bmwguy

New to Honda ownership and don't have a service manual. Is there an idle adjustment on the Civic motor? The idle drops down a little low and I'd like to bump it up slightly. It never dies, but it gets down low enough to cause vibration. I adjusted the cable that connects to the throttle body, but it didn't seem to make any difference.

Any help is appreciated.

Dan

undrgrndhaqer

the only way to adjust your idle is to adjust the throttle cable. I have a 92 VX with a gsr in it and the way I kept it from bogging out is to adjust the cable. There should be a bracket piece that the cable hooks on to... Well, on the cable there are two adjustable nuts. Just raise or lower them and that will adjust your idle. Easy actually. Just make sure you raise or lower both the nuts that way you can keep the cable tight to the bracket. Let me know if you need any more help. Lates

bmwguy

Thanks undrgrndhaqer, I did that already but maybe I didn't change it enough. It seemed to raise the idle right when I adjusted it, but then it ended up at the same level the next time I drove it.

I'll try it again...

Bakeoff

on the side of the throttle body that faces the passenger side, there is a flat screw that you need to turn to adjust your idle. Do it with the car running until it's at the correct rpm. It should be on a sticker under your hood somewhere.

undrgrndhaqer

The screw helps with how much air is put into the motor. Althought that can help, that will not solve his idling problem. I think the reason it keeps reseting itself is because maybe its not sitting correctly on the bracket. Mine, since I have lots more torque because of the swap, it tends to slide down a bit on the bracket which causes a change in its idle. If I were you, I would get some pliers and tighten those nuts to that bracket so it doesn't move. If that doesnt solve it, check to see if the actual cable is bad. Does it stick? If it does, its probably shreding and needs to be replaced.
Late

SpeedRacerEX-R

Ummmmm, what? The cable has NOTHING to do with the idle unless you're idling too high. Then your cables too tight. Either adjust that screw or check your ignition timing. Does it idle low on cold idle too or just when it's warmed up?

bmwguy

It has a cold start idle that seems fine and the motor runs very good. I did REadjust the timing because it drove like it was retarded too much (just by ear/feel, not with a light). This helped the idle also (duh). I thought there might be an air bleed screw or some other type of idle control otherthan the cable. It just didn't seem right to me.

I need to set the timing to spec before doing anything else. Is it the typical notch on the crank pulley and corresponding marks on the cover? I haven't looked yet. I need to get this car smogged anyway, so the timing is a must. I'm guessing this will take care of the idle problem too.

Thanks for all the great info...

Dan

SpeedRacerEX-R

The red mark on the pulley.

undrgrndhaqer

speed racer..... the cable does have EVERYTHING to do with the idle. Its your throttle cable. If its not set correctly, it can lobe out of rpm and stall. Or, can rev too high in idle and cause problems to the engine.

SpeedRacerEX-R

The throttle cable contols the butterfly in your tb. I can go out and take the cable completely off and my car will still idle fine.