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    two little engine problems

    Problem one , it sometimes will act as if the idle it set to low when i put it in drive and the rpms go way down for a second. otherwise drives totally fine and only sometimes happens.

    If i didn't know any better I would say the idle is set to low but I know they are spose to idle around 600 ish.

    Problem two , my oil light yesterday flickered for a brief second at least twice. It wasn't on solid , or flashing consistently. It just flickered. It's never happend before. I checked the dipstick and it has oil in it.

    #2
    I'm paranoid about oil lights flickering. Low oil pressure is one of the fastest ways to destroy an engine.

    I do give a bit of allowance if the light flickers only at idle. The oil pump is spinning slower at idle and the engine can tolerate a bit of low oil pressure at idle. But if it is flickering at all at any other time, I would park the vehicle until the problem is identified.

    Most people probably don't agree with me. And you likely can drive it without creating a problem. But you've gotta ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?"

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      #3
      Originally posted by wagon-r View Post
      But you've gotta ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?"
      no but i do have two spare engines

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        #4
        Sometimes it is just the oil pressure switch that is bad. Best thing to do is to actually check the oil pressure; a lot easier to do than changing the engine.
        90 LX 4dr 5 spd 396,014 (sold 1/1/2022) - MRT: http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=201450
        08 Element LX FWD AT 229,000 - MRT: fleetw00d : 2008 Honda Element LX - CB7Tuner Forums

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          #5
          Any ideas on the idle issue because i'm thinking of just setting it higher to bandaid the problem

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            #6
            Originally posted by emosun View Post
            Problem one , it sometimes will act as if the idle it set to low when i put it in drive and the rpms go way down for a second. otherwise drives totally fine and only sometimes happens.

            If i didn't know any better I would say the idle is set to low but I know they are spose to idle around 600 ish.

            Problem two , my oil light yesterday flickered for a brief second at least twice. It wasn't on solid , or flashing consistently. It just flickered. It's never happend before. I checked the dipstick and it has oil in it.
            Of the top of my head idle should be 700rpm + or - 50. If your idle is 600 rpm then this means two things:

            1) The 'base' idle speed is set too low.
            2) The IACV is not working.

            Note that I don't mean one of two things, but both of two things.

            Base idle speed is set with the blue 'diagnostic' connector (under the dash, in the footwell) 'shorted out' with a piece of wire, and actually adjusted with the large slot headed 'plug' on the throttle body. Turn this anti-clockwise to increase idle speed, clockwise to decrease it. After base idle has been set, remove the wire so that the ECU can adjust idle speed if needed (which it will assuming the IACV is working).

            The IACV may be faulty, or it may just need to be cleaned (two screens inside the valve, easily seen with the IACV removed). The IACV should allow the ECU to increase idle to spec whenever it falls below spec (for whatever reason).

            Oil pressure at idle will be quite low when the oil is hot. If your idle speed is too low then the pressure could fall below the pressure at which the pressure warning light triggers. Your pressure warning light may or may not be indicating an actual problem with oil pressure.
            Regards from Oz,
            John.

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              #7
              ok i tightened the plastic thing down and that has made it start much smoother , however the car now has a cough or a miss kind of sound , any ideas?

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                #8
                Ok the engine coughing is getting worse and my oil light came on an started flashing. I stopped the car and turned it off and the dipstick had no oil but then I turned the car back on and it has oil and the lihgt is off. Any ideas guys?

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by emosun View Post
                  ok i tightened the plastic thing down and that has made it start much smoother
                  Describing something as "the plastic thing" is not any sort of help. You're going to need to be much more specific...
                  Regards from Oz,
                  John.

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                    #10
                    I dont really know what its called but its plastic an you use a flathead to tighten it down and its on top of the engine. That being said the plastic thing seems to be working but now the egine has like a miss every 10 or so seconds and the oil light is losing its mind

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by emosun View Post
                      and the oil light is losing its mind
                      You should get the actual oil pressure checked.
                      Regards from Oz,
                      John.

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                        #12
                        ok i figured out the oil light would come on when i go around corners , and that the dipstick would collect oil in the dipstick tube making it appear to be full. So i added more oil and it seems to have stopped it.

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                          #13
                          Park on level ground, pull dipstick and clean, re-insert then check the fluid level. You should never go by whats on it when you first pull it out...

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                            #14
                            Originally posted by emosun View Post
                            ok i figured out the oil light would come on when i go around corners , and that the dipstick would collect oil in the dipstick tube making it appear to be full. So i added more oil and it seems to have stopped it.
                            As wildBill says, it's obvious that you are checking the level incorrectly. Further, the dipstick will always be oily from the oil that is flung around inside the crankcase (even if the level is low), which will give a poor indication of the actual level. So, you need to first wipe any oil from the dipstick before re-inserting it into the engine.

                            While we're at this basic level and there at least seems to be some misconception of how to do it, I'll just mention that the engine needs to have been turned off for at least a short while before checking the oil level...
                            Regards from Oz,
                            John.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by johnl View Post
                              So, you need to first wipe any oil from the dipstick before re-inserting it into the engine.
                              I'm not stupid. I know to do that already. In fact at no point did I say "I'm a moron who has never checked the oil before"

                              The dipstick is collecting oil in the tube when it's reinserted , meaning i don't even have to insert the dipstick in all the way before it collects enough oil to appear as though it's full. it's just scraping oil off the sidewall of the tube

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