2003 Honda Accord stalling

HNKENNEY09

MEMBER
2003 HONDA ACCORD

Every morning I wait a few minutes idling so that my car can warm up since it seems to have trouble in the cold weather. Usually after if I put the car in drive and let the car go, even if I am breaking or not and the car is warmed up it still stalls like a stick shift and causes me to shut my car off and then restart it. Does this sound like a battery problem? My car passes smog every year, it has its oil changed every 3000 miles and there has never been any lights that have shown me that it should be taken in.

Saturday, November 27th, 2010 AT 2:44 AM

3 Replies

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

What is the idling speed ater warming up? If the idling speed is too low, it can cause the problem described. Cleaning the throttle body and IAC would usually solve the problem.

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Saturday, November 27th, 2010 AT 11:53 AM

HNKENNEY09

MEMBER
2 POSTS

The idling speed ater does not seem to warm up unitl after the car is in full motion; for instance at 10 mph after letting it sit and warm up, the car idling ater is not above the c until I reach up to 20mph and then it starts rising. At 10mph or below it usually stalls. If the throttle body and IAC do need to be cleaned, is it instructions that I can have a trusted friend follow, or best to have an expert/mechanic?

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Saturday, November 27th, 2010 AT 8:29 PM

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

Temperature gauge would take more than 5 minutes to register normal operating temperature on cold days.

Sorry for the typo error. It should read as "idling speed after"

Idling speed means the engine rpm and not the temperature gauge. It should be more than 1500rpm during cold start and slowly lowers to normal idling speed of between 700-800 rpm.

A simple cleaning of the throttle body is easily done but a complete one would require the throttle body to be removed.

Start with a simple cleaning of the throttle body.
Note : Keep ignition turned OFF during process.

Get a can of carb cleaner.
Remove the Air cleaner and air intake hose from the throttle body.
Spray carb cleaner into the throttle body.
Manually push the throttle plate open and use a used toothbrush to scrub the area surrounding the throttle plate when closed.
Use a rag to wipe off when necessary.
Repeat until the interior is clean.
Reinstall air intake hose and cleaner.
Ensure any wire harness that had been disconnected is reconnected securely.

Engine might require a longer cranking time due t the presence of carb cleaner and might stall. Don't worry about that. After engine statrs, it might need a little running time to stabilises.

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