where to retrieve eng codes

[bengal]

Hello Honda people, please help me. My mother is 91 years old ( still very sharp ) and she says if I cannot get her 89 prelude to work correcly she will quit driving!! I will post my problems one at a time. Be assured that I have researched extensivley- to no avail.
First, the check eng. light is on and I CANNOT locate the connection to check the codes. ( the connection you complete with a paper clip )
The haynes manual says that it is behind the pass. side kick panel. If it's there , I must be blind.
this is a 1989 prelude. any help is greatly appreciated BENGAL

[spiffyguido]

You won't need a paper clip to check the codes.

The ECU itself has a light on it that will read the codes out to you. To find the ECU, lift the carpet in the passenger side footwell. Below it you will see a metal plate beneath which the ECU is located. There is a window to see the flashing light. Use this to capture the code.

[bengal]

Thank you very much sir, actually the haynes book say's " 88 AND 90 " NOT 88 thru 90....
Im getting 6 flashes indicating the ECT, I have been messing with the wiring there.. Now I need to know how to cancel
the codes, or will they just go away when the problem is fixed?? Thanks again BENGAL

[spiffyguido]

Sometimes they clear on their own.

For more serious ones, pull the fuse marked ECU or Clock in the fusebox under the hood next to the battery. This will completely reset the entire car. I believe you have to pull it out for a minute. It's a 15 amp fuse, I think.

[bengal]

Originally I took the car to the repair shop for a poor hot start and battery drain problem.
They told me the wiring was bad in a couple of places ( discoverd later to be the temp sensor and whatever is next to it )
so they " repaired " the wiring, charged us $100.00 and figured all was good ( the engine light did go out ).
The car sat for a few days and when I drove it the same problem re-occured ( hot start ).. Doing some research I discoverd that
If I were to disconnect the ECT it should start right up. Well, when I went to unplug the wire I discoverd that the shop had more or less hard wired it
so I had to rewire so as to make a removable connection.
NOW I don't know which wire is designated to which post.... Or if it really matters??? Sorry for long post! BENGAL
I just want to make sure everything is correct before a buy a new ECT - coolant sensor -

[spiffyguido]

You'll have to check the wiring diagrams in the manual section listed at the top of this page to get the wire color...I can't recall it off hand. There will be a correct way to wire the unit up.

If you get everything back together and things still don't work, buy a new ECT sensor. I've had several of them go bad, and they do wear out over time by design. When they wear out, the problem is always the same. Can't hot start the car, and if you do manage to get it started, it runs super rich and wants to die any time near idle.

[bengal]

The wiring diagram does not suggest which post is which......... I am thinking it does not matter as the juice just flows accross it to grnd.
If you are convinced it matters..... I shall go to the junk yard to se what I can discover. Thanks......... BENGAL

[spiffyguido]

It may matter, but I'm not sure. The reason I say that is that I believe that sensor works by measuring the resistance across the boundary of a special material that is embedded inside the sensor. This is why they slowly wear out. As long as the resistance reading is consistent even if the circuit is run backwards, you should be fine, but I'm not sure. Either way, they're an easy fine at the wrecker. That's how I've found all the ones I've stuck in my car.

[bengal]

Got her runnin good now, went to the yard but found no preludes but there were others of about the same year and I took
the wiring ends off and rewired my car. unfortunetly the wire was off different colors so I still have no clue as to i'm wired correctly or not but anyway, no more check eng. and is rumming well. AS it turns out, the wiring done at the shop failed!!! hopfully this was the cause off my battery drain problem.
NOW, I do not have an owners manual and am wonedring what the S3 snf S4 signfy on the automatic trans?? n THANKS!!!!!!! bENGAL

[spiffyguido]

S3 and S4 are the electronic overdrive feature on the car. I believe (though not positive) that it works this way:

-S-system off: Normal cruising mode, engine will shift at lower revs. Quieter.
-S3: Sport mode, 3 gears only. Harder shifts, and engine revs higher before shifting. Us this for passing and descending hills, etc.
-S4: Sport mode, all 4 gears. Same as S3, except 4th gear is also used.

[bengal]

Can't thank you enough, you have been a HUGE help to me!! BENGAL

[Crash_Control]

If you are looking for owners manuals you can find em here as a pdf.
https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/RJA ... MANUAL.asp

[kytarheel71]

What exactly are u meaning can't hot start the car, if i'm reading you guys right i think I may have the same problem.

[bengal]

Simply put, once the engine is warmed up and you have shut the car off It does not want to to restart while the engine is still warm ( or hot ).
If the coolant temp sensor is bad it is giving false info to the fuel injection system- resulting in a no start.
Or if the main relay is bad it to can cause a no start situation also. Beng

What exactly are u meaning can't hot start the car, if i'm reading you guys right i think I may have the same problem.

[kytarheel71]

I believe I have the same problem on my 87si. I just got it running for the first time this past weekend so i am just now starting to figure out some of the other things wrong with it. I have noticed that after driving for a while and the engine temp get hotter , if i shut it off and go back,say 5 -10 minutes later, it is very difficult to start. Sometimes have to crank it several times before it turns over, yet when it is cold, it starts right up. Does this sound like what you all have talking about.