FAQ Got a blinking light? Need to pull a code? Is your car smoking? Read this

[Igovert500]

If you have a problem with your Accord, please read through the following and do a bit of researching yourself prior to posting. This saves us from answering the same questions over and over again every week, and it saves you the time of waiting for someone else to reply.

First things first, USE THE SEARCH BUTTON!!! It will get you information FAST. Way too often people post a question that they could have found the answer for themselves if they had spent 15 seconds searching. So please use the Search Button (located at the top right of the screen, next to the ‘new thread’ button).

Now the first thing to look for if you have or believe you have a problem with your car is a CEL (a check engine light). Believe it or not, this light serves a purpose other than looking pretty. When it illuminates that is your car’s way of telling you something is wrong. When a CEL is thrown, a troubleshooting code is recorded by your ECU (car’s computer). This code is specific to the problem that the car has, and is saved for you to retrieve.

If you have an OBDII plug (any 96+, and 95 V6s) most Autozones have a service where they will plug in a scanner to your ECU and retrieve the codes for free. If you don’t have this service available at your local Autozone, or you don’t have a local Autozone, or you have a pre-96 car, you will need to pull the code yourself. (You can take it to a dealership to have them pull the codes, but personally, I can think of a thousand better ways to spend $70/hour).

To learn how to pull your own codes, go here and read everything:
http://www.hondapitstop.com/accord/t...ror_codes.html

If for some reason that isn’t sufficient for you, you may want to look at this:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...em+malfunction

Now you should have a code…and you probably want to know what the code means, so check out these pages. Between these 4 pages you will DEFINANTLY find your code and what part of the car it refers to.


http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...em+malfunction

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...em+malfunction

http://www.hondaswap.com/forums/inde...howtopic=29806

http://www.hondata.com/techecucodes.html


With this information, you can run an intelligent search. When posting a question, PLEASE post everything you know, post your error codes, post your car’s year, auto or manual transmission, and the symptoms…once again, this helps us help you!

SMOKE:
An issue regarding smoke: If your car is smoking, please check what color the smoke is: blue, white or black?
Black smoke from the tailpipes would be unburnt fuel, you are running rich. Your fuel injection, carburetor, or emission system maybe malfunctioning, you may have a clog in your intake system, faulty o2 sensors, ignition timing off, etc.

Blue smoke is oil getting burnt, if coming from your exhaust, it is probably leaking into the cylinders. If you are over 100,000 miles, it is probably from worn valve seals or worn piston rings.

White smoke is typically coolant being burned, which means a cracked block or cylinder head, or a leaking head gasket. Don’t jump to conclusions though…In the morning, if it is cold, a car will cause more steam because of the condensation in the exhaust. This can appear to be white smoke, but if it is greatly reduced when the car reaches warmer operating temperatures, then it is probably just condensation. So don’t panic, just because you are sitting at a red light at 7am, and notice white steam coming from behind your car.


Recently, I’ve noticed 3 common problems that seem to come up every so often and there is a bit of confusion and mis-information around regarding these, so I’ll post something on them.

The flashing ‘S’ light:
Some Automatic Accords (90-93) came with what in my opinion is a pointless feature: The sport shifting mode. There is a button on the shifter for sport shift. The idea behind it is that when activated it will prolong the shifts, and get the rpms higher, so when it does shift, it is higher in the powerband...fine in theory, but after multiple trips to the track, I can tell you this feature made no difference, ON or OFF. Switching this feature on, causes a green ‘S’ light to illuminate on the dash.

However, some of you may have experienced this light or the ‘d4’ light flashing, regardless of your sport shift being turned on or off. This is caused by 2 things, both cause similar symptoms, so make sure you diagnose the problem correctly the first time. The VSS (vehicle speed sensor) or the TCU/TCM (transmission control unit/module) has or will die soon, and is trying to warn you.

VSS(vehicle speed sensor): Hopefully, you took the advice above and scanned the ECU for codes. If it is your VSS causing the problem, you will get a ‘17’ code. If you didn’t scan it for codes, you will notice problems with your tach, your speedometer, your cruise control, they will work intermittently if at all. If this is the case, check these out:
1990 / 1991 Honda Accord VSS Sensor Code 17 Testing & location

AND
http://www.hondapitstop.com/accord/t...ed_pulser.html

If you buy a new speed sensor from the dealership, expect to pay WAY too much. Most people opt for a used one, either from another board member selling parts from their old Hondas (like I did), or going to a junkyard and getting it for $5-20. At a dealership, it could run well over $100. If you do some searching online, I found some remanufactured ones for ~$50 that came with some sort of warranty, but I’m sorry, I don’t recall the website. Try searching Yahoo, I'm sure you'll find it.


TCU/TCM (tranny control module/unit): Similar symptoms as the VSS, yet this may cause shifting problems, you may lose 4th gear, and you wont have issues with cruise control/speedo/or tachometer. If you do a search for TCU or TCM, you can find quite a bit of info, but basically it is a little electronic box under the kickboard of the passenger seat (where the passenger's feet would be up near the dash) You pull back the carpet, and behind that metal shield there are 2 computer boxes...I forget which is the TCU (I want to say the one on the right, but double check that before you take my word on it). Anyway, the dealership will charge huge amounts of money for a new one. So go to your local junkyard or ask around on here. Typically you can find a used one for $50 or less. It takes 15 minutes for the average person to swap.

EGR(exhaust gas recirculation) for reasons I wont go into, basically environmental-protecting emissions laws, some exhaust gases are recirculated back into the combustion chambers of our cars. Because it is recirculating burnt gas, there is a lot of carbon build up, which can clog the ports. I haven’t personally dealt with this problem, but many others have, and if you do a search in this forum for ‘EGR’ or ‘clogged EGR’ you will find plenty of advice.

Here is a thread that may help:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...highlight=1491

[ampao64]

what does the blinking S on the dash on a 91 accord mean?

[BlackLizard]

Great info here but in all of this I have not been able to see a list of D4 Tranny codes.

I am getting a code 23 any idea of what it is ?