1988 honda accord

I am having problems with my car. It seems to run good in the
mornings untill I almost get to work. When you come to a stop light
the car dies unless you keep your foot on the gas. I am thinking that
it might be the carburator. I have found a carb. for the car that is
new but it came off a 1986 or 87. Will it fit my car??? Also I
thought that a vacuum line might be switched around. Could anyone
help me out on finding a diagram or pictures of the vacuum line routes
that are clear enough to understand. Any help would be greatly
apreciated.

Thanks
Cody

 

Replacing the carburetor, especially with one that is not exactly the same,
is likely to be the beginning of a journey into darkness. My first thought
is for the automatic choke not "pulling off." Remove the intake so you can
look into the top of the carburetor when the engine is cold, and you will
see a "butterfly" plate right at the top of the carburetor throat - that's
the choke plate. It should be only a little open when cold and completely
open when warm. If it isn't open when warm you have a good place to start.
You can use carburetor cleaner to clean the choke mechanism and to ensure
the idle passage isn't getting clogged but otherwise this doesn't sound like
carb problems.

A visual inspection of the vacuum hoses is not a bad idea. They often crack
right at the ends where they connect to the nipples and the top suspects are
the ones that go to the intake manifold or the base of the carburetor.

You suggest a vacuum line may be in the wrong place. Did this problem start
after something had been done to the car?

Mike

 

In addition to Mike's comments about swapping the carb (there are at
least two models commonly used in the 3rd-gen Accords), I'd point out
that it is NOT an easy task - in addition to the multitude of vacuum
hoses involved, there are a lot of linkages and ancillary components
(vacuum diaphragms, the choke heater, etc.) that all have to come off in
the right order or you'll be fighting it forever... nevermind putting
them back on again afterward.

I'd say the stuck-choke diagnosis is a good possibility based on it
running fine while cold... it could also be a vacuum leak in a hose or
diaphragm that's only active once warmed up.

A vacuum leak, however, is much more common, as hoses dry out and crack
over the years (and remember this car is almost 20 years old!) A vacuum
leak means too much air is getting pulled into the intake manifold,
which causes the engine to run lean... the choke, on the other hand,
closes off the carb's air intake and boosts the throttle while the
engine is cold, which of course will counteract the vacuum leak to some
degree. When you rev it up after it's warm, that too feeds more gas in,
so counteracting the vacuum leak to a degree.

I have JPGs of vacuum diagrams for various 3gee Accords here... you'll
have to determine which is relevant to your car:
http://www.moltenimage.com/freebies/g3accord/fuel_and_emission_controls_carb/

 

When I bought the car it idled high around 2000rpm. I noticed when
you lefted up on the trottle it would idle down so I adjusted the
trottle cable. About a month later, it was pretty hot outside and I
drove it from school to the house and about 30 minutes later jumped in
it to go to the store and it die at the stop sign and has done it ever
since. I checked the choke and it seems to be working fine. It was
not completely closed when it was cold and when the car warmed up it
was all the way open. Any more Ideas. I noticed also today that the
throttle cable was pretty sloppy so I adjusted it and I must have
adjusted it to much, it reved up and held at 4500rpm. I readjusted it
and noticed that when you pulled up on the trottle that it idealed
down again.??? It has got me stumped. I was leaning toward the map
sensor maybe?? Let me know what you think.

Cody

 

Matt

Thanks for the JPGs of the vacuum diagrams. Helped out Looks like
all the vacuum lines are were they need to go. I replyed back to Mike
with this see what you think.
When I bought the car it idled high around 2000rpm. I noticed when
you lefted up on the trottle it would idle down so I adjusted the
trottle cable. About a month later, it was pretty hot outside and I
drove it from school to the house and about 30 minutes later jumped
in
it to go to the store and it die at the stop sign and has done it
ever
since. I checked the choke and it seems to be working fine. It was
not completely closed when it was cold and when the car warmed up it
was all the way open. Any more Ideas. I noticed also today that the
throttle cable was pretty sloppy so I adjusted it and I must have
adjusted it to much, it reved up and held at 4500rpm. I readjusted
it
and noticed that when you pulled up on the trottle that it idealed
down again.??? It has got me stumped. I was leaning toward the map
sensor maybe?? Let me know what you think.

Cody

 

That problem with the throttle is pretty specific to the throttle hanging
up, all right. You can try lubricating the throttle cable with graphite. I
like Lock-Ease (sp?), which is graphite in a kerosene type carrier. FWIW, I
haven't had a lot of success lubricating throttle cables. Maybe they have
worn inside to the extent that lubrication isn't enough. You may have to
replace it. We all love working on various pedals <8^O

That may be the only underlying problem. If the cable has been hanging up
for a long time, and I bet it has, the previous owner may have twiddled with
the idle setting to compensate and ended with the idle stop set for too low
a decent idle. A quick twist of the old screwdriver once the cable is freed
up should fix that. You can do that part now after lifting on the throttle
to free up the cable.

Mike

 

First of all, the carbed versions don't have a MAP sensor (that I've
ever seen, anyway... they also typically don't have O2 sensors, although
there are exceptions).

I'd check for the cable sticking, make sure it's not getting frayed
anywhere, for that issue.

As for the stalling, if you've confirmed the choke is okay, then I'd
suspect a vacuum leak. You can often just listen for it (a sucking or
whistling sound), but if the leak is in a vacuum diaphragm (as happened
with my car once) it may be inaudible. One way to test for this is to
*gently* pinch off the vacuum lines one at a time (ie. pinch one, if
that has no effect, release it, and go on to the next), starting where
each one connects to the carb body or intake manifold, and see if the
idle smooths out. If you find one that affects it, then you can follow
it outward, and repeat the pinching after any branch points, until you
find the segment that's leaking.