98 Accord won't start

wrote in
oups.com:

> So miraculously I tried starting the car today with the jump-starter
> and bang it fired right up, no playing with the throttle or anything. I
> was going to test for spark, now that our new england monsoon has ended
> (7 days of straight rain) but since it fired up, obviously it's getting
> spark.



Or the wires have dried off enough to allow starting.


>
> Now however I have a new problem. I was going to let it run for a while
> to charge the battery but the idle suddenly went "wacky". The car
> sounds like it's reving the engine, idling between 1k and 2k RPM again
> and again in a pulsing fashion (reeer... reeer.... reeer...).



Massive air leak!! Check ALL hoses!





--
TeGGeR®

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

Well I finally broke down and took it to a mechanic. After I got it to
start, and it would move, I decided to try and get it somewhere before
I had to have it towed. The mechanic said the "Idle Air Control", IAC,
valve wasn't working properly which was causing the surging/pulsing
idle. I read up on it, and it sounds like it could have been the cause
of my no start as well. This has been quite a learning experiece and I
appreciate all the help from the people who've posted here! Thanks!
They replaced the IAC and according to the mechanic (I haven't picked
it up yet) "it's running great", the total is about $300, which
considering I had them fix a leaking tire as well I guess isn't too
bad.

The only thing I wonder is why this didn't set any error codes in the
computer, since I've read in other places that a stuck or
malfunctioning IAC can set codes (and/or light the MIL).

Hopefully this little saga is over, thanks to all,
-Mike

Did you ever purge the cooling system of air?

I had idle problems last year not unlike yours, took apart the IAC valve,
and in the process found the cooling chamber was full of air.

Purged the system. Car ran like a charm.

> wrote
> Well I finally broke down and took it to a mechanic. After I got it to
> start, and it would move, I decided to try and get it somewhere before
> I had to have it towed. The mechanic said the "Idle Air Control", IAC,
> valve wasn't working properly which was causing the surging/pulsing
> idle. I read up on it, and it sounds like it could have been the cause
> of my no start as well. This has been quite a learning experiece and I
> appreciate all the help from the people who've posted here! Thanks!
> They replaced the IAC and according to the mechanic (I haven't picked
> it up yet) "it's running great", the total is about $300, which
> considering I had them fix a leaking tire as well I guess isn't too
> bad.
>
> The only thing I wonder is why this didn't set any error codes in the
> computer, since I've read in other places that a stuck or
> malfunctioning IAC can set codes (and/or light the MIL).
>
> Hopefully this little saga is over, thanks to all,
> -Mike
>

wrote in
oups.com:

> Well I finally broke down and took it to a mechanic. After I got it to
> start, and it would move, I decided to try and get it somewhere before
> I had to have it towed. The mechanic said the "Idle Air Control", IAC,
> valve wasn't working properly which was causing the surging/pulsing
> idle.



Then it was stuck WIDE open, or the gaskets were leaking severely. You've
had an unusual occurrence.



> I read up on it, and it sounds like it could have been the cause
> of my no start as well. This has been quite a learning experiece and I
> appreciate all the help from the people who've posted here! Thanks!
> They replaced the IAC and according to the mechanic (I haven't picked
> it up yet) "it's running great", the total is about $300, which
> considering I had them fix a leaking tire as well I guess isn't too
> bad.
>
> The only thing I wonder is why this didn't set any error codes in the
> computer, since I've read in other places that a stuck or
> malfunctioning IAC can set codes (and/or light the MIL).


The IAC valve will set an error only if it stops responding. If the gaskets
were leaking or the plunger was stuck and not moving in response to the
motors' commands, a code will not be set.

A stuck IAC points to either a defective assembly, or severe contamination
of the throttle body. Be nice to know some details of what he found.


--
TeGGeR®

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

TeGGeR® wrote:
>
> The IAC valve will set an error only if it stops responding. If the gaskets
> were leaking or the plunger was stuck and not moving in response to the
> motors' commands, a code will not be set.
>

Well that makes sense, thanks!

> A stuck IAC points to either a defective assembly, or severe contamination
> of the throttle body. Be nice to know some details of what he found.

His exact words were, the IAC was "completely flat" and not pulsing
properly. I'm too much of a newbie in this car stuff to have asked the
right questions I guess.

Do you think I should be concerned about the IAC being stuck? The car
has almost 150k miles, this isn't something that usually wears out? You
think this could be an indicator of something more serious?

Thanks!
-Mike

wrote in
oups.com:


<snip>


>
> Do you think I should be concerned about the IAC being stuck? The car
> has almost 150k miles, this isn't something that usually wears out?
> You think this could be an indicator of something more serious?



The IAC is NOT something that normally "wears out".

It is generally either 1) mechanically/electrically defective, or 2) gets
clogged with sludge.

If the former, well, you've just won the reverse lottery. It's highly
unlikely you'll ever see this problem again.

If the latter, you've got much more serious problems than a plugged IAC.

You need to make sure your mechanic confirms the cleanliness of the
throttle body, and the cleanliness of the PCV system. This is so basic and
critical that it's beyond question.

Failure to change the engine oil in accordance with YOUR PERSONAL driving
habits is what causes sludge. Forget the "normal" and "severe" service
schedules in the Owner's Manual: *EVERYBODY* meets the "severe"
requirements, no matter what the automaker marketing departments want you
to believe.



--
TeGGeR®

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

Hmm I'm fairly religious on changing the oil in my car. I've
occasioanlly gone 4k miles, but rarely (the car's at 140k miles and
almost all of them long highway drives commuting, it's had quite a few
oil changes). I'll have a mechanic check the throttle body and PVC
system. The car seems to be running great now, but what would be
symptoms of those being dirty?

I had an ignition switch/ignition coil issue about a two years ago that
caused a long chain of cascade failures.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.a... dfaa26be02bf0

The exact chain of events is a little murky but it was something like
something in the starter system died that fried, my alternator, that
caused my battery to discharge after the dealer replaced the alternator
and battery the engine misfired and stalled quite a bit clogging the
EGR ports and screwing up the catalytic converter. The dealership that
did the repairs (suspisciously) did a bunch of work for free because
they initially just replaced the alternator and battery and told me I
was all set.

Could all of that been a precursor to this issue?

Thanks for the advice, tegger!

-Mike

wrote in
oups.com:

> Hmm I'm fairly religious on changing the oil in my car. I've
> occasioanlly gone 4k miles, but rarely (the car's at 140k miles and
> almost all of them long highway drives commuting, it's had quite a few
> oil changes). I'll have a mechanic check the throttle body and PVC
> system. The car seems to be running great now, but what would be
> symptoms of those being dirty?


Not much noticeable at the beginning, but eventually your throttle will get
stickey, and you'll be burning oil.


>
> I had an ignition switch/ignition coil issue about a two years ago
> that caused a long chain of cascade failures.
>


<snip tale of woe>


>
> Could all of that been a precursor to this issue?


Whoo. I have no way of knowing from where I am. The IAC is unlikely to have
failed because of any of that, unless it was sludged-up, of course.


>
> Thanks for the advice, tegger!
>


Anytime.


--
TeGGeR®

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