when stopping at a light my car tends to sometimes drop to 500 rpms and also my headlights dim when i ever let the car go to idle, it seem to have louder exhaust when this is taking place, but other times it will run quiet and with more power, no cel lights and has anyone had this problem or have a suggestion

 

could be alot of things, just turn your idle up a little bit.
its normal.,dont worry

 

When I had my ek9 I had the same problem but realized it was normal. Like the guy said above me don't worry about it. Just when it starts to get really low and rough then worry about it

 

have you done all the regular maintanence on the car?

 

I hope by saying turn your idle up you mean, move the distributor a few degrees. Just loosen the 3 bolts on the distributor and move it little by little until the idle gets to be where you want it (the car has to be on).

 

i have same problem ??? help

 

it has had all regular maintenence, but i know it has to be something on the intake manifold cause i have has 2 motors in the car and one was like brand new and it still did the same thing

what tells the car to hold an idle, the tps?

all maintenence has been done replaced the o2 sensor and put 3 different used iacv's on it and different injectors and another used pressure regulator, and used fast idle valve, and it still does it, so i think it must be the tps or map sensor or the computer is starting to go out

i would say it was normal, but i dont think the car should run alot better sometimes than others ya know

and how do you test to see if your vtec is working properly? what parts can go bad to cause it not to work all the time

 

i havn't adjusted idle in forever but isn't there a screw near the throttle cable that you can turn to lower and raise idle? as for vtec, oil levels, engine temp. and something else are factors in proper working vtec.

when your driving and you get into the higer rpms does it not engage? if so when does it engage?

 

i have had 2 motors in it, one was basicall brand new and the other is old, both did the same thing, so it has to e something on the intake manifold throttle body or the computer

sometimes it engages really noticable and other times i cant really tell and it engages around 5000 rpms

 

try checking the throttle body. Mine was doing something similar and it was the throttle body not fully closing. This can be caused by gunk getting thrown back against the throttle body (usually from not replacing the PCV valve). A thin layer builds up and prevents the throttle from completely closing. Just take it off, get some throttle body cleaner and a few rags or paper towels, and wipe down the inside. Don't forget to open the throttle and clean out the area around where the throttle closes. There is no idle adjustment. The only adjustment that you can make is by tightening the throttle cable. Other things that can cause a low idle are vacuum leaks and a faulty ISC valve.

Sean