1982 Honda Civic 1982 Carbeurated Civic Idle problems.

SGS285

MEMBER
1982 HONDA CIVIC
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
70,000 MILES

Hi, I have a 1982 honda civic with 112,000Km on it. The problem is when it is warm it idles roughly and intermittently. Since I've had the car (since 80,000KM) I've put in new fuel filters, new air filter and have done oil changes every 3500-4000Km. It has ran pretty well up until recently. Does anyone have any ideas? We tested the main fuel cut-off solenoid and it works. We played with the air/fuel mixture screw as well as adjusted the timing. All to no avail. We also sprayed a healthy dose of carb cleaner into the carb. There appears to be good vacuum. Before the idling problem, when I'd be sitting at a set of lights and they turned green I'd go to accelerate and there would be what I would call a dead spot where it would seem like it shut off and then come to life again. It runs fine on the highway or freeway however.

Thank-you for your help :)

3 Replies

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

Hi sgs285,

Dead spots during accelerations are mostly caused by a faulty accelerating pump or clogged nozzle.

Check if the accelerating pump is spraying when the accelerator is opened slightly.

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Sunday, April 11th, 2010 AT 6:54 AM

SGS285

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Thanks for the reply! I will check the accelerator pump this afternoon. We still have not been able to diagnose why when the car is warm it idles rough and misfires though. This wouldn't be due to the accelerator pump would it?

It's weird. I will start the car up from cold (it has manual choke) and it runs well. As it heats up I take the choke off and it idles quickly so I turn out the idle screw and slow it down. It runs fine. However, as soon as I give it gas and rev it up, when the RPM's come down they go WAY down and the car will stall unless I turn the idle speed back up.

Vacuum seems to be good. Any line I pull off to test seems to have a decent amount of vacuum (master cylinder, carb etc.). Me and my dad are baffled.

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Sunday, April 11th, 2010 AT 10:41 AM

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

The misfiring and stalling shold not be caused by the accelerator pump.

1. Check the spark plug condition and gaps. Seems it is running rich.

2. After engine has warmed up, back off the idle adjust screw till the idling speed is lower than 750. Turn screw in to adjust it to 750.
If you are not able to lower it to less than 750, some other linkages or vacumns could be stopping the throttle and this would cause the engine to stall during abrupt closing of throttle.

3. Check throttle spindle for side movement. If there are wear on the spindle, it can result in the throttle plate closing eratically and disrupting the idling.
With engine idling, try to push the spindle sideways and check if it affects the idling speed.

4. Check the dashpot operations.

Our database does not have any information for your model as it is too old so I am not able to get you any additional information.

Hope the above are helpful.

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Sunday, April 11th, 2010 AT 2:40 PM