New here so don't bust my ***** with dumb stuff. Have had Hondas since the early 90's and have a problem with my '95 Honda Civic Hatchback. Everything is stock, has new timing belt, water pump, distributor cap, wires, rotor, and plugs. Approximately 150'000 miles with a manual transmission. Car runs great but has 2 problems i can not track down. First being that I can drive the car, and after about 25 miles and I slow down, the CEL light comes on. No symptoms of anything wrong, car runs great, no overheating or anything. If I turn the ignition off, the CEL is gone and won't come back on unless car is parked and completely cools down. The second problem is a surge in the idle, not a miss. Seems when the weather is warm and I come to redlight, the car may surge once or twice, and idle smooths out. But in the colder weather, I can sit at a light and it will surge until I turn the car off and restart it. I have changed the Intake Air sensor but to no avail. Would like some help from some of you fine Honda people.

Thanks, all advice is welcome and useful.

 

Have you cleaned your Idle Air Control Valve (IACV)? It's very simple and will probably fix your idle surge. DIY here: https://www.hondacivicforum.com/foru...ad.php?t=62836

 

First thing is whenever the CEL comes on, you can read out the code to get some clue what the problem might be. Unsteady idling may be related to that problem, or it could be the IACV is sticky and needs cleaning. If the idle is too fast the CEL may eventually come on with the IACV code.

 

both posts' so far reference IAC valve, took it off and it was filthy, cleaned screen, tested solenoid and now waiting for car to warm up and try it. Will let you know how it works out, and thanks again for quick reply. I love the car, but think my next Honda will be an OBD2.

 

it appears both of you were right on the money, took out the IAC valve, cleaned the filthy screen, tested solenoid, and took it for a 25 mile ride. It is like a new car, have put up with this on and off for 2 years. Now I just might keep it

Thanks

 

Glad to have helped. Be sure to take it to Autozone or Advance and have them see if there is still a Check Engine Light code stored. If so, have them clear the code (and let us know what it was to be sure).

If you have any more problems, stop back by. We'll be glad to help.

 

Drove car 50 miles to and from work last night, no problems and slight burp with idle for a second that went away. No CEL light. Will take off IAC valve again and take it apart for a better cleaning. It was horrible and you couldn't even tell there was a screen in it. Could be still a bit dirty or sticking. Hard to get CEL codes, nobody has a code reader (any help in getting one?) And the garage I go to sometimes said only one of his techs is any good with OBD1 stuff. You guys are great and helped a lot. Thanks again. If you are ever in Baltimore, the beer is on me

 

OBDII readers are commercially available at many auto parts stores like Autozone and Advance. They can be costly though. You could try ebay if you wanted one for yourself, but most major auto care chains will check a code for free.

 

An OBDII code reader is useless for an OBDI Civic, where CEL codes are pulled by jumping the service connector. Click link in my signature. Auto parts stores generally cannot or will not pull OBDI codes.

 

^Sorry, for some reason I thought it was an EK. I was on all 3 of my forums at once.