PapaTrick

I have a 98 Civic LX. It's Canadian, Vin starts with a 2. But the alternator that came out had a 4 pin square plug & all the canadian ones come with a 3 pin flat plug. The American alternator (4pin) makes my car idle at 2000 rpm, so it constantly surges. Does anyone know where I can find the right alternator? All the local parts stores are no help at all & the dealership wants almost $500 for the one they say fits. Can anyone help?

mikey1

uuummm....an alternator would not affect the idle speed

PapaTrick

well it ran perfectly when I parked it. when I came back 3 weeks later the alternator had seized. When i replaced the alternator it wanted to idle at 2000rpm, the idle control kept trying to kick it down but it just kept revving back up

mikey1

i assume you disconnected the battery when you replaced the alt?

maybe try in idle re-learn?

or just try disconnecting the battery again for a few hours, or better yet overnight

ezone

Sitting for 3 weeks caused it to idle too high, not the alternator. Something happened during that time.
IAC valve may be stuck wide open?

PapaTrick

Yes, battery was disconnected for several hours while we drove the bottom mounting bolt out. Atm, I have no alternator, I couldn't get the core back, and the nearest dealership wants $320 for the alt with a $160 core charge. Not looking to put that into it since I'm just getting running to sell. I replaced the battery, cables, coil, cap & rotor, spark plugs, and fuel filter before finding out the alt was the problem.

Not sure how to do and idle re-learn, I'll have to look it up. I'm not sure which alt is right for my car though. Is the american one (plug matches my car) correct for my car? Or do I need something special because it's Canadian?

ezone

It may have been built at an assembly plant in Canada, but that does not make it a Canadian car.

You live in the USA, not Canada.
The car is a US market car, it was built to be sold in the USA, not Canada. (Unless someone personally imported it across the border)

Buy the alternator that fits your connector.

PapaTrick

OK, thank you. Any ideas on the idle problem?

ezone

Idle screaming at 2000 is not a learn issue and won't be solved by a relearn IMO. You gotta fix that problem first.

Learn:
Pull ECM fuse or disconnect battery, let sit with door open (for dome light connection to drain off power) for 5-10 minutes to erase learned values. Reconnect. Run engine to operating temperature, fan runs 2x. Let idle with NO electrical loads for 10 minutes. If the radiator fan runs, add that much more time to that 10 minutes.

PapaTrick

it doesn't surge with the A/C on, although it does idle high, about 1100, I know I'm adding a load, just not sure if that helps diagnose over the computer. throttle cable is free. Cap looks perfectly straight on the distributor

ezone

So it surges while the AC is off?

PapaTrick

perhaps surging isn't the best term, but yes. While the car is at idle with no load, it wants to idle at 2000rpm but something keeps kicking it down, I'm guessing idle control. It very quickly revs back up, then gets kicked back down. At 1st I thought the throttle cable had gotten jacked up, but it's clear. It doesn't do it while driving, until you push in the clutch.

ezone

It's not any idle control.
"Decel fuel cut" is what causes the surge----effective between 2000 and 1200 RPM.

Have you checked if the IAC is stuck wide open?

PapaTrick

No I haven't. This is my 1st Honda, and this is the !st problem it's given me in almost 4 years, I've only had to maintain it. I thought I had the wrong alt based on advice from a self proclaimed Honda expert at work. It looks like he doesn't know any more than I do. I'll see if I can find a video on it