bad idol and stalling out - Honda Prelude Forum

VTluda · 03-19-2005, 12:37 PM

I wil try and post here to get some answers hopefully.

i had my engine (h23A1) replaced a couple of weeks ago. but ever since then i will drive it and after like 5 minutes or so the tach will start jumping while im driving. I am talkin about goin from 2k rpm's to 7K in less than a second. The engine is not revving with the tach. And the ECU is compensating for this irratic jumping and is causing me to almost stall out when driving. Its like i lose all compression. this is very sparatic tho. Which tells me that its probably electrical. Probably a ground wire gone bad somewhere. My CEL will come on too an it says its a knock sensor. But i replaced it. Anyone know what else it could be?

I cant take it back to the shop b/c i was kind of a favor thing.

any help would be appreciated

Chad

Preludegod · 03-20-2005, 02:16 PM

sounds like your distributor is going bad possibly, is there any screeching going on under the hood?

VTluda · 03-20-2005, 07:41 PM

what kind of screeching do you mean?

aneurysm · 03-20-2005, 09:33 PM

had similar problem with my JDM H22A after the install. Took forever to trace down, but it ended up being my TPS (Throttle position sensor). During an engine swap on a 4th gen, its easy to damage this sensor on the back of the throttle body when the motor is pulled out or put into the engine bay. With the motor warm, and running, unplug the electrical harness(3-pin socket) that connects to the TPS and see if it steadys out the idle.

The TPS can be adjusted if you drill out the rivits and install new bolts, or you can buy a replacement on Ebay.

Good luck! Let me know if that fixes it!

Brad

VTluda · 03-21-2005, 07:57 AM

But the problem is when im driving, the tach will jump very irratically, and the engine is not revving up as the tach indicates. But, i will try this and let u kno.

Chad

aneurysm · 03-21-2005, 08:44 AM

ahhhh....ok , I see now. The car idles and drives fine, but your tachometer needle jumps all over the place. My old Accord did that and it ended up needing a new distributor. I think the tach sending unit is built into the distributor which is why the needle doesn't work properly.

Brad

VTluda · 03-21-2005, 10:43 AM

well actually tha car doesnt run fine....the tach jumps up and down.....but the ECU thinks tha engine is revving with it so it compensates for that and i will lose compression while driving. It will cause me to stall out while driving lik 20mph. Could this still be tha distrubutor?

Chad

trident · 03-21-2005, 12:04 PM

This sounds like your ICM (ignition control module). This piece does indeed sit inside your distributor, but you can buy it separately. I had the same problem you did... the tach would jump, and I would lose power. This piece is a bit expensive ($60-$90) but it should solve your problem. If you have a helms manual, you can troubleshoot the item before you buy another one. Unfortunately, because it's sporatic, you may not necessarily get a conclusive diagnosis. Also beware that this is not a part that you can just return after you have installed it (I already ruined that for you at the blacksburg Advance Auto... sorry) Anyway, good luck, oh, and make sure you use the heat conductive lubricant they supply with the ICM. If you don't get any, make sure you buy some. It will prevent the part from overheating.

VTluda · 03-21-2005, 02:00 PM

how sure are you that this is it. B/C i was going to take it to the Honda dealership tomorrow. Or is there a way to check and see if the unit is good or not?

Chad

trident · 03-21-2005, 08:30 PM

If you're taking it to the dealer tomorrow, then don't worry about trying to diagnose it.

VTluda · 03-24-2005, 04:40 PM

ok i didnt have time to take it to the dealership the other day. when i was driving back from class today it acted up really bad and cut out a couple of times. it finally cut out one last time and it will start after a whiel but it really wont start or go far at all. Its on the side of the street right now. So you still think it is the ICM? I need to do somethin with it soon. Let me know b/c if you think its still the ICM i will do it tomorrow. THanks

Chad

VTluda · 03-25-2005, 10:37 AM

TTT

trident · 03-28-2005, 01:52 PM

I am 90% sure it's your ICM, but my lawyers have advised me not to commit to an answer. W/o a helms, it will be difficult for you to diagnose the problem before buying an ICM. It'll cost you more to have honda diagnose than it will for you to just buy the part. So in that regard, just buy it and replace the ICM.

92-h23a1 · 03-29-2005, 06:41 PM

I'm having a problem similar. Although it isn't bad, I'm having this noise come from the distributor it sounds like something wiggling back and forth and a great speed. My idle goes up and down from 500-100. and sometimes It would drop down to 200-300 almost stalling out and go back up to 500. And this all happens sometimes while I'm at a dead stop. Other times, if I drive it too long and I turn it off, and try to turn it back on in like a 1 minute, it would stall out. Eventually turn back on after a few minutes. And I noticed, after I've driven the car for a good amount of time so that the engine warms up fully, I feel a loss in power. Could this be the same problem?

aneurysm · 03-29-2005, 08:06 PM

wow....thats sounds like something else. I would recommend taking it to a dealer or a Honda specialist.

brad

VTluda · 04-08-2005, 09:51 AM

ok guys.....i replaced the distributor but i didnt get to drive it because when its idoling and i give it some gas its lik it has a rev limiter on it or something, its not revving like it should. All the plugs when in the right place and everything. DId i do something wrong?

Chad

VTluda · 04-09-2005, 08:21 AM

Anyone?

aneurysm · 04-09-2005, 09:42 AM

did you set the timing once you installed the new dist.? You have to use a timing light to get it dialed in correctly.

Seriously though, you've got some major issues with this car, and I would really recommend you take it somewhere to have a professional look at it. Unless you are VERY familiar on how the motor works then you might be pissing away money on parts that are not needed. A good mechanic, while they incur labor costs, will prevent unnecessary parts purchases.

brad