1991 2.2 accord idle issue
 

Well; I parked it one day and then it ran badly the next. It seems to idle horribly; especially when one puts it into gear. in park or neutral; not so bad. It also seems to have a-lot of power once it gets going 25 mph or more. It has yet to stall, but it idles horribly low in gear and the exhaust sounds like a lawnmower and smells real rich in fuel. any ideas. EGR? IACV?

welcome to the forum. engine cold bad idle IACV warmed up and idle up an down EGR

Thanks. Yeah.it seems to have a bad idle no matter what. so you think the IACV. I took it off and cleaned it and it seemed to do nothing for it. Is there a way to check this to be sure it's bad. Th e part runs 250-350, so it would be nice to be sure. I read somewhere that one can read it and if it has less than 12-14 ohms, its bad. Any confirmation on this.

forgot the ohms nbrs but yes you can check for that. also valve adjustment will cause low idle to no idle.

acmech52. any idea where i could find those ohms numbers? also; when you say valve adjustment. is that a cause from adjusting them or a lack of adjusting them. if it's a lacking, how often should one do that and is there a link on how to that, that you recommend? thanks everyone so far.

only experience i have is from my 07 Fit had 130k+ and the idle when cold was low and erratic. after valve adjustment it was perfect. lack of adjustment. service manual may have all the numbers needed. I don't have a manual for your year car. sorry.

anybody think it could just be a bad PVC?

running rich sounds like a bad oxygen sensor. did you check for fault codes just because the check engine light is not always on doesn't mean it doesn't have fault codes stored. also a dirty oxygen sensor wont trip a fault code only when it fails completely.

I just changed the oxygen sensor. and the codes called it out as bad. but after replacing it, it still acted the same. it sounds like a lawnmower until I get it to about 30 mph. then it sounds like all the cylinders are firing fine and in sync.

Well; what seems more likely. The EGR or IACV. I will describe it again. When I start it up it idles somewhat ok, until I put it into gear and then it boggs down to a barely running idle and sounds like a go-cart. However; if I drive it and get it u to speed, around 30 mph, it seems to run great and has lots of power. It has never stalled on me, but smells super rich while running. I have changed the PCV and cleaned both the EGR and the IACV. There is a-lot of oil on my spark plug wires and it seems as if the o-rings may be bad beneath the rocker arms and the valve cover. Could that oil issue create the bad idle I'm having???

apart from the idle air control valve I would say you should check the distributor for cracks. You stated it happens when it rains. GF had the same issue and I replaced everything before I figured it out.

Here it what you can do:
You will need a screw driver with plastic or wood handle (just not metal)
Gloves (further safety)
A piece of wire
Tape
Spray bottle or water bottle with a hole in the cap and water in it

1. strip one end of the wire and wrap it on the metal shaft of the screw driver. Tape it to secure it.

2. Start the car and observe idle.

3. Put the gloves on and hold the other stripped end of the wire to a good ground (preferably your battery)

4. Probe around the distributor and spark plug wires. If there is a crack in either that you don't see, it will show up by killing / affecting your idle.

5. If you find nothing, spray water on the distributor and observe idle. If it affects your idle then there is a crack... probe around and it will affect it even more.

6. do the same for your wires.

So recap... If there is a crack in either that you can't see, the current flowing through the distributor or wires will arc onto the grounded screw driver.

Good Luck

Alright, I will check this. I believe it has a new distributor in it; and I believe we have changed it out another time in the last 6 years.

Wait a minute.
-Are you saying there is oil on the tip of the plug (aka your motor is burning the oil off). When you say beneath the rocker arms are you refering to the valve stem seals? If so I don't understand how it is on your plug wires.
- If it is on your plug wires then from where and what part of the wire? If it is the part of the wire that goes into the boot and touches the plug then that means you have an oil leak between the valve cover and the spark plug tubes. If this is the case then it will cause a misfire on that cylinder or random misfire if it is more than one. This is because the oil shorts out the connection from the plug boot and the plug. therefore current isn't directed to the plug and you have a poor spark or none at all. No spark means no burn. No burn means rich fuel smell. Take the spark plug boots out and look in there for oil. You can also swab your finger around the tube and see if you get oil on it. If so, change the valve cover gasket and all should be fine.

Have you washed the motor before? I know washing when its hot helps everything evaporate but the extreme temp changes can cause cracks in older plastic parts. I would put money on the valve cover gasket though... if oil is there.