Engine problem. Help please

Im hoping maybe one of you knowledgeable people can help me out with this.

About a week ago my car started giving me some minor problems at idle. It started out whenever I would idle that it sounded and felt like my car rpms kept climbing and dropping. Now a week later I can't take my foot off of the gas without the car stuttering and the a/c goes warm until I start driving again and have no problems.

Also it makes a constant clicking sound if I let off the gas like something is turning off and on in my engine compartment.

Sorry I can't explain the symptoms better but I hope you guys can help me out before a mechanic tries to blindly rape my wallet.:bloated:

Any help would be defianately appreciated.

By the way it's a 1993 civic dx 5 speed.

when was the last time you did a tune up, like a new fuel filter and fuel injection cleaner. if it idles funny then maybe you got a vacuum leak.

i say try and get a new fuel filter and injection cleaner. if that doesnt solve your problem then maybe you got a vacuum leak. are you getting any codes ?

Originally posted by civickiller
when was the last time you did a tune up, like a new fuel filter and fuel injection cleaner. if it idles funny then maybe you got a vacuum leak.

i say try and get a new fuel filter and injection cleaner. if that doesnt solve your problem then maybe you got a vacuum leak. are you getting any codes ?

Actually in the time i've owned my car it hasn't had a tune up. I've only replaced the air filter and plug wires.

So if I get a tuneup they will do the injection cleaner and fuel filter? Or should I ask specifically for those.

you can buy injection cleaner at walmart or any auto parts store and just put it in the gas tank next time you fill up. a fuel filter is easy to replace if you have basic hand tools.

idk about paying for a tuneup, idk what they do cause i never took my car to a shop before.

do you know how to work on cars ?

Considering you have never had a tune up since you owned the car here is a list of things you should do (and things that a shop will do, assuming they know what they are doing):
Change Oil/Filter
Change Plugs/Wires/Cap/Rotor
Change Air Filter
Flush Coolant
Check gearbox oil and top off if needed
Replace Fuel Filter
Rotate Tires
Check brake wear
and some other things that you really don't need to do like checking tire pressure and alignment.

Originally posted by civickiller



do you know how to work on cars ?


Except for minor stuff like air filter and oil changes no I do not. I really wish I did though.

The problem seems to be getting worse to, it's gotten to a point where I can't even take my foot off the gas without it "stuttering". What I can't understand is if it's a bad fuel filter then how come I really only have problems when Im idleing?

Originally posted by higgimonster
Considering you have never had a tune up since you owned the car here is a list of things you should do (and things that a shop will do, assuming they know what they are doing):
Change Oil/Filter
Change Plugs/Wires/Cap/Rotor
Change Air Filter
Flush Coolant
Check gearbox oil and top off if needed
Replace Fuel Filter
Rotate Tires
Check brake wear
and some other things that you really don't need to do like checking tire pressure and alignment.

I change my oil and oil filter myself so I don't need that done.
The accel wires are only maybe a year old but the plugs/cap and rotor have not been changed.
The air filter was changed about 6 months ago. It's a K&N so maybe I might need to recharge it.
I know the coolant needs to be flushed cause it is looking baaaad.
As for the rest I do need to do that stuff.


What do you charge? lol:D

i would also check to make sure that your A/C compressor hasnt siezed. i say this because you said that it gets warm when you idle, and it would cause the problem you are talking about. at idle, the compressor would try to slow the engine down, but the car knows enough to stay running, so it ups the revs. it also knows that ideal idle is around 650, so it wants to return to that, but in doing so the engine loses a lot of power and almost dies again because of the A/C compressor, and the cycle starts all over again. doing the tune-up is also a good idea too.

Originally posted by higgimonster
Considering you have never had a tune up since you owned the car here is a list of things you should do (and things that a shop will do, assuming they know what they are doing):
Change Oil/Filter
Change Plugs/Wires/Cap/Rotor
Change Air Filter
Flush Coolant
Check gearbox oil and top off if needed
Replace Fuel Filter
Rotate Tires
Check brake wear
and some other things that you really don't need to do like checking tire pressure and alignment.
listen to higgi he knows what he's talking about, plus he keeps beating me to the punch in the tech forums....you bastard you :D

first i would use injection cleaner. when you have dirty injectors it causes hesitations. and i also think it might be your fuel filter because when your idiling there is not as much pressure in the fuel line so with a clogged fuel filter, gas wouldnt get through as much unless you were pushing the gas causing pressure and forcing gas through. does this make sense ?

Originally posted by b16a3sol
i would also check to make sure that your A/C compressor hasnt siezed. i say this because you said that it gets warm when you idle, and it would cause the problem you are talking about. at idle, the compressor would try to slow the engine down, but the car knows enough to stay running, so it ups the revs. it also knows that ideal idle is around 650, so it wants to return to that, but in doing so the engine loses a lot of power and almost dies again because of the A/C compressor, and the cycle starts all over again. doing the tune-up is also a good idea too.

Me and my bro decided to start my car up and pop the hood to see what we could hear.

Whenever I turn my A/C on my rpm's drop from around 1k to about half way between 0 and 1k rpms. When we give it some gas and let go there is a clicking sound in the engine compartment. Sometimes it clicks on and off 3 or 4 times and the engine stutters.

the motor should drop revs when the a/c turns on just because there is a new load that the computer didnt know of ahead of time. it shouldnt almost kill the engine though. take a look at another honda and see how much it drops when the a/c is turned on to compare it to yours. i dont think the tune-up is going to fix a problem that big, unless its never received one in the life of the car. if it doesnt fix it, have the compressor looked at, along with anything else that might cause the problems you describe.

you guys all say look at the ac but i say look at a power loss somewhere. the ac draws power fromt eh motor and if the motor, not the ac, is running shitty then when you turn on the ac, it will almost stutter and die. i think the ac is just bringing out the problem. the engine it self is running shitty and whne you turn the ac and it starts to draw power but since the engine is already lacking power it almost dies

i still say injection cleaner and fuel filter, if thats not it then i say vacuum leak. even if the fuel filter is not the problem, since you havent changed in a long time i woudl just get one anyways

Originally posted by hybridsol

listen to higgi he knows what he's talking about, plus he keeps beating me to the punch in the tech forums....you bastard you :D

lol
well when you have a job like mine you would find a lot of extra time to just sit and wait for the unsuspecting tech thread to start. (I sit in front of a computer and do BS data entry for about 2 hours the remaining 6 i spend 'surfing the net').

And i agree complete with civickiller

might want to check the IACV, if there is a problem with it then its not activating when u turn on ur a/c. The IACV lets u idle a bit higher when u turn it on so ur a/c compressor can suck the amount of air needed from the intake manifold to the compressor. If it fails to do so the compressor will try to still intake the amount of air needed but on idle there isnt any extra air being added so it draws away from ur cars idling air controle. When u do start to drive more air is sucked in so it is supplied with enough air to accomodate both engine and compressor. The IACV is located behind ur intake manifold a little the right, it is bolted onto it and sticks out with a black cylinder on it. Not sure how much it will cost for a new one but that sounds like the problem, the valve trying to open and it might be shorted out thus causing a clicking sound..... there is ur answer... happy posting...

Originally posted by civickiller
you guys all say look at the ac but i say look at a power loss somewhere. the ac draws power fromt eh motor and if the motor, not the ac, is running shitty then when you turn on the ac, it will almost stutter and die. i think the ac is just bringing out the problem. the engine it self is running shitty and whne you turn the ac and it starts to draw power but since the engine is already lacking power it almost dies

i still say injection cleaner and fuel filter, if thats not it then i say vacuum leak. even if the fuel filter is not the problem, since you havent changed in a long time i woudl just get one anyways

I disagree here...I would think it IS the A/C...Mainly because he says he here's a clicking. Everyone is skipping over that detail. I don't know about you guys, but in my car, the A/C makes an audible clicking noise as is starts spinning. If something were wrong with his AC causing it to start and stop spinning continually, it could throw off the revs in some way...I don't really know, just throwing a guess out there...

It couldnt be in your compressor cause if it tried to start and couldnt, your IACV wouldnt open(thus causing a lower rpm cause the a/c is not working properly. So it is ur aicv. If it were in the injector there would be no clicking noises, and turning on the a/c would have nothing to do with a low idle fuel injector problem...

Originally posted by civickiller


i still say injection cleaner and fuel filter, if thats not it then i say vacuum leak. even if the fuel filter is not the problem, since you havent changed in a long time i woudl just get one anyways

Yeah I defianately will get the fuel filter changed if not a whole tuneup.



Also thanks to everyone who has posted to help me out. Im taking my car into be looked at next week so hopefully they will be at least partially competent. If not I'll just tell them to talk to you guys.:D

fuel filter and injectors, these are way off. First thing to determine or trouble shoot a problem is determine air, fuel, ignition, pressure... fuel is there only when a/c is turned on has nothing to do with fuel system...

check you idle air controll valve. it is designed to boost your idle when the car is under a load such as you a/c

i say tune up, tune up, tune up
even if it doesn't fix the problem it will still help and will avoid future problems, hell right now my car is making metal pinging noises, haha fuck honda