Hello all... i'm stuck on my husbands 91 accord LX automatic. After you start it up its generally ok for a few minutes, then after you are coming to a stop or have stopped and begin to accelerate it will feel as though it is choking and usually die out, after that it can be very difficult to start. If you keep your foot on the accelerator while braking at a stop you're okay, but seems delayed a bit as you ease off brake and apply more gas. also, when you are sitting and idling it will also feel and sound like its choking, almost like it's "bucking" I just replaced the TPS (and adjusted it) and the Main Fuel Relay in it hopeing that might work but it apparently did not. We cannot afford to take it to the shop so that's why I'm here trying to figure out what else it might be. It seems that it is worse when it is warm outside, maybe just after the car has warmed up. This morning I drove it for about 5 min and it was ok, then it all started again :-( Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated

 

See DIY for cleaning IACV. Also clean throttle bore around throttle plate and throttle plate both sides.

If fully warmed idle does not come up to 750-850 rpm after this, you should check that IACV is functioning (apply battery voltage to solenoid and watch for movement to open and spring closed when voltage removed.

If IACV is functional, you can adjust idle speed by opening the bleeder screw w/ the IACV disconnected untill you get 600 +/- 50 rpm. Reconnect IACV and clear Check Engine Light by pulling BackUp Fuse (7.5A) in underhood fuse box.

good luck

 

OK... I cleaned the IACV, also tightened the little white donut looking thing inside the other Idle part (I did that earlier before cleaning the IACV) BUT now after i bolted on and connected the IACV the car doesn't want to start at all, and when i do eventually get it to crank over I rev it up to about 1500 then it immediately falls all the way down and stalls out... kinda confused now... is the IACV bad or what?

 

Update.... so i got the car to actually turn over and was able to pull the plug to the IACV and adjust the screw to get the rpm to 600 then turned it off, plugged the iacv wire back in then reset the ECU, let it sit for a while then it started up fine without the gas being pressed and the rmps seemed fine. I just went out to take it for a lil test drive around the block and now we'e back to it not wanting to start. We've also found that most of these isssues start once the care has warmed up, is there something else that would cause that? I'm wondering if since a lot of it is hesitation and stalling when you try to accelerate from a stop if maybe it's the fuel pump or something...

 

Is the check engine light turning on while driving? I would erase the ECU by pulling the 7.5 amp backup radio fuse for a minute. Try to start the car or drive it around if it starts, then check for codes.

See the common diy thread on top of the gen tech help form for a link on getting engine codes.

 

No, the check engine light is off when driving, it only came on when i unplugged the IACV to adjust idle screw.

I did pul the 7.5 fuse out after doing all that. And then it started fine, went out about 20-30 min later and wouldn't start

I don't have a code reader for this one, the one I have if for my 04 Frontier and from what I understand it won't work the the 91 Accord.

 

When you say "car won't start" do you mean it won't turn over, or turns over fine but doesn't catch/run?

Failure to start is not related to the idle problem.

good luck

 

It sounded like it wanted to start, I tried giving it more gas but it just wouldn't start. Sometimes after it has stalled out it does the same thing. We had to have it towed on Friday becasue it refused to start again or it would go about a foot the die again.

 

First step w/ no-start is to understand whether fuel or ignition is source of the problem, no matter what you might think is the problem.

1) Turn keyswitch to On. Does the Check Engine Light (CEL), Alt, and Oil light come on immediately. CEL should go off after 2-3 secs.

2) When keyswitch is turned Off to On, you should also hear a soft click from under the dash and fuel pump in fuel tank come on and run for 2-3 secs. Fuel pump will stop and CEL will go off at same time.

If above 2) checks show all lights are coming on correctly, and you hear the fuel pump run/cut-off, then fuel delivery is likely and ignition fault is likely.

If you're missing the Alt, Oil, and CEL coming on, then ignition switch assembly is likely faulty. Easy diy replacement. See DIY forum.

If ignition is indicated, suggest going to techautorepairs.com/ignition.html for guidance on diagnosing where igntion is failing.

good luck

 

ok, went back out and turned to on position, all 3 lights came on, heard the fuel mp/tank, they then stopped the same time the CEL did.

Then i tried starting and it started right away

the RPM went straight to 1500, then fluctuated from 1500-1400, let it sit for about 4-5 minutes the RPM's dropped to 600 (where i had set them with the idle screw earler), every so often it would feel as though it was having trouble and would act like it was choking, sputter and alost die out and would drop to 200rmps then go back to 600, when i tried to accelerate you could almost feel no pressure on the pedal and the rpms dropped to 200 then it died out and now won't start again...