My wife and I bought a 1986 Accord DX, with only 93,xxx on the clock. I have been working on getting the thing running right for about 2-3 weekends in a row. I have fixed everything except for the high start-up idle (2500-3000 RPM). I have read that this is the automatic choke. However, I have a hard time believing that is the problem/issue. Because I drove the car about 20-25 miles, turned the car off for about 10 minutes, and upon restart - the idle still jumped to nearly 3 grand. The choke should only function when the engine temp is cold, right?! Before anyone says this, I have already adjusted the Idle Speed Screw. Do I just need to adjust it out even more? Is it as simple as that?

Also, the engine will diesel SOMETIMES. It seems to only do this when I start the car for about 3-5 minutes, and then turn of off. However, when I go for a test drive, say for 10-15 miles, it usually shuts right off. I have fixed the idle speed and I have re-timed it 3 different ways (in gear, in park, and with vacuum lines off of distributor). All of which didn't really do a difference.

If anyone could shed some light, I would greatly appreciate it!

-Kornhaus

 

Sounds like it's sucking air into the intake from somewhere. Check all the vacuum hoses for drying and cracking. If they all look good, hit the intake gasket areas with a spray bottle of water. If the idle drops when you spray a certain area, the water is temporarily restricting the air flow through the leaking spot. Or you might have a fast idle valve that is malfunctioning if your engine has one.