top.
3. Start your car and try plugging the top hole. If it stalls the iav is dirty, or needs to be replaced.
I have all data access at work and there is 1 step I forgot to mention but I don't remember what it means if you plug the hole in the left and it stalls, but I will find out tomorrow for you. I can email you all the write ups too

edmfactory

yeah, cleaned the FITV. Also bought a new one too.

thanks a lot! I will try this!!!

bhomer

Also having similar problem with my 2009 element - stalls when cold for first 5 to 10 minutes. RPM fluctuates and surges when stopped. I've taken it to the dealer 4 times - check engine light is on, but sometimes go off. The dealer first reset computer, said it was ok, but that didn't work. Then they said two cylinders were misfiring, and said I had two bad injectors - that didn't help either. Now they are telling me it's a bad head gasket or small crack in the head, but I'm skeptical especially since the cost is a minimum $1750.00. There is no noticeable loss in compression, and performance seems fine except at idle. Very frustrating!

holmesnmanny

I would take it to a Honda specialist that isn't a dealer if I wasn't a diy'er, like you. Check yelp.com for quality mechanics.