idle drops and cuts off

hey guy i have a 98 accord auto and the car has been dieing out on me and it making me go crazy at low speed the car cut off and i have to start it back up and it happen when i siting as well it seem 2 be when the fans turn on thats when it happen when the car is sitting and is on any help on this problem thanks in advance

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[JimBlake]

Maybe a dirty IACV?

You need to tell us what engine. V-6? 4-cyl VTEC? Non-VTEC? ULEV?

thanks for the reply its a 4-cyl vtec

[poff1986]

Have you had the ignition switch recall?

[JimBlake]

Flaky ignition switch would make it cut off, as if you had turned off the key.

Dirty IACV would make unsteady idle. RPM down & up & sometimes stall.

im not to sure if the ignition swith has been change but the radio turns off aswell and the light dim out aswell and i dont have any keys on my eye ring just my alarm


today i took it 2 get look at they turn up the idle on the car and now the car is idleing to high and when you turn the car off the engine feels like it about to drop out the car cause the car is actully idle when i turn it off


thanks in advance again for all the help

[JimBlake]

Lots of heavy keys seem to have something to do with the switch problems, but probably the switch can have problems even without lots of keys. Besides, a previous owner might have had lots of keys.

We can't watch & listen to the car from here, so we have to ask a lot of annoying questions...& weneed details.

Does the idle speed go up & down before it stalls? Or is the idle just nice & steady then suddenly stalls? (You haven't really answered that question.)

If the idle speed control system is NOT screwing up, then you just confuse things byscrewing withthe idle speed. You need to figure out what's causing it. Or start byexplaining what you've done or observed that can RULE OUT any of these things...
- idle control system screwing up
- spark shorting from bad/decayed plug wires/cap/rotor
- old/fouled sparkplugs (Hondas don't like Bosch)
- crappy fuel or incorrect fuel pressure

IF the idle controls are messed up,there's a procedure for setting the "BASE" idle (which isnotthe 750rpm operating idle). But first you (or your shop) needs to fix or rule out a handful of things...
- find & fix ANY vacuum leaks
- clean throttlebody, especially crud where the throttle closes against the bore
- remove any air pockets from the cooling system
- make sure your TPS is working properly
- make sure the throttle cable has some slack
- make sure the physical stop of the throttle shaft doesn't hold the throttle open (just barely enough to prevent jamming)

Then you set it like this...
- warm up theengine completely
- jumper the SCS connector
- unplug the wiring harness from the IACV (it'll almost stall)
- adjust idle air screw for 500rpm
- shut off & cool down
- reset ECU (pull fuse #13 at right-front door hinges)
- start & idle till hot WITHOUT TOUCHING THE GAS PEDAL AT ALL