stuckagain

Ive searched and searched on this but not really sure what to even search exactly for as Im a noob to the honda scene. So heres my exact problem(s).... When I start my car in the morning it idles fine till the choke turns off and then it idles down to about 150-300 rpms id guess (needle is barly above spot when engine is off on cluster). Ill drive to work 30 min and then me car will sit and idle no problem just under 1000 rpm but if i turn my lights, heater, ect. on the idle will drop a couple 100 rpms??? I assume this part is that the alternator is going bad? But still unsure on the rough idle when cold. FYI im in WI where it has been in the 20's & 30's. My next question is my car is burning some major oil!! Every tank of gas I have to add a little over 1/2 quart of oil. Also my rear bumper above my exhaust is covered in oil!! (my car is white so very noticable lol) I very much appreciate the help and getting pointed in the right direction on getting these problems fixed. Thanks alot in advance guys!!!!

Blacknight117

iTrader: (1)

With the idle thing, two things. 1) when was the last time you did a full tune-up on the car?, 2) when the car is ideling, and you turn your lights and everything else on, you are making the alternator work harder to power everything you want on. One way to tell if you alternator is dead is if the battey illuminates on your dash. And a way to tell if it`s gone, is if at night, you turn your lights on and everything dims for a second. Also have the battery tested.

As for the oil, first clean the engine a little bit and see if you can see where the oil is coming from. If the block is clean, than you have to do a compression test to see if your rings are shot.

As far as oil on the bumper..umm...post a pic.

stuckagain

Ill go out and get a pic in a min. As far as the idle issue goes I have not done a tune up since ive owned the car (2 months) also I did clean the iacv last weekend. The battery is new as also... Thanks alot for the help so far!! I go get a pic of my bumper.

Blacknight117

iTrader: (1)

No probelm. But, I would go ahead when you get a chance, do a full tune up. Distributer cap, and rotor. New NGK plugs, and NGK wires. A new fuel filter and an oil change.

stuckagain

Heres what my rear bumper looks like after a few days. Ill clean it and bamn a couple days later itll be alll black again. I have a compression tester but I am unsure what to unplug so I dont burn out my coil while im cranking the car over?? Thanks again blacknight

motegicivic

How many miles on it?

There is nothing you can do about the burning of oil, engine needs a rebuild or a swap. Or just keep adding oil.

As for the running condition I would not be surprised if you have low compression and will make the car run badly as well.

civicjunkie17

iTrader: (1)

To test the alternator. Start you car up and do a voltage test with a voltmeter. While the car is running touch the positive lead on the positive battery terminal and negative lead on the negative battery terminal. It should read around 14 volts while the car is running to make sure that the alternator is properly charging the battery.

It is pretty normal for the idle to drop about 100 rpm when a lot of accessories are turned on.

To do a compression test. Unplug your distributor (big plug under distributor), unplug the injectors so you do not flood the engine with gasoline while testing. Remove your spark plug wires and spark plugs. Screw the hose from the compression tester into the spark plug hole. Go into the car and with the clutch down and gas pedal down crank the car over around 10 times. Then get out of the car and check the gauge. Record the amount of psi created in that cylinder and repeat for the other 3 cylinders.

That is how to do a dry compression test. To do a wet test drop a few drops of oil into the spark plug holes. The wet test should always net higher psi readings.

To test what is causing you to burn oil. Google something called a leak down test.