New honda convert here and i have a slight problem that i cant figure out. I have a 1994 accord ex with 283000 miles on it. I got it from the auction and dont know what crazy things were done with it except for the air filter housing was cut out-literally cut-, my alignment is serious off whack, i think it was in an accident because the radiator is a at an angle and some panels have alot of bondo on them. But anyway when i first start the car, the first 2 min run fine, then for about 5 min the idle jumps up and down from 700 to 1200 and back. I dont get any response from the throttle unless i floor it. after the 5 min everything is fine. o yea i noticed some oil underneath the distributor cap. dont know what that is but if its apart of it please lt me know. thanks for reading

 

The first thing that I would do is download the 94 shop manual from the spooner link I posted in the DIY section. It will help immensely for doing DIY work.

Does the check engine light turn on and/or the D4 flash while driving? If so, you will have to short the blue two-pin connector under the glove box to get the error code(s). See dhost.info/accordinfo/howto/cel.html for instructions.

Since you don't know the maintenance on it, I would replace the spark plugs (only use NGK ZFR5F-11 spark plugs). Check that there is no oil in the spark plug tubes.

I would also remove the distributor cap and check if there is oil inside the distributor. If so, then you will have to replace a grommet, or pick up a distributor. We can give you more details based on what you find and how you would want to repair.

As for the idling, the problem could come from either air in the coolant or the FITV. I would open the radiator cap when the engine is cold to see if the radiator is full of coolant. If it is low, I would drain the coolant, clean and tighten the FITV (see FITV cleaning thread in the DIY section), then replace the coolant.

To replace coolant, loosen the bleeder valve on top of the thermostat housing, fill the radiator with coolant until air stops spitting out of that valve, close the valve, top off the radiator. Check the coolant daily (with engine cold) to ensure that you don't have a leak due to damage from the suspected accident.

 

Thank you for the response. Alright, so that really helped. I checked the creck engine light and i got the code 43 which says fuel supply system defective. and thinking about it 2 things pop into mind. 1 is that when i bought the car there was a new fuel filter in the trunk. and 2 the car didnt want to pass smog. The man at the smog hut said too much fuel was going thru the system. so i had to "get it passed" for the mean time. Took it to the shop and they said something about my o2 sonsor not working but thats another issue. So why do you say only use those sparkplugs? is ngk like a special brand only for honda? and lastly i removed the cap and didnt see oil directly in the cap but towards the bottom of it there was oil. like it was dripping from something from the bottom

 

Code 43 is directly related to the O2 sensor

 

ok. that makes a **** load of sense. now i checked my radiator and there is plenty of fluid in there. so could my problem be directly related to the o2 sensor? and if this is the problem how long do you think it would take to change myself?

 

Code 43 'fuel supply' code is set by way of the oxygen sensor reading unburrned oxides. [running rich] or the sensor is not reading correctly.

This is not the cause of the idle surge, adjust the FITV and it would be a good idea to pull off the IACV and blast it out with Berrymans B-12

To test the IACV, unplug it and the idle should drop a couple hundred RPM

 

The NGKs are the ones recommended in the shop manual. They only cost ~$2 each at any parts store and are pretty much OEM spark plugs. Other brands have been reported to cause problems.

That is good that there is no oil inside the distributor. The o-ring probably needs replaced that seals the dist. with the cylinder head (#6 in the pic below). Before you remove the distributor, mark a line across the the top of the distributor and cylinder head (above the slot for the distributor bolt). That way you can just realign the mark and not have to use a timing light to properly adjust the timing.

 

thank you for all the help. now my next question is the iacv. i was looking for the iacv and i believe its under the throttle body with one vacuum hose coming from it. im confused because you say to test it, unplug it. are you refering to the vacuum hose or an actual wire goin to it

 

That part you are looking at is the FITV. The IACV is bolted on the upper part of the intake manifold to the driver's side of the throttle body.

 

ok. So it took me all weekend but i did it. instead of just taking off the iacv and cleaning it, I took apart the intake manifold and decided to clean everything. After a rough start, it runs beautifully. Thank you guys for all your help. Now, could any of you help with my locks issue? i have power going to all my actuators but no response. any idea on where to start looking?