gearbox

iTrader: (95)

Well it must be due to the cam gear but does 1.5 degree retard really affect idle? Oh crap wait they also added some fuel in the lower rpms with vafc. Would any of those mess with cold idle? Its happened twice in the last day where I would start it cold and have the idle drop to the point of stalling almost. I had to give it gas a few times before it leveled off. Only started now that the weather is getting colder.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

dam it got worse and the CEL came on after turning off the vafc. So now i'm putting the cam gear back to 0.

Logan3024

iTrader: (8)

+


You should verify the problem before you start messing with stuff. First step would be scanning the code. Since your check engine light came on, that tells you that a sensor was acting up, there are a ton of sensors that will throw off you idle if there is a problem. I think based upon you previous weird idle posts you may have an intermittent sensor problem.

02 sensor
Idle air control valve
Cranshaft position sensor
MAP sensor


Give us an upgate later gear.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

Ya well a bloody finger later and the grief aem continues to cause, I finally managed to get the cam gear to 0. I reset the ecu and it idles fine with no CEL. I need to go drive it, turn on the vafc again, and see. I'll post an update later but I think the problem is fixed. thank you stupid dyno shop for your retarded tuning (pun intended). Bunch of idiots.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

Well it drives great so far with the vafc on. Looks like it was the cam gear causing the problem so that stays at 0. Yet another wasted mod. Its funny cause I remember everyone telling me to advance it due to the milled head and then I find out at the dyno they retard it. It didn't make any power advanced tho anyway.

Jrfish007

iTrader: (3)

Why did they retard the cams? I mean I did that on a few of my old pushrod cars, I always found the factory settings where pretty close to optimal on Honda's...

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

well they said it was making alot more hp with only little low end loss so i said okay. I guess the car doesn't like it when warming up cause it was making bad clunk sounds and almost died. I'll just leave it stock again.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

crap its doing it again!!!! i waited 30 mins, started and it clunked and almost died! everything is back the way it was before tuning? now what? only other recent thing is timing belt change a few weeks ago. but this just started happening this week.

Logan3024

iTrader: (8)

Dam, why did you reset the ECU without scanning the code?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i don't have a code scanner and don't feel like driving 3 miles with the engine light on to get it scanned. and it would prolly say low idle or something dumb. could it be related to anything installed when they put the timing belt/water pump on? cause everything else is stock now as before.

Jrfish007

iTrader: (3)

It's only stalling and sputtering when the engine is cold?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

ya its only when I start it after the car has been sitting anywhere from 30mins to overnight. Once I give it some gas a few times and it warms up, everything is fine. So far cam gear is back to zero and vafc has been pulled out of the car. Don't need it anyway. Lets see what happens.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

thanks everyone. after putting the cam gear to stock and removing vafc, the problem went away (and ecu reset). I've started 4x cold and it revs fine and stays.

Jrfish007

iTrader: (3)

good to hear....

Jrfish007

iTrader: (3)

sounds like rich cycle set up in the factory ECU and VFAC where fighting during warm up

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

maye, bc when the cam gear set back to zero, it was still doing it. i'm just very frustrated on how to set the cam gear. the dyno says retarding is better for power, but everything else says i should advance it due to the milled head. i'm confused.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

and i think the cam gear may have caused idle probs too. cause when i had it advanced, the car started much easier.

Jrfish007

iTrader: (3)

interesting.... Im' not sure what to make of all that. I would think that if the car started easier, it would probably be running better over all, yet the dino says otherwise... I'm stumped. Have yout alked to another shop?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

thats the only one with a dyno. see the technical explanation would be that a milled head retards timing by itself. So therefore it needs to be advanced just to bring it back to stock. it makes sense. i think i'm gonna try and advance it 2 degrees tomorrow and see what happens. Cause at 0 it still feels not good. Car starts and idles fine, but its a bit rough. but yea the dyno says it made alot more hp with it retarded compared to advance. maybe they messed up? even the stock civics show some gain with 2 deg advance.

Jrfish007

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, that seems kind of strange to me that a rougher car would make more power (with the same cam), but stranger things have happened.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

ya the power was great with it at -1.5 but what good is that if the idle sucks when starting (enough to trigger a cel). Should i leave it at 0 or try +2? it seems to run better advanced, at least in the low end. don't know about top end.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

well guess what? its doing it again! the weather got colder and same problem. starts in 3 turns and then makes puttering sounds and nearly dies unless i give it gas. wtf

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

okay set the cam gear back to +2 advanced. Benefits noticed so far, louder exhaust, more low end, faster warm starts. i still need to see whether it stalls on a cold start. Im hoping this fixes it and i can move on. but the car feels alot better with the gear advanced and i don't care what the real dyno says.

blouisgod

iTrader: (14)

hows the tb / idle air control valve working? have you ditched the tb bypass mod?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

oh yea a long time ago. that bypass was causing problems when the car was in operation like jerking and strange acceleration, even idle. now the problem is the engine dying right after a cold start or semi cold like an hour after warmed up.once i press the gas a few times and idle goes up, it runs fine... only other mod i added is exhaust. so its either exhaust or cam gear. since the cam gear was stock before and it still did it when the new gear was at 0, i'm assuming something is happening with the exhaust. like too little backpressure to keep the car going after start. hoping/praying the advance timing does the trick.

DaddyFatSacks

I still have the TB bypass, it's cold here now, and it still feels fine. The car starts easy, idle comes right down, and just feels fine. Maybe it has somthing to do with auto's.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

the bypass does nothing anyway (lowers air temp by 1 degree). didn't you see the thread about it? and it can mess with the IAC valve. Well i gotta wait til the weather gets cold again to see about starting probs. in warm weather its fine.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

well this sucks. it just happened again tonight. so its not the cam gear. could it be the exhaust? what else? i start it and the idle is horrible. when i step on the gas it barely revs up and feels like the timing is messed up. I had to shut it off and try to start it again. once it stabilizes, it drives fine. what could it be??

Jrfish007

iTrader: (3)

Once it stablizes and is running okay, does it have any hesitation if you get on it? Bad MAP sensor is what I'm thinking, had soemthing simliar happen to me and an old Tempo.

I'm thinking it has something to do with the rich cycle cars run in when it they warm up, perhaps the O2 sensor is enough out of wack to cause a difference or the cat is clogging up. have someone else start it if you can and see how the exshuast looks.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

it runs perfect once warm and even cold once the idle stabilizes. the problem is this just happened after the exhaust got put on basically. i don't think timing belt work would mess up like this. its either right or wrong and if its wrong the car would barely work.

well first i'm checking easy stuff. going to get a wire gauge and check plug gaps first and examine the plug color and condition. i've also been reading that advancing timing and higher compression from milling can increase temps and require smaller plug gap or colder plug.