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I am new to this forum. I love my 2007 Honda Fit. I see two problems and I hope that someone alredy have answers. When I start a cold engine in the morning - it starts and runs well. Then in several minutes I start hearing a rapid clicking nose from the location shown in the photo. The clicking noise is my problem 1 with a photo below. The main problem, #2 is the "misfiring" or pulses likely coming from engine or transmission area and shaking the car, especially when I am waiting at a traffic light.
The engine is still cold. I drive. The car runs great.
Then in 1-3 miles I stop at a cross section, and my main problem ... I sense strong pulses. It feels like misfiring.
However, when I drive at a normal speed ~ 30-60 mi/h - I do not sense these "pulses".
If I park the car with the engine running, and I put my hand next to the exhaust pipe - I feel soft and nice tapping pulses (the way it should be). But sometimes I feel a delay between the pulses and a louder and stronger pulse shaking the car. When I sit in the car I can also hear a high-pitch (small motor?) sounds. I can also hear liquid bubbling sounds which is an old, 2-4 years old issue I was ignoring.
I already changed air filter, spark plugs, oil and oil filter, I flushed automatic transmission and I changed transmission filter.
What is there in the location of my finger in the photo?
The clicking noise from that location would be the solenoid valve for the evap. purge system. Basically it allows fuel vapours from the fuel tank into the engine to be burned. The purge valve sits atop the throttle body, and only operates when the coolant temperature is above a certain threshold, which is why it doesn't happen for the first few minutes of engine run time. The ticking noise is quite similar to the sound of the fuel injectors, and is normal.
Problem #2:
Does the engine idle at a reasonable speed? It should be around 750 RPM. I second Hootie's suggestions on misfire troubleshooting.
Gurgling/bubbling sounds could be from the air conditioning system, so check whether they happen with the AC off. Such sounds can also come from the coolant system, which can have trapped air. I compiled some hints on bleeding air from the coolant system:
Confirm fan operation before proceeding, e.g. by turning the AC on.
Elevate the front of the car (e.g. park on an incline) to help air find its way out.
Turn up the cabin heat so that coolant will circulate through the heater core.
The factory bleed procedure is mostly fine. However, at idle and in cool ambient conditions, the engine can take an hour to warm up to the point where the radiator fan comes on.
Trapped air (especially if you've just replaced the thermostat) can mean that the thermostat doesn't open and the radiator fan won't come on at all, despite the engine temperature rising dramatically! Therefore, monitor the ECT via OBD while testing, and shut off the engine if it exceeds 95 °C. DON'T just wait for the radiator fan to come on. Let it heat soak for a while before trying again.
Be prepared to run a few heat cycles to bleed the air out and allow heat soak into the thermostat (so it gets warm even if the hot engine coolant can't reach it due to air lock).
Rev the engine a bit during the procedure to heat things up faster and to run the water pump faster, in order to help bleed out air and get the coolant everywhere it should go.
For reference, the thermostat specifications are:
82°C (180°F) nominal (marked on the thermostat)
Begins to open: 80-84°C (176-183°F)
Fully open: 95°C (203°F)
The radiator fan thermo-switch specs are:
Turns ON at 91-95°C (196-203°F)
Turns OFF at 3-8°C (5-15°F) below the actual ON temperature