Honda Car Forum

Hey, I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on what would be
causing this:
2000 civic sir with 120000km on it.
Intermittently idles low, like 150rpm, with a rough feel to it. If I tap
the gas rpms jump then just drop right back down to 150rpm or so (the line
just above the very bottom line on the tach). It slowly comes back up to
750rpm or so but if you tap the pedal it drops right back down again. It
can do it once or 4 to 5 times in a row this way. Oil changes done
regularly and according to the user manual the plugs don't need to be done
until 160000km.

thanks for any advice
dave
dcox@NOSPAMhfx.eastlink.ca

Forgot to mention... it has a Short ram air intake as the only engine mod.


"JEHU" <dcoxNOSPAM@hfx.eastlink.ca> wrote in message
news:whWOd.46440$tU6.2706@edtnps91...
> Hey, I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on what would be
> causing this:
> 2000 civic sir with 120000km on it.
> Intermittently idles low, like 150rpm, with a rough feel to it. If I tap
> the gas rpms jump then just drop right back down to 150rpm or so (the line
> just above the very bottom line on the tach). It slowly comes back up to
> 750rpm or so but if you tap the pedal it drops right back down again. It
> can do it once or 4 to 5 times in a row this way. Oil changes done
> regularly and according to the user manual the plugs don't need to be done
> until 160000km.
>
> thanks for any advice
> dave
> dcox@NOSPAMhfx.eastlink.ca
>
>

I'm not at all familiar with your model, but most modern cars do that when
the throttle body and/or idle air control valve (when it exists) gets gunked
up.

Mike

"JEHU" <dcoxNOSPAM@hfx.eastlink.ca> wrote in message
news:whWOd.46440$tU6.2706@edtnps91...
> Hey, I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on what would be
> causing this:
> 2000 civic sir with 120000km on it.
> Intermittently idles low, like 150rpm, with a rough feel to it. If I tap
> the gas rpms jump then just drop right back down to 150rpm or so (the line
> just above the very bottom line on the tach). It slowly comes back up to
> 750rpm or so but if you tap the pedal it drops right back down again. It
> can do it once or 4 to 5 times in a row this way. Oil changes done
> regularly and according to the user manual the plugs don't need to be done
> until 160000km.
>
> thanks for any advice
> dave
> dcox@NOSPAMhfx.eastlink.ca
>
>

"JEHU" <dcoxNOSPAM@hfx.eastlink.ca> wrote in
news:ajWOd.46441$tU6.25254@edtnps91:

> Forgot to mention... it has a Short ram air intake as the only engine
> mod.



Ding ding ding! Aftermarket parts!

Remove, reinstall original parts and see if problem goes away.


--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

extremely doubtful an intake would cause this problem, its about as likely
as having a flat spare tire would cause this issue



"TeGGer®" <tegger@istop.c0m> wrote in message
news:Xns95FADF79A6C9Bteggeratistop@207.14.113.17.. .
> "JEHU" <dcoxNOSPAM@hfx.eastlink.ca> wrote in
> news:ajWOd.46441$tU6.25254@edtnps91:
>
>> Forgot to mention... it has a Short ram air intake as the only engine
>> mod.
>
>
>
> Ding ding ding! Aftermarket parts!
>
> Remove, reinstall original parts and see if problem goes away.
>
>
> --
> TeGGeR®
>
> The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
> www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

I can see how faults in an air intake could affect idle. If there is a
flapper (intentional or otherwise) in the intake and it is giving any sort
of trouble, it could certainly choke the engine at low air flow (idle).

An important first step in troubleshooting is to make everything right, then
see what problems you have.

Mike

"M.C. Tee" <tedwards@LEAVE.ME.ALONEnl.rogers.com> wrote in message
news:NNqdnX9j-7N2EpDfRVn-hw@rogers.com...
> extremely doubtful an intake would cause this problem, its about as likely
> as having a flat spare tire would cause this issue
>
>
>
> "TeGGer®" <tegger@istop.c0m> wrote in message
> news:Xns95FADF79A6C9Bteggeratistop@207.14.113.17.. .
>> "JEHU" <dcoxNOSPAM@hfx.eastlink.ca> wrote in
>> news:ajWOd.46441$tU6.25254@edtnps91:
>>
>>> Forgot to mention... it has a Short ram air intake as the only engine
>>> mod.
>>
>>
>>
>> Ding ding ding! Aftermarket parts!
>>
>> Remove, reinstall original parts and see if problem goes away.
>>
>>
>> --
>> TeGGeR®
>>
>> The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
>> www.tegger.com/hondafaq/
>
>

yes, but gathering from what he said, the issue didn't start from adding the
intake, in which case there is nothing that could cause the issue, its a
piece of mandrel bent pipe, hard to have something go wrong there




"Michael Pardee" <michaeltnull@cybertrails.com> wrote in message
news:aIWdnfFrepkVY5DfRVn-sQ@sedona.net...
>I can see how faults in an air intake could affect idle. If there is a
>flapper (intentional or otherwise) in the intake and it is giving any sort
>of trouble, it could certainly choke the engine at low air flow (idle).
>
> An important first step in troubleshooting is to make everything right,
> then see what problems you have.
>
> Mike
>
> "M.C. Tee" <tedwards@LEAVE.ME.ALONEnl.rogers.com> wrote in message
> news:NNqdnX9j-7N2EpDfRVn-hw@rogers.com...
>> extremely doubtful an intake would cause this problem, its about as
>> likely as having a flat spare tire would cause this issue
>>
>>
>>
>> "TeGGer®" <tegger@istop.c0m> wrote in message
>> news:Xns95FADF79A6C9Bteggeratistop@207.14.113.17.. .
>>> "JEHU" <dcoxNOSPAM@hfx.eastlink.ca> wrote in
>>> news:ajWOd.46441$tU6.25254@edtnps91:
>>>
>>>> Forgot to mention... it has a Short ram air intake as the only engine
>>>> mod.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Ding ding ding! Aftermarket parts!
>>>
>>> Remove, reinstall original parts and see if problem goes away.
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> TeGGeR®
>>>
>>> The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
>>> www.tegger.com/hondafaq/
>>
>>
>
>

"M.C. Tee" <tedwards@LEAVE.ME.ALONEnl.rogers.com> wrote in
newsM6dnQxPtub_mJPfRVn-gg@rogers.com:

> yes, but gathering from what he said, the issue didn't start from
> adding the intake,


He never said when it started.


> in which case there is nothing that could cause the
> issue, its a piece of mandrel bent pipe, hard to have something go
> wrong there


First step in a proper diagnosis: Install original parts.

If problem disappears, you know his "short ram" is causing the problem. If
the problem recurs, then you know it's not.

The OP also has provided very little other information. What would help
here is:
1) Does he have EGR?
2) How does the car start? OK? Lots of cranking needed?
3) How's his gas mileage?
4) How is the car off-idle? Any hesitation?
5) When does the low idle start happening? Cold? Warming up? Full warm?
6) Does it happen in the wet and dry, or just in the wet?
7) Does the temperature gauge go up all the way to the middle within 5 or 6
minutes of driving?
8) How new are the ignition wires, cap and rotor? Are they aftermarket too?


--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

"JEHU" <dcoxNOSPAM@hfx.eastlink.ca> wrote in
news:whWOd.46440$tU6.2706@edtnps91:

> Hey, I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on what would be
> causing this:
> 2000 civic sir with 120000km on it.
> Intermittently idles low, like 150rpm, with a rough feel to it.


When? Cold? Warming up? Full-warm?

Has the MIL lit up?


> If I
> tap the gas rpms jump then just drop right back down to 150rpm or so


That's 500rpm, not 150.


> (the line just above the very bottom line on the tach). It slowly
> comes back up to 750rpm or so but if you tap the pedal it drops right
> back down again. It can do it once or 4 to 5 times in a row this way.
> Oil changes done regularly and according to the user manual the
> plugs don't need to be done until 160000km.


Does the car warm up so the temp gauge goes to the middle within 5 minutes
of driving?

Did the problem start soon after you installed the "short ram"?

Does it happen even on dry days?

Your EACV is attempting to adjust the idle speed to where it should be, so
that part of the system is working. How clean was the throttle body when
you installed the ram? Did you reset the idle speed properly?


--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

"TeGGer®" <tegger@istop.c0m> wrote in message
news:Xns95FB60DED6FEAteggeratistop@207.14.113.17.. .
> "M.C. Tee" <tedwards@LEAVE.ME.ALONEnl.rogers.com> wrote in
> newsM6dnQxPtub_mJPfRVn-gg@rogers.com:
>
> First step in a proper diagnosis: Install original parts.
>
> If problem disappears, you know his "short ram" is causing the problem. If
> the problem recurs, then you know it's not.
>
The root of the problem is that aftermarket parts introduce unknown issues
into the system. The customer can spend an enormous amount of money to find,
say, mice have built a nest in the ram. Since the problem doesn't appear in
the unmodified car because of a nuance of design (possibly learned the hard
way by the OEM) it is overlooked.

I once spent $900 to have a dealer fix a problem in our Volvo. The problem
turned out to be aftermarket injectors I'd put in - they tested perfectly,
but for some reason didn't work in the car. Drove me crazy.

Mike