Surging from hho gas

[sjrobinson]

So I've pinpointed the issue. I was thrown off cuz it had happened before the HHO but now that I have it fulling functional I am having issues with engine surging when I start up the car and begin to accelerate. I believe its from the HHO. I don't have it too high and the surging only happens upon one acceleration and then goes away as the engine immediately gets used to the HHO. Anyone know how to prevent this?
And on a side note that could very well help as well. Would I flashback valve keep water out of the intake and perhaps limit the amount of HHO that flows into the Air intake when the throttle is not open? Or anyone have any other simple methods that would work? I know a second bubbler might help but I don't have much room to put one in.

[reggaerican]

I have seen people use those moisure separators for air compressors they are under $20 and seem to work great for hho.
in addition to that however the flashback preventer in my oppinion is a must unless your a gambling man and or you just fancy fire...

good luck with that

[Madsceintist]

So I've pinpointed the issue. I was thrown off cuz it had happened before the HHO but now that I have it fulling functional I am having issues with engine surging when I start up the car and begin to accelerate. I believe its from the HHO. I don't have it too high and the surging only happens upon one acceleration and then goes away as the engine immediately gets used to the HHO. Anyone know how to prevent this?
And on a side note that could very well help as well. Would I flashback valve keep water out of the intake and perhaps limit the amount of HHO that flows into the Air intake when the throttle is not open? Or anyone have any other simple methods that would work? I know a second bubbler might help but I don't have much room to put one in.


Check the iac valve for contamination, clean it well with throttle body cleaner with it removed from the vehicle! Make sure you have NO vacuum leaks even through a ported system somewhere.

[sjrobinson]

I'm comfortable not worrying about a flashback with my car. And Ill look into a moisture separator.
Ill also look at the IAC valve. I've been using a lot of throttle cleaner on my car lately...

[sjrobinson]

forgot to mention that there is no check engine light or even a pending issue. I have an ultra gauge monitoring everything and nothing is be triggered nor do my sensors seem to fluctuate when the engine surges

[Madsceintist]

I'm comfortable not worrying about a flashback with my car. And Ill look into a moisture separator.
Ill also look at the IAC valve. I've been using a lot of throttle cleaner on my car lately...


You don't want to just use a lot of carb cleaner or throttle body cleaner in the intake as it can damage your catalytic convertor and cause a melt down in the convertor! Clean the iac after taking it off, then use an old tooth brush and THROTTLE BODY cleaner. Carb cleaner is much more aggressive and will take off the nylon or teflon coating on the butterfly and pintles that are in the motor portion of the iac. Today's cars are much different even in small unknown ways to most, even mechanics! A carb was designed to have fuel running through it and there for it typically didn't have the coatings to seal and smooth out throttle like fuel injected engines do. Some throttle body's and even intakes are made of plastic now which are damaged BADLY by carb cleaner! However throttle body cleaner in appropriate amounts is safe.

NO dealer and most mechanics will not and do not know that lightly cleaning a iac or icm, around every 50,000 miles will keep it working and operational for the life of the vehicle. Or you can replace the iac when it no longer works properly. Not doing so will eventually lead to poor idle, high or low idle, slight misfire, and poorer fuel economy!!! As a part of keeping the iac clean you should change the pcv valve every 50,000 or as recommended. It helps build up oily residue on the iac which helps to collect the deposits that do get on the iac and clog it up inside. A dirty intake is an absolute sign of a dirty iac and pvc valve!

By the way, everyone can benefit from this..............................
A clean throttle body, iac, pvc valve and air filter will reward you with much better gas mileage from the start.!!!

[sjrobinson]

Thanks, I posted another post about this cuz its gotten worse. I will look at the IAC. Now I don't use too much throttle body cleaner- I just mean Ive been doing a lot of work. I cleaned the throttle body and EGR thoroughly as well as the Air intake so I've been working with my air intake system a lot. I'm looking up info on the IAC.

Let me know if this makes sense though:
I think, that since some of the solution from the HHO could have found its way into my air intake (without a check valve or anything present) that it could have gotten into the IAC causing surging and idle problems. Does that seem plausible?

[Madsceintist]

Thanks, I posted another post about this cuz its gotten worse. I will look at the IAC. Now I don't use too much throttle body cleaner- I just mean Ive been doing a lot of work. I cleaned the throttle body and EGR thoroughly as well as the Air intake so I've been working with my air intake system a lot. I'm looking up info on the IAC.

Let me know if this makes sense though:
I think, that since some of the solution from the HHO could have found its way into my air intake (without a check valve or anything present) that it could have gotten into the IAC causing surging and idle problems. Does that seem plausible?
Look for signs of corrosion or sludgy build-up. Or if it has black carbon like residue on it it could be to dirty to return to stop. If the inner shaft of the iac gets build-up on it then it keeps moving it out of the way until the build-up becomes intrusive and causes wear on the shaft and creates a "new" stop.
You cleaned the egr valve, but what about the port? The port from the valve to the intake is what will stop up from the carbon and suet, not so much the valve! Usually right at the tip of the exit of the port inside the intake. Also you want to NOT dip the egr valve or soak it in chemicals as the valve has a thin rubber diaphragm inside that is sealed for vacuum, and that will become damaged by chemicals and possibly be a vacuum leak.

[sjrobinson]

Ill keep checking. 'the behavior is so bad it should be causing a check engine light, but there is none

[Madsceintist]

Ill keep checking. 'the behavior is so bad it should be causing a check engine light, but there is none
Again what car are you working with, and what engine? Year also.
Depending on what car you have you can make a quick test to see if you have a leak out side of a problem with the iac. While running if it will stay running, then unplug(the electrical plug) the iac while its running............... If the surge stops, find the vacuum leak with a doctors stethoscope. Could be around the intake, throttle body, possible accessory some where that's run off of vacuum. May even be a vacuum tube or hose! ALSO depending on the car, if you have adjusted the throttle in any way you could have a computer surge! Which means the computer will try to keep the rpm at one specific range, but because its parameters are out of spec from the tps then the iac is the surge only due to the computers attempt to adjust. In this case you must set the throttle plate screw to factory spec to solve the problem! This is just some possibilities, but I need to know what your driving !?

Just so some of you know... if an engine has been apart and not properly put back together, you could have a vacuum leak inside the intake that is difficult to find! To find this you can, 1: Do a vacuum test. 2: Pull off the oil cap while running to see if you have a vacuum present which will pull a piece of paper to the cover and hold it there. Normal operation of the crankcase ventilation should nor pull or push with any force, this being at idle. Do be cautious however not to pull the engine apart if you think you have an intake leak if you haven't replaced the pcv valve first then repeated the test.