92 VX Rpms High (1000) with Headlights

[Lovemy92vx]

Ok, now I really appreciate you folks. Today was a cool, humid day. I go for a ride before I take her in. I flip the lights on and the idle was Fine. Reeeally?
(ive wondered if the ambient temperature affects the non metal parts in the system make it react differently. I Want that to be a clue. Is it?)
In fact, it was "a bit too low". I sat in the passenger seat while the mechanic watched the idle adjust to the changing loads. It idles "just right" with the AC on high! It shuddered with the headlights On and did Not adjust back up when they were turned off. Confound it.
This poor fellow believed me about 1000rpmsheadlightson. He saw it do it one time thank goodness. And I have video.
He kept repeating the previous adjustment was basically disconnecting the battery and letting the ECU re-learn ($90). I had to say that That was when it went haywire. I had to insist repeatedly that he use an external tach and follow the shop manual procedure. When he disrespected the book with a slight twist of the head, I persisted: "Please! Can we just start from the beginning?"
Going back in the morning. I'm going to read the steps to him and we'll walk through it together.

[California98Civic]

Excellent. Test don't guess. Follow procedure. Method is better than random!

[teoman]

Random idea: could your battery be failing and really be generating a high load on the system?

[Lovemy92vx]

Not so random at all! The guy today said the battery cable was totally loose. He was surprised it started. I had noticed it almost didn’t need to turn over to start.
All this said, I still wonder about the ambient temperature and how it would play into this system. Cool weather is affecting something....
Tomorrow we’ll fill up and hit the road!
I Still want to learn the step by step.
I have a slightly underperforming HX to do too.
By the way, I bought a magnet for Pearl’s back end. It’s a yellow yield sign “banana slug crossing”. I think it’s fitting considering the whopping 96 horse power. ::-)

[Lovemy92vx]

To be specific about what the mechanic did today—discovered the battery cable was untightened, cleaned it replaced, then let the engine run until the ECU re-set itself. They were going to charge me for another hour to finish their previous work properly, agreed to cut the fee in half which I accepted at the time. I guess they’re not my mechanics anymore. Tomorrow I’ll get my money back.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Lovemy92vx

To be specific about what the mechanic did today—discovered the battery cable was untightened, cleaned it replaced, then let the engine run until the ECU re-set itself. They were going to charge me for another hour to finish their previous work properly, agreed to cut the fee in half which I accepted at the time. I guess they’re not my mechanics anymore. Tomorrow I’ll get my money back.

I am not sure, but I am pretty confident an ECU cannot be reset by running it a few minutes. If the battery cable being loose was causing your problem then tightening down the battery cable properly would solve the problem virtually immediately. So I don't think this is going to solve the idling irregularities you're talking about. They don't sound like great mechanics. And they still haven't reset the idle?

[Lovemy92vx]

Nope. And they aren't interested in my business anymore. My expectations were too high. Why is it offensive to ask that a specific procedure be done? I should learn to do it myself like he said (!!!!!) At least I'll get my $155 back to leave them alone.
In the meantime, the idle with the headlights ON appears perfect on the gauge and drops down so the steering wheel vibrates a little.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Lovemy92vx

Nope. And they aren't interested in my business anymore. My expectations were too high. Why is it offensive to ask that a specific procedure be done? I should learn to do it myself like he said (!!!!!) At least I'll get my $155 back to leave them alone.
In the meantime, the idle with the headlights ON appears perfect on the gauge and drops down so the steering wheel vibrates a little.

This is not a super-hard adjustment. Good basic project for learning. You can totally kearn to do it better than they were doing it.

[Lovemy92vx]

Thanks! I'm going to drive it the next two weeks and hope my mpgs improve. I'll report back. If they don't I'll go for it!
Then I'm off to Utah where I finally found a white '94 VX! It runs normally on video and is still I'm told delivering the high mpgs. The compression tests showed basically 150 dry and 180 wet. I hope that's a decent number for another 250k plus engine. It was on car gurus.
I guess that's another thread!