98 Civic EX Help, Please
06-24-2007, 11:51 AM
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98 Civic EX Help, Please
Hello, Im a newbie so please be gentle :-)
I hope the questions I have below don't sound too dumb, but Im more of a 70's muscle car guy and the 98 Honda Civic EX I have sitting in my driveway has me confused in a few places.
I made the mistake of co-signing on the car, which I will never do again. The "friend" I co-signed for was unable to make 11 payments on the car and decided he was going to move away. I told him if he was going to move, that he wasn't going to keep the car. So I came home one day after work and sitting in my driveway was this Honda on blocks, stripped of its tail lights, headlights, stereo, wheels, tires, air intake, alarm bits and a few other damaged things.
Ive been able to replace the parts over the past few months, but the car is acting funny and I need some help. I just want to sell the thing at this point simply because of how sad it makes me to see it in the driveway everyday for the past 3 month, even though I know Im going to take quite a hit in the wallet after the repairs and making the car payments to keep my credit good. I'd like to start with these questions:
1. The left Reverse light wants to stay on all the time. The right blinkers won't work if the brake pedal is pressed (they just stay on steady). When the brake pedal is pressed, the right blinker indicator light on the dash glows a little. Any ideas why?
2. Some kind of Check Engine light is on. Im not sure if its a "Check Engine Soon" or "Maintainance Required" type light, but its the indicator lights that sits below the Oil and Battery light on the dash. The car has about 114k miles on it. Is there some "easy" way to somehow disable this light or turn it off via unplugging the battery or something? I did notice there is some kind of key-hole thing on the bottom of the dash display, but Im really not sure how it is used.
Any help is appreciated and thanks!
-Brady
I hope the questions I have below don't sound too dumb, but Im more of a 70's muscle car guy and the 98 Honda Civic EX I have sitting in my driveway has me confused in a few places.
I made the mistake of co-signing on the car, which I will never do again. The "friend" I co-signed for was unable to make 11 payments on the car and decided he was going to move away. I told him if he was going to move, that he wasn't going to keep the car. So I came home one day after work and sitting in my driveway was this Honda on blocks, stripped of its tail lights, headlights, stereo, wheels, tires, air intake, alarm bits and a few other damaged things.
Ive been able to replace the parts over the past few months, but the car is acting funny and I need some help. I just want to sell the thing at this point simply because of how sad it makes me to see it in the driveway everyday for the past 3 month, even though I know Im going to take quite a hit in the wallet after the repairs and making the car payments to keep my credit good. I'd like to start with these questions:
1. The left Reverse light wants to stay on all the time. The right blinkers won't work if the brake pedal is pressed (they just stay on steady). When the brake pedal is pressed, the right blinker indicator light on the dash glows a little. Any ideas why?
2. Some kind of Check Engine light is on. Im not sure if its a "Check Engine Soon" or "Maintainance Required" type light, but its the indicator lights that sits below the Oil and Battery light on the dash. The car has about 114k miles on it. Is there some "easy" way to somehow disable this light or turn it off via unplugging the battery or something? I did notice there is some kind of key-hole thing on the bottom of the dash display, but Im really not sure how it is used.
Any help is appreciated and thanks!
-Brady
06-24-2007, 12:08 PM
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Re: 98 Civic EX Help, Please (Bradester97140)
Considering the car being in the condition that it's in, and the condition you are hoping to get it to, I'd first suggest getting a Helm Manual ( http://www.helminc.com ).
They're about $80 shipped, and I can promise you it'll pay for itself within a week (depending on how fast you work). Furthermore, you can rely on IT instead of the sometimes immature responses you'll get from pimple-faced teens and near-sighted fogies with too much time on their hands...
But with so much wrong with your car, you're going to have to first make sure that all of your electrical connections are good, and the Helm Manual will help give you the information you need to make those determinations. You can start by tracing from the ends where your symptoms show up... The Gauge Cluster, and the Floor Harness (which leads to things like the Tail Light and Reverse Lights, etc).
Normally, I always reccommend checking CELs before mucking around with the car. But the way things sound, it's possible that the CEL you have is being caused by the f'd condition of your car (wiring, missing components, etc.). You'll need to either get a Helm Manual, do a lot of online researching of parts diagrams (at sites like slhonda.com and/or hondapartsdeals.com), or take it in (somehow) for a looksie at the dealership... Gotta know what you're missing to know what you need.
In any case,
to the asshat that bent you over. Let's hope the Karmic Wheel runs him over (figuratively)!! 
JasonGhostz
... Buy the Helm Manual!!!
They're about $80 shipped, and I can promise you it'll pay for itself within a week (depending on how fast you work). Furthermore, you can rely on IT instead of the sometimes immature responses you'll get from pimple-faced teens and near-sighted fogies with too much time on their hands...
But with so much wrong with your car, you're going to have to first make sure that all of your electrical connections are good, and the Helm Manual will help give you the information you need to make those determinations. You can start by tracing from the ends where your symptoms show up... The Gauge Cluster, and the Floor Harness (which leads to things like the Tail Light and Reverse Lights, etc).
Normally, I always reccommend checking CELs before mucking around with the car. But the way things sound, it's possible that the CEL you have is being caused by the f'd condition of your car (wiring, missing components, etc.). You'll need to either get a Helm Manual, do a lot of online researching of parts diagrams (at sites like slhonda.com and/or hondapartsdeals.com), or take it in (somehow) for a looksie at the dealership... Gotta know what you're missing to know what you need.
In any case,
to the asshat that bent you over. Let's hope the Karmic Wheel runs him over (figuratively)!! JasonGhostz
... Buy the Helm Manual!!!
06-25-2007, 08:14 PM
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Re: 98 Civic EX Help, Please (Bradester97140)
on the non-CEL!!!<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bradester97140 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The left Reverse light wants to stay on all the time.</TD></TR></TABLE>How is your Right Reverse Light working? The Wire for your Reverse Lights is getting constant power, when it should be switched... Do you have an Automatic, or Manual? In either case, BOTH SIDES of your Reverse Lights share Power and Ground Wires, with Power either coming from your Gear Position Switch (Auto), or your Transmission Housing (Man). Make sure that the Right-side Reverse Light Bulb is working properly. The Power Lead for the Reverse Lights is Green/Black, coming from either of the 2 sources above (through the appropriate harnesses). The Grounds from the Reverse Lights lead to Ground Terminal G601, in the Trunk near the High-Mount Brake Light Connector.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bradester97140 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The right blinkers won't work if the brake pedal is pressed (they just stay on steady). When the brake pedal is pressed, the right blinker indicator light on the dash glows a little. Any ideas why?</TD></TR></TABLE>This one sounds like a short, and since they don't have Brake Lights in the front, I'm thinking the short's in the rear (usally, the rear is in the shorts
). Since you get dimming issues, and not on/off behavior with the Turn Signal Indicator during Braking, it sounds like an exposed wire and/or connection. Start your search in the Rear Wire Harness, and follow it through the Floor Harness to the Fuse Box, checking for signal with your MultiMeter as you go along. Somewhere, your Brake Light signal is getting crossed with your Right Side Blinkers (do BOTH of them light up, or just the Front/Rear?)...There are a couple of gurus in the Audio/Video/Security Forum who know their wiring like... well... something they know really well. Hit them up, because my brain's fried!!!
Hope this helps... Buy the Manual!!!
JasonGhostz
06-26-2007, 11:12 AM
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Re: 98 Civic EX Help, Please (JasonGhostz)
The right reverse light is normal.
It is an automatic.
The rest of what you typed, as much as I appreciate the time it took, I have no idea how to work on. Me and "electrickery" don't get along good at all.
-Brady
It is an automatic.
The rest of what you typed, as much as I appreciate the time it took, I have no idea how to work on. Me and "electrickery" don't get along good at all.
-Brady
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