The idle on my 89 accord is incredibly high (like 3k) when cold. After awhile, it will mellow out to about 800, but it will kinda stumble a bit. One time when it was still cold I tried turning it off, but it wouldnt let me. The engine just kept stumbling on.

So is this just the choke, or is it something a bit more serious?

 

Ummmm...anyone??

 

So does it have a carburetor or fuel injection?

 

Carb.

 

Do you have a cold idle screw that could be turned out to reduce the cold idle speed?

 

I have the same car 89 Accord Carb. The car is supposed to do that (its normal), I guess to warm the engine up faster, seeing as how the car has an iron block and takes forever to warm up.

 

Well, carberated cars are supposed to have a slightly higher cold idle, but 3k seems a bit excessive, not to mention I beleive the car ishould turn off when I turn off the ignition...

 

Sounds like something is holding open the throttle plate, usual cause for engine 'run on'.
Might be worthwhile to check the timing also.
The upper plate in the carb throat is the choke plate, the lowest plate is the one to check. They do get worn and not close properly, but could also be gummed up.
Blast down the pivot points with Berrymans B-12 carb cleaner, inside and outside while working the throttle.



The test for the choke pull off [top front passenger side] is to pinch off both hoses, engine idle cold, and the choke plate should open all the way.
Be sure to plug all the vacum lines on the passenger side of the carb when running the engine with the breather off.


Modified by hondadude at 5:26 PM 3/12/2007


Modified by hondadude at 6:04 PM 3/12/2007

 

I agree, 3k rpm's SEEMS excessive, but that is how and what the car was designed to do. My car does that, my buddies 87 DX (same engine) does it, and if you join 3geez, you will find that everybody with the same engine as ours will say the same thing I am saying.

What should happen when you start the engine up is this: Right after start up, the car should be idling at around 2000-2300 rpms. The rpm's should slowly rise within I would say a 2-3 minute time period to 3k rpm's, give or take 100. Then, it should stay there for a little (maybe 30-45 seconds), and then kick back down by itself to 2000-2300 rpms. After that, you can "tap" the gas pedal and the idle should lower to the normal idle when warm. If your car operates this way, then everything is working as it is supposed to.

As for your problem when turning the car off, no the car should not keep on running. I had that problem once, and it turned out to be a bad tank of gas. I switched to Shell gas and have not had that problem since. I will say that if i attempt to shut the car off while it is running at high idle, the engine will not immediately shut off. Instead, it will take about 1-2 seconds to completely turn off, and during that time, the revs will drop.