1993 Honda Del Sol idle air control valve motor

JOE1505

MEMBER
1993 HONDA DEL SOL
1.6L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
250,000 MILES

Not sure how idle air control valve motor is attached to carburetor; they don't take screwdriver or wrench. How do I remove idle control valve motor to check if its working? Do they have a clip that you pry off? They are very small clips or something. Car is sputtering when idle. Do you know where I can access a diagram of how it is attached to carburetor.

3 Replies

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,873 POSTS

You don't have a carburetor, so if you're doing a search or looking up parts, you have a throttle body.

The black motor doesn't come off. The silver block it's attached to must be unbolted and the two hoses must be removed. The most likely suspect of an idle speed that's too low is carbon blocking the air passage. If you get the normal "idle flare-up" to 1500 rpm at engine start-up, the valve is working.

As for the rough running at idle, a misfire will cause that but low idle speed will cause rough running too. The clue to a misfire is it will not clear up when you raise engine speed slightly. If the misfire is still there at 1,000 rpm, diagnose that, not low idle speed.

As for diagrams, nothing, in my mind, beats the manufacturer's paper service manual. You can find them on eBay. You can also buy subscriptions online to AllData and Mitchell on Demand, but you're just renting the information for your car model.

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Sunday, January 26th, 2014 AT 10:49 AM

JOE1505

MEMBER
3 POSTS

Off the throttle body is ( I thought) was the idle control valve motor that was regular maintenance every 40,000 miles. I got this information from 2car pros. So I take throttle body off and than remove idle air control motor? I also read where you separate motor from throttle body to check if working proper by turning key to on and watching motor. It looks as though this should be able to be removed without removing throttle body but you say no! OK. The engine sounds great when I reb it up. But sounds poor at idle after it warms up. Runs great for 4 miles than starts its puttering almost like a gas problem. I changed fuel filter and O2 sensor. Idle control valve was the next step. Do you have any other suggestions. This engine sounds to good to junk it.

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Sunday, January 26th, 2014 AT 3:49 PM

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,873 POSTS

The throttle body does not have to be removed. The motor you referred to is part of the idle air control valve that is bolted to the side of the throttle body.

I never heard of a regular maintenance interval for them. My '88 Grand Caravan has over 400,000 miles and the unit has never been touched. Also, if you're pursuing any type of running problem other than low idle speed, this is not the suspect. The only thing it is involved with is idle speed, nothing else.

This type of valve doesn't have anything you can see operate when the assembly is removed. The Chrysler / GM valve has a pintle valve that you can see and pull out, but it moves to the engine start-up position when you stop the engine, not when you turn on the ignition switch.

The better way to test any idle speed motor or valve is with a scanner. That will allow you to run the idle speed up and down. If the idle speed doesn't respond, that's when it's time to remove it and inspect the air passage for carbon buildup.

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Sunday, January 26th, 2014 AT 6:30 PM