FITV sticking!? replace or fix? LS integra

[max06]

Ive been told that my cold startup 'very rough' and too low idle problem could be due to the FITV 'sticking' at startup. Ive been quoted on a used FITV from a honda wrecker for $100, but does it actually need to be replaced?. Cant it just be cleaned, or something be adjusted. The honda guy said something about z-hoses but i dunno what that is. how would that work. If i can avoid getting a new one I will. Anyone else know anything about this. I saw a thread where a guy cleaned his FITV but im not sure what to do. basically im asking whats the cheapest way to fix my problem. Im not even positive that it is the FITV so i dont wanna spend too much just to find out it wasnt that afterall.

[EuroDude]

Try cleaning the throttle body first, that is one of the major causes of bad idling.

As for the FITV, I dont think B Series even have an FITV. If it does have an FITV, then you can try cleaning the coolant gunk out of it and screw it in all the way see how that goes.

Also clean the black gunk from the IACV screen.


Here is an FITV guide for the D Series engines (Civic/CRX) http://www.emotors.ca/Articles/97.aspx
Here is a Guide for cleaning the IACV http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4693&highlight=IACV

[SKREMN]

pretty shur you only got the IACV on that

clean it all out and the throttle body
if it still doesnt work just rais your idela bit may do the job without makign it too high on warm temps

[max06]

i thought FITV was just the thing that makes the engine idle higher at cold startup? so it warms it up. The LS does that i know for sure but maybe its not the FITV. i just assumed. automatic choke valve or something?. what is it called on my car?

[CRXer]

Im fairly sure ur B18 does have a FITV.

Have a look & see if there is something attached to the bottom of your throttle body with 2 coolant hoses hanging off it.

If there is,pull the intake piping off while the car is cold & see if the lower hole of the 2 holes u see just before the throttle valve is sucking air cleanly & shuts off when it warms up.

I think the FITV's are a little dodgy to service,dont know personally,but it sounds like if u start opening them up,your messing with some factory settings that u might not find again too easily.

EDIT: make sure there is no air bubbles in your coolant as well,can upset the operation.

[EuroDude]

From what ive been told, the B series dont have a classic FITV mechanism found on D Series. Instead, its a different system built into the throttle body or controlled by the ECU or something like that.

max clean the throttle body ftw :thumbsup:

[max06]

throttle body, IACV and FITV have all been cleaned out. The FITV hole was sucking air quite strongly when we opened the throttle body up. So to the best of my knowledge, the FITV is still working and it doesnt need replacing. but i could be wrong. The FITV would normally rev my engine up to 1500. Now at cold startup it will only engage if i rev it up to 1500 myself and hold it for 5 seconds or so. So may still be sticking even though it sucked air quite well. has anyone got any other ideas as to what my problem could be? any help would be much appreciated. All the textbook checks have pretty much been done. i think im just going to have to bite the bullet and take it to honda soon.

[EuroDude]

Did you screw the FITV valve all the way back in and scrape/clean the coolant gunk out?

Have you ever adjusted the throttle idle screw?
If you have (to compensate for another problem such as the FITV), then you should readjust the idle screw back to its original factory position.

But try an ECU reset first so the engine can relearn how to run the engine (remove the BACKUP fuse for a minute)

[max06]

umm. i actually have only had the car for two months and the problem only started after i had my timing belt replaced. The mechanic who did that claims the timing is all perfect so i cant really win with him can I? Anyway so i didnt actually do the FITV myself, a friend whos an apprentice at Honda did it. I'm pretty sure he knew what he was doing with the FITV. But we have not touched the idle screw.. We were going to do that to fix idle being a tiny bit low at normal running temperatures but i dont believe that has anything to do with the cold startup problem. There is also an inconsistency in the exhaust note. It is not completely smooth and its kindve 'skips' or 'jumps' every few seconds. just very slightly at normal idle. When this happens the revs move a little and the exhaust at the back obviously is jumping at the same time. not a big problem, but worth a mention i suppose.

[max06]

PLEASE HELP.well here i am answering my own post once again. please anybody i really need help with this problem. mechanics have not sorted out my problem ive just thrown money out the window. Ive had my IACV replaced and that did sweet F**K all. It has gotten worse once again. First thing in the morning turn the ignition and the car will turn on for a sec then just stall. If i rev it and then stop the revs will just fall straight away until stall. If i rev it for like 2 minutes at around 1500 it will eventually warm up and it will be ok and wont stall anymore. The problem is ONLY when the engine is dead cold. Is my FITV rooted, should i get a new one? its clearly not kicking in when it should be when the engines cold first start. Or is something else possibly causing it to not kick in. Also my car still idles too low sometimes at the lights.. nothing ive done has fixed these problems.

[Mr_will]

. If i rev it and then stop the revs will just fall straight away until stall. If i rev it for like 2 minutes at around 1500 it will eventually warm up and it will be ok and wont stall anymore. The problem is ONLY when the engine is dead cold. Is my FITV rooted, should i get a new one? its clearly not kicking in when it should be when the engines cold first start. Or is something else possibly causing it to not kick in. Also my car still idles too low sometimes at the lights.. nothing ive done has fixed these problems.


ok youve given us a few different stories, previously the car was fine once warm, but now youre saying it also idles rough at the lights. these are several DIFFERENT problems.

as far as the warm idle goes, id be checking throttle position sensor.

take your fitv apart and clean it with throttle body/carb cleaner. also clean your throttle body, to eliminate that.

give that a go and see what happens. itll cost you $10 or less for the cleaner.

[max06]

everythings been cleaned already. Thats the first thigns i got done. Im not too worried about the idle when its warm, its not a big problem. The mechanic mentioned a valve clearance could fix that. All i can think of now is that the FITV is faulty. Sorry i know my story has changed but basically the problem is worse now and i cannot take off until the engine is warm because the revs just plummet to zero.

[JasonGilholme]

Cold idle problem: Sounds like your FITV is rooted. Take it off again and make sure it is thoroughly cleaned out and functioning properly. If it still doesn't work look for a replacement FITV. You should be able to go to a wreckers and pull it off yourself. it'll be much cheaper.

Warm idle problem: i doubt its a valve clearance issue otherwise you'd have the noisiest tappets in the world. You may need to check your spark plugs. possible even check the ECU for codes. I've heard of similiar problems from having a timing belt out by one tooth.....

Good luck pal

jase

[LO_N_SXC]

www.G2IC.com do a search and you will find all you need to know to correct this problem.

[Slow96GSR]

The B-series has an IAC valve on the intake manifold and an Idle screw on the upper front part of the throttle body. See my DIY on the T.B. to see it. Clean both, they can get clogged. As for a FITV I don't have one on my Teg so I don't know where it is and I don't have my manuals at home.

(T.B.) http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50667

and

(FITV) http://www.g2ic.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=44386
or
http://www.team-integra.net/forum/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=7&TopicID=135511

[max06]

i dont know if i mentioned already that the mechanic replaced the IACV. Well i went back today and he actually hasnt replaced this he has replaced the FITV. So i assume the FITV can only work if the IACV is doing its job as well. he now says i will have to replace the IACV and that this will fix my problem... I believe they are almost 500 bucks new but less for second hand. Can someone please tell me where the IACV hole is that sucks the air. i know there is a hole on the left when you open up the throttle body but i could only see one. where is the other and which one is for IACV. I want to test it when its cold by putting my finger on the hole to restrict airflow and if it idles better then thats obviously my problem. Anyone? Also im gonna clean the IACV once more. anything to avoid getting a new one :angel:

[max06]

thanks for the info on the american integra site. its alot more specific but most people actually have high idle problems, not low and stalling like mine is now. So most say that to test the IACV you have to wait until the cars warm but my car works ok when its warm. I will test it then as well but How can i test this when its cold. can i still do the blocking of the hole? which holes should i block? and what should i be looking for or expecting when i do this. how will i know for sure wether i need to replace the IACV. Keeping in mind i need to have someone with their foot on the pedal when its cold to stop it from stalling? I cant post on the american site for a week so thats useless..

[Slow96GSR]

I just did a Yahoo search for FITV and posted the first few that looked good. The IACV will draw outside air from a little hole right before the butterfly valve on the throttle body. Pull the t.b. and use a pipe cleaner to clean this hole, it can get clogged.

[max06]

So i did the test where i blocked the holes in the throttle body. At startup both holes sucked air quite hard and if i blocked them off the car would die. When the engine warmed up the FITV stopped sucking air and the IACV kept going and if i put my finger over the top hole (IACV) the car died. This, i believe is what is supposed to happen. I will try it again tomorrow morning when the engine is stone cold. What i think will happen is when i put my finger over the IACV or FITV hole the car will die as it did before. if it does this, does that mean i dont need to replace it? if the car actually starts better then what does that mean, i have a leak or my IACV is rooted? i really dont wanna buy a new one. Sorry to keep going on about it. im goen crazy over this problem. been over a month now with no results.

[EuroDude]

Tricky one indeed.

I would Adjust the tappets, check for ECU codes, reset the ECU, properly adjust the Idle Screw (just incase someone had turned it previously), replace the thermistat.

Are there temperature sensors in the B18A engine? Maybe a sensor is faulty and fooling the ECU to think the engine is already warmed up.

[CRXer]

Is this car auto or manual?

[max06]

car is manual. umm all that sounds great unfortunately im not very mechanically minded. i hope its not anything electronic like that. I wish it was the IACV so i culd finally end this bs. the mechanic rekons its definitely the IACV. but if it was, wouldnt the car idle better if i blocked off its hole?

[JasonGilholme]

IACV needs to be open to let the engine idle properly once warm, so if you block it it should stall.

the IACV and FITV should both be open on cold start to let the engine idle slightly higher then normal to warm up.

From what your saying it sounds like your IACV/FITV's aren't functioning right and need a descent clean.

[CRXer]

have u tried adjusting your base idle yet?

warm the car up,then stop it.

pull the elec connector off the IACV

restart your car(with all elecs turned off) & see if u can gently back off the throttle & get the car to idle at about 500-600rpm.

if u cant, bump the idle screw up a bit until it does.

then stop the car,reconnect IACV & reset the ecu(pull backup fuse in engine bay box(7.5A i think) for 20 secs).

then see if the car idles normally,check it with elec loads on as well.

It seems like u got the prob right in your thread title,sounds like the FITV is stickin momentarily upon startup,could be air bubbles in your coolant,try bleedin it again.

otherwise could be an intermittent elec fault,but the IACV sounds like its workin properly to me,it only just fine tunes your base idle & FITV idle,it seems like the main prob is just the idle boost off the FITV is missing for 5 secs on cold start,which is quite simply 2 air passages, 2 coolant pipes & a thermo operated valve.

Pull the intake off & see if the FITV sucks instantly when the car is dead cold.

[max06]

hey, thanks for all you info. both IACV and FITV suck air quite hard at cold startup. i will try it again once more with the car dead cold.

[ACTI0NMAN-1]

have you posted the problem on g2ic.com?


http://www.g2ic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42969&highlight=fitv

*help topic by Ben Ogle of 'Ogle Bar' fame.