George.Galo

Hello all,
I posted this earlier in the "tech misc" section, since after reading
similar related posts, one of them pointed that person to that thread.
I've got no replies there, please excuse the repeat. if anyone's got
any pointers, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I've got a 2003 Accord LX 4 cyl. The check engine light came on,
I had a Honda Dealer service it a week ago. They changed the
secondary O2 sensor. The light is out. I went for inspection the next day
and was told the system is not ready. I've been reading these forums.
I tried the drive cycle "trick". I checked a few fuses and changed both
"backup" fuses They both tested good, changed anyway. Today I did the
drive cycle thing again, I tested with OBD reader before I shut it off and it
said 8 monitors ready. When I turn off the car and restart, I get 3 or 4
ready. When it's 3 ready the O2 heater is not ready, it's ready when 4 ok.
So, is there a specific fuse I should be replacing, or is there a "magic
number" of drive cycles before it maintains the ready state? Any ideas are
greatly appreciated, I'm running out of time on my "rejected" inspection
sticker.
Thanks alot,
George

phootbag

Which monitors are resetting?

George.Galo

Hey, thanks for the reply.

When I run the car and scan obd before shutting engine,
I get 8 monitors ready. Once I turn off and restart I get
4 or 5 ready. The "un-ready" are CAT, O2 SENSOR, EGR
and sometimes evap.

Thanks,
George

thesmogman

Hi George,

I have seen this a few times on different cars. Your ecu doesn't have power to it all the time, only when the key is on. If you have not monkey'ed with anything I would take it to the dealer. They should fix it for free as it is emissions related.

Or you can check for power to it and follow the wiring diagram. There might be a fuse you are missing.

George.Galo

Thanks smogman, I took it back to the dealer today.
They could find nothing obvious and they reflashed the computer.
Now, I'm back to "drive cycles" to see if that helped.

Thanks,
George

phootbag

I really wish people would stop saying "take it to the dealer, it should be free". Because that is incorrect. And, there is nothing wrong with the dealership charging you money to work on your car. That is, if the technicians know what they are doing. By the way, you are just as likely to get a good tech at a dealer than at an independant shop. Crappy techs are everywhere.

thesmogman

The reason I said this is that emissions equipment are covered under a separate warranty for 10 years by the dealership.

Also, more than likely the dealer has seen the problem before so they can fix it quickly. They also have more ways of getting info than us, repair tech's can.

Alot of independant shops don't have the specialized equipment that the dealer does like tools to reflash the ecu.

If you can get it done for free, I say why not. It doesn't hurt to try to get things done for free.
I am just trying to save you all some money. Times are tough everywhere, if you haven't noticed.

phootbag

Who told you that emissions related equipment is covered for 10 years? They are not correct. Some items are covered for a certain amount of time after normal warranty. But, not all items and not automatically for 10 years.

George.Galo

I took the car back to the dealer yesterday. they could find nothing
obvious, so they reflashed the computer. Now I've got to drive it a bit
to see if the computer becomes ready. While they did not charge for that,
the computer was holding codes before they changed the O2 sensor and
"reset" the computer. They did not charge for the re-flashing of computer.
Ca. may be different, but I don't think emissions probs are covered for 10 years
here in NJ. They did charge for the O2 sensor, that's emissions equip...
Thanks again, if I get a solution, I will post for others who may need the info.

thesmogman

So George, Did the reflash do the trick? C'mon you should know by now!

So I looked up the emissions warranty BS. There are a few different ones. Sorry for the bad info. Some are up to 7 years though. 2yrs/20k mi., 3/50, 7/70 and so on. Also different for CA models and Federal models.

But I will still say check with your dealer.

George.Galo

Hi again,

As far as I can tell the reflash did not help.
I checked the monitors again this morning after driving the
50 miles to work, monitors were ready. Shut off the
car, restart, wait a min, rescan, 4 monitors incomplete.

I rechecked all the fuses and battery connections(hint from another post).
I'm wondering what to do next.. Guess it's back to the dealer,
but now that I got an inspection sticker, I'm in no rush and "taking a breather"
from it. fyi, I got a private garage to inspect it without turning off the car.

It's Ca emissions, 03 accord with 140k miles, so it's probably over the mile limit.

thesmogman

Hey George,

Somewhere you are losing the keep alive memory power. I will look into this more.

Good move getting the shop to not turn the car off!! I was going to suggest this if the re-flash didn't work.

George.Galo

Hey SmogMan,
I appreciate the help. This is driving me crazy. Anyway, here in NJ, you can
get an inspection free from the state. They Always turn off the car first. I
was lucky to find a private garage to do it witout turning off. He may be
getting out of the inspection business, so I've gotta get ready for the next time.

Thanks again,
George

phootbag

If your battery isn't dropping below a critical voltage while being shut off, I'd say the problem most likely lies inside the ECM. You might be able to find a "known good" used ECM from a wrecker/recycler. The dealer would have to relearn the IMMOBI codes for the vehicle to start, though.

George.Galo

Thanks Phootbag,

The battery was new this March, it's a diehard gold, car starts fine.
Battery "should" be ok. I may go get it tested, before I go the new ecm route.
Thanks for the info.

George