mister.wong

hey guys.

recently my idle was bouncing up and down and some guys on this site recommended i clean out my IACV. i did so and after putting it back in, my idle stays at around 1500 RPM even when warm.

first, i turned my bypass screw all the way in. that got her down to about 1100 RPM when warm...

second, i tried covering the throttle body intake with my palm and she stalled. i read online that means there's no vacuum leak.

lastly, i disconnected the IACV connecter and the RPM's instantly dropped to about 500 RPM or less (almost stalling). as soon as i reconnect the IACV connecter, it jumps back up to about 1000 RPM.

this was all done with no load. all lights, accessories, heaters/defrosters were off.


Thanks in advance!

-Eric

Former User

Is the CEL ON? Sounds like the IACV is bad.

thetunersource

Are you sure that you cleaned your throttle body the right way? If you didn't you could have clogged it with a bunch of gunk.

mister.wong

no CEL light on unless i unplug the IACV.. but i assume that's normal.. ocne i plug it back in the light is gone...



well i claened my IACV and throttle body with throttle body cleaner... but i guess i could do it again a few more times...

christian7750

Could be your FITV https://honda-tech.com/forums/acura-integra-6/%2A%2A%2A-how-%2A%2A%2A-clean-your-fitv-aka-fast-idle-thermo-valve-1564019/ ; I cleaned my IACV and my idle was still messed up then replaced it and it fixed my high idle, so it may need to be just replaced.

trustdestruction

I have a similar situation that i'm not sure if it's normal or not.

Most of the time my idle is smooth and at around 800RPM (should be 650-750 but Honda tachs aren't that accurate so whatever). However, sometimes it surge back and forth from 800-1100RPM for around 3-5 minutes and then randomly stop surging and sit steady at 800RPM again.

The FITV is new (car used to surge at 2-3k), and the IACV has been cleaned. New cap, rotor, and plugs too.
Does this sound normal or does the IACV sound like it's bad?

christian7750

Definitely not normal, does it surge like every time your drive your car?

mister.wong

gonna try to clean my FITV this weekend...
wat's awkward to me is that before i cleaned my IACV, the idle was fluctuating but it was a lot lower (around 750-1000 RPM) and now after i've cleaned it, it's up to 1000-1500 RPM...

mister.wong

UPDATE:

i have been doing all these things and i just realized i hadn't jumped my ECU for codes yet!

jumped it and got a code 20, Electronic Load Detector (ELD)

is that relavent to my idling problem?
and any idea on how to come about fixing that?

Former User

Reset the ECU to see whether code 20 repeats.

Redbone

yeah after you clean the IACV you should reset the ECU so it can relearn

mister.wong

i got the code 20 after i reset the ECU...

i've also cleaned my IACV and throttle body again... idle is still pretty high.. i still get the situation when i unplug the IACV connector, the RPM instantly drops and she almost stalls but once i plug it back in it's back to 1000-1500 RPM...

i've read online that the ELD is under my fuse box under the hood so im gonna dig around there tomorrow and see if that helps any.

thanks a lot guys! keep it coming!

christian7750

Well that code control idle bud. http://autorepair.about.com/library/faqs/bl634b.htm

Former User

The ELD code 20 is highly unlikely to affect the idle speed. If you have a 96-99 Civic, check whether fuse 15 under the dash is blown.

trustdestruction

no. but nevermind. lol

it seems to be gone. today i had to replace a heater hose and i bled the system for a long *** time and it seems to have gone away completely.

i had thought i bled the system enough last time, but i guess not.

mister.wong

UPDATE:

so this time i basically took apart my whole throttle body apart and cleaned the IACV again, FITV, the throttle body itself, and flushed the coolant...

i start the car up and this time it starts up at 2500 RPM!!!!!!! so im thinking okay maybe it's just getting settled... so i take it for a drive and now when the car is warm and idling, it bounces from 1000 RPM to 2000 RPM... as soon as it touches 2000 it slow drops and as soon as it drops to 1000 it slowly rises.. this goes back and forth forever...

WHAT'S GOING ON?!?!?!?

EDIT:
oh and for some reason my battery light comes on when i get past 3500 RPM...

trustdestruction

^That's something wrong with the FITV. My FITV was bad and it did the exact same thing. Replaced it and it fixed it.

Battery light relates to the alternator. Maybe your alternator is going bad and can't take the rotation it gets at 3500RPM. Get the alternator tested.

Former User

You may have an intake air or vacuum leak. Did you install a new throttle body gasket and properly torque down the throttle body bolts. Did you forget to reconnect any vacuum hoses, for example the PCV hose?

As Trust says, also check whether the FITV port in the throttle body continues to pull a vacuum after the engine has warmed up. You can test this by putting your finger over the hole. There should be no pull when the engine is warm.

D16SiHatch

sounds like the internal voltage regulator in the alternator is going out, and when you get over 3500 rpm the battery light is coming on signaling an over-voltage.

did you clean your fitv per these instructions or close to it?
https://honda-tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1564019

also, iacv seals get old and can begin to leak when you pull them off the intake manifold. after being sealed in that postion for 10 or more years they sometimes dont seal so well when you go to reinstall everything. you can pickup a new figure 8 iacv seal from honda/acura for about $4. also if you missed any vaccum lines or accidentally unhooked one, that would cause an erradic idle.

mister.wong

yeah i realized i didn't tighten the throttle body intake on tight enough and there was a leak there! solved the 2500 RPM situation, but now im still back to about 1000-1100 RPM when warm...



yeah i was thinking either a bad connection or it's starting to fault.. but would that effect my idle?



yup that's the site i used when i cleaned it.
i'll see wat i can do about getting new gaskets all around.. it seems like there's a leak somewhere and all major components are working i guess...



thanks a lot guys!

Former User

Before replacing more parts, first check whether the FITV port continues to pull air when the engine is warm -- it's an easy test.

I also think that D16SiHatch's idea about the alternator's voltage regulator is on target.

christian7750

Well ya dont wanna just go around and replace everything, but if your so fed up with it, replace your IACV and FITV

mister.wong

so to test the FITV, i take off my intake when the car's warm and put my thumb over the hole? wat are my results if there is a vacuum and if there isn't?


also, if my alternator is starting to crap, would that effect my idle?


thanks a bunch!

D16SiHatch

yea, put your finger over the lower hole. there should be virtually no air moving through it once the engine is fully warmed up. if there is air going through and the idle is adversely affected when you plug up the hole, then the fitv is most likely the culprit.

if an alternator is in real bad shape i imagine it might possibly cause more drag and make the engine idle slightly lower, but i can't imagine it would have anything to do with a surging idle.

mister.wong

ok so i tried plugging the bottom hole after the car was warm and i got a minor vacuum... i guess there's my problem?

im off to the junk yard tomorrow to grab another IACV and FITV and put them both in

i hope works!

i'll keep you guys updated...


THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP!