1988 honda accord

Replacing the carburetor, especially with one that is not exactly the same, is likely to be the beginning of a journey into darkness. My first thought is for the automatic choke not "pulling off." Remove the intake so you can look into the top of the carburetor when the engine is cold, and you will see a "butterfly" plate right at the top of the carburetor throat - that's the choke plate. It should be only a little open when cold and completely open when warm. If it isn't open when warm you have a good place to start. You can use carburetor cleaner to clean the choke mechanism and to ensure the idle passage isn't getting clogged but otherwise this doesn't sound like carb problems.

A visual inspection of the vacuum hoses is not a bad idea. They often crack right at the ends where they connect to the nipples and the top suspects are the ones that go to the intake manifold or the base of the carburetor.

You suggest a vacuum line may be in the wrong place. Did this problem start after something had been done to the car?

Mike

In addition to Mike's comments about swapping the carb (there are at least two models commonly used in the 3rd-gen Accords), I'd point out that it is NOT an easy task - in addition to the multitude of vacuum hoses involved, there are a lot of linkages and ancillary components (vacuum diaphragms, the choke heater, etc.) that all have to come off in the right order or you'll be fighting it forever... nevermind putting them back on again afterward.

I'd say the stuck-choke diagnosis is a good possibility based on it running fine while cold... it could also be a vacuum leak in a hose or diaphragm that's only active once warmed up.

A vacuum leak, however, is much more common, as hoses dry out and crack over the years (and remember this car is almost 20 years old!) A vacuum leak means too much air is getting pulled into the intake manifold, which causes the engine to run lean... the choke, on the other hand, closes off the carb's air intake and boosts the throttle while the engine is cold, which of course will counteract the vacuum leak to some degree. When you rev it up after it's warm, that too feeds more gas in, so counteracting the vacuum leak to a degree.

I have JPGs of vacuum diagrams for various 3gee Accords here... you'll have to determine which is relevant to your car:

problems with my car. It seems to run good in the

When I bought the car it idled high around 2000rpm. I noticed when you lefted up on the trottle it would idle down so I adjusted the trottle cable. About a month later, it was pretty hot outside and I drove it from school to the house and about 30 minutes later jumped in it to go to the store and it die at the stop sign and has done it ever since. I checked the choke and it seems to be working fine. It was not completely closed when it was cold and when the car warmed up it was all the way open. Any more Ideas. I noticed also today that the throttle cable was pretty sloppy so I adjusted it and I must have adjusted it to much, it reved up and held at 4500rpm. I readjusted it and noticed that when you pulled up on the trottle that it idealed down again.??? It has got me stumped. I was leaning toward the map sensor maybe?? Let me know what you think.

Cody

car:

Matt

Thanks for the JPGs of the vacuum diagrams. Helped out Looks like all the vacuum lines are were they need to go. I replyed back to Mike with this see what you think. When I bought the car it idled high around 2000rpm. I noticed when you lefted up on the trottle it would idle down so I adjusted the trottle cable. About a month later, it was pretty hot outside and I drove it from school to the house and about 30 minutes later jumped in it to go to the store and it die at the stop sign and has done it ever since. I checked the choke and it seems to be working fine. It was not completely closed when it was cold and when the car warmed up it was all the way open. Any more Ideas. I noticed also today that the throttle cable was pretty sloppy so I adjusted it and I must have adjusted it to much, it reved up and held at 4500rpm. I readjusted it and noticed that when you pulled up on the trottle that it idealed down again.??? It has got me stumped. I was leaning toward the map sensor maybe?? Let me know what you think.

Cody

That problem with the throttle is pretty specific to the throttle hanging up, all right. You can try lubricating the throttle cable with graphite. I like Lock-Ease (sp?), which is graphite in a kerosene type carrier. FWIW, I haven't had a lot of success lubricating throttle cables. Maybe they have worn inside to the extent that lubrication isn't enough. You may have to replace it. We all love working on various pedals

First of all, the carbed versions don't have a MAP sensor (that I've ever seen, anyway... they also typically don't have O2 sensors, although there are exceptions).

I'd check for the cable sticking, make sure it's not getting frayed anywhere, for that issue.

As for the stalling, if you've confirmed the choke is okay, then I'd suspect a vacuum leak. You can often just listen for it (a sucking or whistling sound), but if the leak is in a vacuum diaphragm (as happened with my car once) it may be inaudible. One way to test for this is to

*gently* pinch off the vacuum lines one at a time (ie. pinch one, if that has no effect, release it, and go on to the next), starting where each one connects to the carb body or intake manifold, and see if the idle smooths out. If you find one that affects it, then you can follow it outward, and repeat the pinching after any branch points, until you find the segment that's leaking.