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RPM Surging

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  #1  
Old 10-12-2006, 10:19 PM
acidflux's Avatar
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Default RPM Surging

Hey guys, my first time at a forum...
I recently bought a 98, 2door accord and am in love with it ( as im sure most of us are )
I was wonderign if any1 can help me with my problem.
My miantenance required light came on just yesterday. Im a total noob but i did read the manual and figure out how to reset it and it went away,
oh btw, its 4 cyl 115000 miles EX 5 spd
the problem NOW is that when i start the car, in idle, the RPM surges up and down. Goes between 1000 to 2500 RPM just up and down.
from the ppl i asked they said that shouldnt happen after resetting the light.
please help..
brief history that MAY help, when i bought the car, the guy i bought it from rigged it to where the check engine light would never come on. apparently everytime i turn the car off, the "memory " would reset, as in the ac config woulf reset and the power locks wouldnt work with the car off, and i think the clock dint work. my friend, after **** loads of time looking, found a fuse, fixed it and now the engine light is on with an evap canister code. Based on evidence under the hood, it seems the guy had nos on the car, and remo ved the evap can to hold the nos cans... anyways. so yeh when my buddy did that thing with the fuse, the car was doing the same thing but it went away, and my O2 sensors came back on line ( did pass emissions cuz o2 sensors kept coming up not ready because of that fuse bypass or whatever the dude did).. anyways thats a brief history.. i knwo its long but relatively its still BRIEF :P
anyways so would anyone have had this issue before or know what could cause this kinda surge after resetting the maint. req. light?.


** update.. that fuse thingy i said which caused the check engine to stay off and not keep "memory " and keep the O2 sensors off line..
that was caused by the back up clock fuse..bit of info .. i know "fuse thing" wasnt too descriptive :P
 
  #2  
Old 10-13-2006, 09:43 PM
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Default RE: RPM Surging

resetting that light shouldn't have a thing to do with anything but your odometer so that's not really an issue.... Perhaps a plugged egr valve? have you tried cleaning that and then perhaps clean the throttle body and idle adjustment screw, also if you haven't changed your spark plugs, wires, cap and rotor in the last 30,000 or so miles then I'd do that as general maintenance anyway
 
  #3  
Old 10-14-2006, 04:40 AM
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Default RE: RPM Surging

i replaced the spark plugs recenty.. they were charred man.. i was driving to houston at like 120mph half the way :P

I drove it around for a while and it seems to be fine now... doesnt surge anymore.. tho it strarted again randomly and then stopped.
I dunno how to do the stuff u said but i got a Haynes manual so i will DEFINITELY check into that thanks alot for the info.

*****
another quick question... what would happen if my cold air intake sucked in some water? its pretty damn low and it rained recently.. so im a bit worried.. any symptoms i should look for.. could this be related?
 
  #4  
Old 10-14-2006, 02:25 PM
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Default RE: RPM Surging

Idle control valve or a vaccum leak.
 
  #5  
Old 10-14-2006, 02:33 PM
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Default RE: RPM Surging

Cold Air Intake, if your car sucks in a little bit of water it just burns off, no big deal, I had a cold air intake on a lowered civic and that plastic fender well skirt wasn't in there, I drove through rain, drove over a slightly snow pass and all that happened was the filter got wet and If I hit WOT the car would bog a little bit, no harm no foul, what can happen though and did happen to me is I was driving down a slushy road and the "slush/water" packed in all around the air filter and allowed it to suck enough water in to blow the rings and screw things up royally.... Long story short unless you have an AEM V2 intake get a bypass valve and then you don't need to worry about it, but even fairly major rainwater isn't going to kill your motor unless you submerse it in water
 
  #6  
Old 10-15-2006, 12:21 AM
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Default RE: RPM Surging

Sir Nasty: Thanks again ill look into getting that bypass valve...

YeuEmMaiMai: thanks for the info.. i DO believe there is a vacc leak SOMEwhere i hear slight whislting sometimes.. thats on my "to get checked out" list
 
  #7  
Old 10-15-2006, 03:47 AM
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Default RE: RPM Surging

you may not need to repalce your ICV is that turns out to be the culprit, there is a screen that gets dirty and you can remove and clean that. Then you reassemble the valve as in the isntructions here

http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1575913

accords are similar
 
  #8  
Old 10-15-2006, 05:28 AM
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Default RE: RPM Surging

SWEET! thanks..
as u already know im gonna be posting quite a bit as i have many many issues with the car and not so many many dollar bills :P

here is another prob i had... drove to houston .. 120 mph for quite a while.. all was fine until got there and on the way back the car started jerking like a horny monkey! ( can i say that here.. is that too inappropriate) anyways.. here is what would happen i will try to be very specific..

Lets say im in 2nd gear and accelerating ( or third or 4th) and while accelerating.. all of a sudden the RPM would get STUCK at like 3400 or some other number.. the car stops accellerating for a brief moment then kicks in and takes off... AND/OR whiel im at constant 80 mph ( since its constant, im not accellerating, just keeping it level at 80) for example... it jerks like its loosing gas or not getting any. Replaced the spark plugs becuase they were charred from that trip.. i mean BBQed, didnt resolve issue.. i used fuel injector cleaner like with two tank fulls.. all was fine.. issu ecame back im a lil bit.. cleaned again and has been just great ( atleast this particular prob) for a rather long time.. BUT today it is doing the same thing again .. but not as bad..
since i used injector cleaner and it worked.. obivously its an injector problem.. how serious IS this.. is it because maybe bad gasoline ( i use medium grade but fill up at kroger its like a grocery store but added gas to its inventory.. ) is it that something is stuck in the fuel filter ( which i cant freakin find anywhere in the damn manual) or is it because i took the car at a 100mph again.. could high speeds cause it.. its really irritating me
how easy ot expensive is it to replace fuel injectors. is that even an option, perhaps a way around it?

( again thanks to ALL of u for all ur inputs.. and i apologize in advance for asking any stupid q's that i probably will eventually if i havent done so already)
 
  #9  
Old 10-15-2006, 06:24 AM
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Default RE: RPM Surging

Charred plugs could definately be a vacuum leak, plus you say you hear a hissing. Double, triple check all those lines. Follow that haynes manual like a bible for the help on locating all those hoses. This is the cheapest thing to start with too.
I highly doubt you have an injector problem, possible but I doubt it. I don't think that your ecu is getting proper readings to make your car run right. The fuel injector cleaner might have 'tricked' the ecu into thinking a little different but that will run out. Rule out the vacuum segment first and then we'll go from there.
 
  #10  
Old 10-15-2006, 01:15 PM
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Default RE: RPM Surging

ok those diagrams are great, but I have a 92 accord, is it in the same place or different??
 


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