This morning my daughter started her (OK I own it) Accord and it runs rough and hunts for an idle. It ran perfectly fine last night when she drove it so this has not been any gradual or re-occuring problem, just happened this morning. Luckily, she was smart enough not to drive it like that. When I got home from work today, I started it, after a few attempts. It will not maintain a fast idle, but will hunt around, almost killing iself. It does also not run smoothly as before, seemingly not "hitting on all six". I definitely do not want to drive it like this, seems like I could hurt something.

For a little history, I replaced the timing belt around 1K ago becase the car has 218,000 on it, and I wasn't sure when it was last replaced. The car has run very smoothly until now. As the temp. is below freezing here (Wisconsin), around 15 degrees or so, I somewhat suspected ice in the fuel. I know this is not much of a problem any more, but I dumped some isopropyl in the tank anyway. Hasn't helped so far.

What do you think for on this one? I've done a search (glad it's working again) but I'm still looking for answers. I'm thinking maybe vacuum hose, but what's a good way to check for a bad one, if that could be it?

Any comments or suggestions appreciated.

Thanks,

Dan

 

Im not very familiar with the v6s, but with the 4cyl the most common causes of erratic/surging idle are the IAC(idle air control) valve and the FIT(fast idle thermo) valve, or vaccum leaks. The haynes manual has detailed instructions on testing these parts, easy diy.

 

I'm also not real familiar with the V-6, but for 1998 the FITV was no longer installed on the 4-cyl. It's function was included in the newer IACV, so I bet the V-6 does not have an FITV.

Another common cause for surging idle is air in the cooling system. The 4-cyl has a bleed valve in the thermostat housing. Maybe the V-6 has something similar?

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys, but the car fixed itself. Sort of. The problem must have been ice in the fuel line. This would explain the rough running and the surging idle, I guess. If you recall, I added 2 bottles of isopropyl alcohol to the gas tank. I was then able to at least pull the car in the garage, and it sat overnight. I expected to try troubleshooting the darn thing, starting with the vacuum hoses. Well, I started it up, and it ran like a charm. Been running fine ever since.

I would normally think that cars these days don't get much ice in the tank, because the tanks vent differently I guess than they use to. But, it seems the Heet did it's job.

Thanks again,

Dan