c.kue91

I have a manuel 98 honda civic ex which has been having a regular problems with something in the engine. I don't know whats wrong with it and hoping anyone could help. My honda civic tends to idle very high whenever I stop at a stop light for long periods of time. My car is currently idling at 1500 rpm, but when I stop at a stop light for a long period of time, the car starts to idle at 3,000 rpms and as I step on the gas and accelerate to 10 or 15 mph the car starts to nudge and seems like the engine is kicking back or isn't getting enough air to push out of the exhaust. If i rev the engine at a dead stop, the engine sounds like it is trying to push out air from the engine but isn't pushing out enough and the exhaust sounds like it is pulsating. Any suggestions or answers would be greatly appreciated. Sorry if this doesn't make sense I am new to this.

lazlong

Major loss of power, doesn't want to go much over 60? Is the engine light on?

c.kue91

The car itself doesn't lose power during acceleration but just jerks back and forth alot but stops when I shift to second gear. yes the check engine light is on. I tried cleaning the Idle Air control valve and it helps for couple days but the problem returns.

lazlong

IACV may be bad or the throttlebody may need cleaning. Did you try anything else? Before you do anything else get it scanned for codes and that will point us in the right direction. If you or your friends don't have a diagnostic tool Autozone will scan it for free.

ps- Hurry up with the codes. I'm really bored tonight. lol

c.kue91

I haven't tried anything else and I have brought it to autozone for them to check for issues and they have said it was due to the idle air control valve or something in that area. If i clean the throttlebody, can i just take it apart and spray it with carb cleaner?

lazlong

Yes. To test the IACV: While it's running pull the IACV connector. If the engine idle doesn't change then the IACV is bad.If it's not bad I would clean the IACV again and the throttlebody then look for vacuum leaks.

Man, it would really help if you had the specific code as there are several that deal with the IACV.

c.kue91

Sorry I don't have the codes at the moment...but I've tried pulling the IACV connector and the engine idle does change, so its still good. But Ill try to clean out the IACV again and throttlebody and see if that helps. Thanks for the help!

lazlong

Oh hey, almost forgot, to check for vacuum leaks: With the car running take that carb cleaner and carefully spray small amounts around each area till the idle jumps. Spray around all vacuum lines, PCV valve, TB, and brake booster. This is best done with the engine cold.

c.kue91

Can you go into more details with checking for vacuum leaks. Im not very familiar with cars that well. thanks again! when you said spary small amounts around each area till the idle jumps...what areas are you talking about? What does spraying around all vaccum line, PCV valve, TB and brake booster do or help me with?

lazlong

If you have a vacuum leak, when you spray the carb cleaner the idle will jump because carb cleaner is getting in the leak and raising combustion in the engine. This tells you that there is a vacuum leak in that area. I said spray small amounts because if you just spray a bunch all over then it really doesn't pinpoint the leak. Just spray all over the engine bay until you find the leak. *Carb cleaner is pretty corrosive so try not to spray any on seals and sensors, or too much on the rubber. Don't be sniffing it either. lol

c.kue91

lol Well thanks for the information. I appreciate your help and Ill check up on this new info and see how everything goes. Hopefully this will solve the problem cause its a pain driving with the car always jerking back and forth.

lazlong

If all that fails to fix it then go get the specific code and post it as it may be a broken wire or something like that.

leezydx

TPS or MAF

trina

I have the same problem my codes are 700 & 730 please help