chaparrazo

just bought a 90 accord 2.2 w 5 sp. have probably driven it about 30 miles so far. yesterday backed out of drive, brake warning light comes on on the dash. check hand brake, not on.

start down road and a strange buzzing starts. pull over and stop. i'd read the manual quickly so checked the brake reservoir and it's ok but noticed the little arrow that the manual warns needs to be pointing forward is pointing backwards. so i swap it around being careful of the wires as the manual warns. get back in and start and it's still buzzing - a pretty loud and noisy buzz, sounds like a loud electrically operated pump - maybe worn out - does not sound nice like a fuel pump.

had to put out another fire but when i got back a few hours later, she starts fine and no noises, drive up and down the street and all's just like before. level in brake res is fine, don't see any leaks.

this am i do my due diligence and read the forums about abs problems, figure out how to activate my account and post.

question: does this year 1990 have an abs? it has a dash light that just says "brake" and not "abs" like it sounds like everybody else is talking about. i'm not clear on that from looking around here and all the posts seem to talk about 94s or so.

i'll be going out to check codes here shortly and will post.

thanks and best!

chaparrazo

ok, i'll answer a few of my own questions here:

best guess there's no abs system on this old beast - i can't find any evidence of it from looking at posts and pics and diagrams.

the car is running fine today so far - knock on wood.

what i'd still like to know is what that racket was all about and is it something i should worry about? could it all have been because the reservoir cap was backwards?

chaparrazo

bump . . . anybody for a good mystery?

the brake fluid level is right between min and max, no sign of drips or leaks and the car is running fine today. the cel light hasn't gone on so there's no codes to be had.

wikipedia tells me that ABS was very rare on the 1990 model and i've looked all around the engine compartment for an ABS accumulator or those extra fuses i read about in older posts. nada.

***
so i'm wondering if anybody might have an idea what that noise might have been? apart from curiosity, i want to be sure the brake system is safe for my wife to be bombing around in this car.
***

could it be air in the brake system? the brakes feel great, firm and consistent. is there some sort of pump that pressurizes the brake system? from what i know, this car has power assist steering, but not power brakes.

maybe a relay gone mad? it wasn't the brakes chattering - the car was sitting at the side of the road idling and my foot was not on the pedal. maybe my daughter and i were hallucinating? was it an inception? i don't remember seeing mr cobb. have i bought another car with electrical demons?

from what i understand from the manual, the only sensor in the brake reservoir (and the only reason for the dash "brake" light) is for low fluid level. i guess this baby was from back in the simpler years. once i put the lid back on correctly i would think the noise should have stopped right away. i'm trying to remember if the brake light went off right away . . . but can't.

i'm planning on heading to the library later to look for repair manuals and am thinking about visiting my friend les schwab to see if he has a clue or two.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

Have you checked your brake light bulbs?

chaparrazo

i'm on it. do you suppose they have a funky connection maybe? would that cause a relay to buzz?

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

They will cause the indicator to show up o the dashboard if they're bad. They are dual filaments as well. I *think* on the 90 Accord you should have 5 brake light bulbs? 2 on either taillight and the 3rd top brake light.

Not sure on the buzz, I just quickly read through and didn't see you had checked the bulbs or not.

chaparrazo

thanks muffinman!

ok, 10 frozen fingers later, 25F out there this fine morning.

the 2 side bulbs are twin filament and the brake lights and running lights function fine. the bulbs look new and the connections look real clean, no messy splices. the third light also clean and working fine.

chaparrazo

went and looked again and yes, there are 5 bulbs. so i checked the other two in the trunk door and they are also in excellent functional shape.

never owned a honda before and i'm impressed with the build quality of this car and with how well the previous owners have kept things clean.

if this buzzing happens again, i'll check to see if all lights are on back there.

so, any other ideas about the buzzing?

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

I'd have someone press on the brakes just as a precaution, there was a user recently that had corroded connectors that caused the issue and not actual bulbs

chaparrazo

i had my son sitting in the car pumping the brakes and i listened closely to each bulb as it went on and off. nice clean clicking sound on each side and no crackling or anything strange. the only corrosion i saw in the bulb contacts was a bit of grey haze in the cylinder of one of the reverse lights. we tested them too and they function fine.

TheMuffinMan

iTrader: (1)

Ah gotca, didn't know if you just looked at the bulbs themselves. Generally it's the brake lights or fluid that trip the light, which light is it that is going off? The emergency brake light or the one on the little car icon?

And where is the buzzing coming from?

chaparrazo

red light that says "brake" not the car image.

the buzzing came from under the hood, pretty sure it wasn't under the dash. not sure if it was from driver side where the break reservoir is or pass side where the relays are. i kinda freaked and pulled over and shut her down pretty fast. when i restarted, i turned around and did the half block home and parked her as quick as possible. i was in a hurry to get somewhere so didn't have time to look around, just jumped in the backup getaway vehicle and was off.

about 3 hours later, i fired her up again and all was normal and been normal since.

thanks for hangin with me muffinman!

poorman212

the buzzing- Kind of hard when it is not happening and not sure of where it came from. If it happens again, as long as the gauges and other "lights" tell you eveything is fine-leave it running and find the source or general area....underdash-drivers or pass side-or underhood.

As far as the brake light-its been really cold in ID. So I would think a small amount of water in the brake fluid could have frozen and "stuck" the sensor. By removing the cap and moving it would have freed it....I would go ahead and top it off, then as soon as you can think about flushing/replacing the brake fluid.

Along that line, since you just got the car. Anything you are not sure when it was last done/changed/inspected or adjusted....I suggest you do so you have a starting point/baseline of when they were last done.

Raf99

I'm not sure about the buzzing sound but usually with cb7s its the rear tail light passenger side. The wire that runs to the bulb socket connects to a box. The passenger side has a known issue of letting water in there. Check the wires and see if any are loose or coming loose.

chaparrazo

i think i have an answer for the buzzing noise:

today i was running all around town and the buzzing sound started again. pulled over and noticed that it only happened when the clutch was all the way down. i pull over and lift the hood and have my son press the clutch and release it. it's the starter making the noise. i also noticed today, and remembered the same thing happening the first time, that the key seemed stuck and would not let me turn off the engine.

the key fits kind of bad in the ignition and sometimes does not spring back from the starting position. i feel pretty dumb not having noticed it. so it basically sticks there and when the clutch is all the way down, the starter jumps into action. so you can imagine the noise and why i stopped fast cuz it sounds pretty bad.

i hope i haven't done it too much damage . . .

so i checked the other keys and they work a lot better. i'll have to watch the ignition switch for other symptoms.

and as for the brake warning light, i'll watch it too and see if it's a separate issue or not. the brakes feel good and the fluid level has not changed at all.

thanks for the help and suggestions!

361 accord

the big red "brake" light is for the parking brake, just jiggle the crap out of it and make sure the parking brake is all the way down