black thingy on distributor?

Can anyone tell me what this black plastic circly thing is on the side
of the distributor with two hoses coming off? i just found out that mine
only has one hose and the other hole is open, perhaps this has something
to do with the high idle speed?

 

based on your detailed description, i'd say it's definitely a....

dude, seriously, help us help you - need to say what make, model, year,
etc. and try to be as specific as possible about the piece you're
describing. all the component diagrams are online, numbered, and
referenced to their names.

if however you want us to use our magical intuititve powers to diagnose
a problem with an unknown "thingy" on an unknown form of vehicle, i'd
say, yes, there's a missing hose, and yes, it is responsible for high
idle speed, when cold. also consider that cars that have an obvious
fudge like this often have other much more serious problems and the
fudge was needed to get it to work well enough for you to want to buy it.

 

First, let me say that I share Jim Beam's frustration here.

Now for the psychic diagnosis. I see an older car, late 70's or early
80's. Brown metallic with dings in the left front fender and a few rust
spots. Rear license plate has one mounting screw missing. The little
round thingy is vacuum advance for the distributor. There is a missing
hose, and as a result your ignition timing is off as is the air/fuel
mixture. Either could alter your idle speed, as could a host of other
things.

If I am spot on, credit my psychic powers, if I am dead wrong, blame
your poor description.

 

Sorry for the lack of info I was in a rush and totally forgot to mention
the car type and whatever else might help. and I must say that was a
fairly good diagnosis. Its an '85 integra 1600 dohc pgm-fi (ZC) 5 spd.
theres only one plastic thingy coming off the distributor with two hoses
on it and a vacuum advancy thingy sounds about right. the tachometer
sometimes jumps around a bit and the car looses power any ideas on that?
when its not happening the engine runs fine and sounds fine but it makes
a rattle/knock sound when the tach bounces and it does it for a good 5 -
10 minutes or so, seems to be intermittent. btw its not just a missing
hose, the part where the hose is supposed to go on the plastic thingy
has been broken/melted or something so ill need a new plastic thingy.

 

It certainly did have a few problems but for $200 it was well worth it,
$100 later it passed WOF (or inspection) whatever you call it and it was
on the road driving beautifully, well almost...

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but PGM-FI is fuel injected. Integra's did come
with a DOHC-CARB in 85, but the D16A9 (ZC) like the 4th Gen Civic SiR was
PGM-FI. Also it's 1590cc. I don't recall there being an hoses in the side
of the distributor, but there is an external condenser looking part with two
wires going into the distributor. I don't think it's a vacuum advance since
there is no carburetor, but fuel injected.

You may be describing the distributor cap breather. It's the red rubber
looking thing in left center of this picture:
http://www.msdignition.com/np2002/images/pn82901_big.jpg Depending on the
manufacturer of the cap it may vary. It would not effect your idle at all.

Check your plugs and wires, for any excessive wear, and replace if
necessary. If it still runs rough, check the distributor and rotor. The
screw that locks the rotor on aftermarket rotors do not fit securely and
loosen easily. The good ones (Honda OE) have Allen screws, not Philips
screws (Bosch). This the most common problem I've seen with these engines.

A rattle/knock could describe other problems, like low octane or a clogged
injector.

 

There really is no reason a fuel injected car could not have vacuum
advance on the distributor. Specifically, looking up the 1986 (the site
does not show any 85's) Integra 3 door RS with 5 speed manual, 49 states
on http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.com, it shows a distributor with a
vacuum advance and it shows a throttle body and fuel injectors.

 

Vacuum Advance Diaphragm; design for power and economy. I've
seen so many of them break off which raises the idle, retards ign,
leans, then pings. DO NOT unplug the vac-hose here. They're used on
Honda/Acura FI or carb from years 85 onto 89. 82 has one but not the
same name but uses one vac-line.

 

Ive done some checks, it is a vacuum advance thingy, i got a new
replacement and put it on, now the idle is even higher! but while i was
installing it i notices there was some oil inside the distributor. is
this very bad? Ive checked the cylinder head and all the springs/tappets
are fine. Im going to clean the distributor today and see how that goes.
the oil was not in the part with the spinny plastic thing with the metal
connetcor it was underneath the plastic cover.

 

The oil in the distributor may account for the jumpy tach.
The VAD rips open then vacuum sucks oil in from head to
sensors. The reluctor picks up false signals and spikes the
tach. Make sure shaft isn't wobby or sensor connection isn't
saturated with oil.

The idle drops when the hose broke off (and probably a rip
diaphram inside the VAD) the ignition retards then someone
raise the idle mixture to compensate. After the replacement
the timng advances and the idle goes higher. Get a timing gun,
reset the timing, reset ECU (unplug batt,) check for vac leaks
then reset idle. If idle mixuter yellow ink mark isn't tampered
then leave it alone.

 

The oil in the distributor may account for the jumpy tach.
The VAD rips open then vacuum sucks oil in from head to
sensors. The reluctor picks up false signals and spikes the
tach. Make sure shaft isn't wobby or sensor connection isn't
saturated with oil.

The idle drops when the hose broke off (and probably a rip
diaphram inside the VAD) the ignition retards then someone
raise the idle mixture to compensate. After the replacement
the timng advances and the idle goes higher. Get a timing gun,
reset the timing, reset ECU (unplug batt,) check for vac leaks
then reset idle. If idle mixuter yellow ink mark isn't tampered
then leave it alone.

 

The oil in the distributor may account for the jumpy tach.
The VAD rips open then vacuum sucks oil in from head to
sensors. The reluctor picks up false signals and spikes the
tach. Make sure shaft isn't wobby or sensor connection isn't
saturated with oil.

The idle drops when the hose broke off (and probably a rip
diaphram inside the VAD) the ignition retards then someone
raise the idle mixture to compensate. After the replacement
the timng advances and the idle goes higher. Get a timing gun,
reset the timing, reset ECU (unplug batt,) check for vac leaks
then reset idle. If idle mixuter yellow ink mark isn't tampered
then leave it alone.

 

Odds are the previous owner mucked around with the idle speed setting
while the vacuum advance system was out of comission. Perhaps you need
to get your hands on a service manual and set both the ignition timing
and the idle speed according to factory procedure.

 

Thanks, it was the oil in the distributor that was causing the jumping
tacho, I replaced the distributor and the VAD and it is running great
now (apart from idle) I can do the timing and reset the ECU and check
for leaks, but how do i reset the idle? and wheres the idle mixuter?
another thing that happened was all this green liquid stuff sprayed out
from one of the AC pipes while I was driving, I think there was supposed
to be a black cap on there, Im assuming this is no problem to the car.

 

Odds are you don't have an idle-mixture adjustment, the PGM-FI system
controls the mixture. There is an idle speed adjustment, but you need to
know what you are doing before trying to adjust it. Typically adjusting
idle speed on a fuel injected engine entails disabling one or more
vacuum hoses and bypass valves etc., and then adjust to a certain RPM.
The factory manual from http://www.helminc.com will have instructions.
Haynes or Chiltons probably do too.

One word of warning: On the throttle body there is a throttle stop screw
that looks and works like the idle adjustment screw on a carburetor. Do
not touch it. This is NOT where the idle is adjusted. This screw is
factory adjusted, and the service manual has big warnings about all hell
breaking loose if you touch it.

The black cap is just a dust cap, it covers a check valve in the
refrigerant line. It seems your check valve broke. There would be no
danger in driving the car, but do not turn on the A/C. If you want to
have the A/C fixed, you may want to do it sooner rather than later.
Freon (R12) is going up in price every season as supplies are exhausted.

 

Randalph is right, there is no idle mixture. I'd mistaken. I was
referring to the idle adjusting screw.

Typical early Honda FI idle adjustment require disconnecting the
EACV electrical connector then set idle adjusting screw on throttle
body to 650-rpm +- 50 in neutral with no load. Shut off engine,
reconnect the 2-pin connector, reset ECU and restart engine again.
It should be at 750-rpm +- 50 with loads. Check Acura Helm
manual for accuracy.

Warning: Be sure no trapped air, fast idle, vac-leak, or
cold sensor causing high idle problems and that the VAD is not
from a junk yard and leaking.

Absolutely right.

 

Thanks for the advice, I will try that today, What happens if i have
adjusted the throttle stop screw? I put it back to where it was (well
pretty close anyway) as it didnt seem to do anything. And what is the
easiest way to replace the altenator?

 

Caleb wrote:

The stop screw is there so that the throttle will rest against the screw
rather than rub against the inside wall of the throttle body. My Civic
service manual does not say how to recover if one should have moved the
screw, but the service manual for my brother's VW has a section on it.
It goes something like this:

1. Loosen the lock nut and unscrew the throttle stop screw until it no
longer touches the stop.

2. Stick a piece of paper between the screw and the stop and tighten the
screw until you can just barely move the paper back and forth.

3. Remove the paper and tighten the screw 1/2 turn and tighten the lock
nut.