Ohmster

Okay, I came across a 1995 2 door Civic EX, has a 4 cylinder VTECH engine, 4 speed automatic, and 135K Miles. The car is like mint and I could not pass it up, seeing as how I needed a car too go to work and this was only $2,250 and for Florida, that is not bad. Now I want to fix all the "little things" that are wrong with it and need your help everybody please.

The owner said the only thing wrong with it was no dash lights. I check the fuse when I buy the car and there is an 7 amp fuse blown for the dash The driver door did not lock, I took off the inside door panel, cut away a small bit of the plastic, and looked at the control rods on the door lock, the rod that goes from the lock itself to the door lock had fallen out. I had just replaced the door handle in my '95 Del Sol which is a wrecke "partmoobile" now, grabbped one of those plasticc clips on it and put it into the new car door lock. I put the rod in the hole, turned the new plastic rod lock around, and we are in business, just like that. Now I can lock it and put the Blaupunkt and JBL amp in the car from the Del Sol. How cool.

Time for the rest of the small problems now, this is where I really need you're help guys. I did not get any book with this car so if anyone knows where to get a '95 Civic car manual cheap or free, please let me know. I was able to pull the service manual for the car from this link:

http://www.hondahookup.com/manuals/

1.) The cruise control does not work at all. Pressing the dash cruise control button does not make the green light on the switch come on. You cannot activate the cruise control while driving either, probably because it is not being turned on by the dashboard switch. I cannot find any fuses that relate to the cruise control on this car. There is a box under the dash that says cruise control module behind the fuse panel by the driver's feet. My last '95 Del Sol had cruise control problems that I fixed, one was a broken cable spool (clock spring) under the steering wheel but the dash green light would come on when the switch was pressed. Once it would not work because the brake lights stayed on all the time, the bushing that the brake light switch pushes against broke, I replaced it and that fixed it, and the third time my speedometer would cut out and checking the CEL codes indicated that the VSS was bad, replacing it fixed the cruise control. What can I check/replace/or fix on this one where the green light on the dashboard switch won't even come on?

2.) The "Hey you are driving without your seat belt on!" light does not come on at all, not while driving with the seat belt off, nor while turning the key on before the engine starts.

3.) The CEL light never comes on, not even while turning the key on before the engine starts. How can I check this and repair it?

4.) I spotted some coolant on the underside of the hood, passenger side of the car, about middle of the hood. I saw some green coolant around one of the small hoses that go on the engine, I cut the end off the hose, put it back on, and put the clamp back on. Should I replace all of the small hoses on the engine, if so, which ones, and would it be a good idea to replace the upper and lower radiator hoses as well since the car has 130K miles on it? Here is a picture of the hose where I spotted the coolant all around the top of the hose:



Please help with advice, stories, web links, instructions, and anything else that may help me address these issues. This web site and all of the wonderful people here have faithfully kept my '95 Del Sol running in good order for all of the time that I have had it.

Thank you,
Ohmster

z6hatchboy

First and foremost, "VTEC" is even spelled right there on your valve cover. The light problems, check the fuses, if those are good, migh try replacing the cluster.
*edit* and for the coolant hose problem, wipe it off and if it comes back after you put the clamp back on, you may try a new hose and a good clamp

VTEC_PRODUCTION

wow resize that picture...anyway 2250 is too much for a 95 ill pay 2 g MAX. but as for everything else they are simple fixes...that hose if its original should be replaced. they should after so many years anyway. they will deteriorate from the inside before the outside.

Ohmster

Huh? What did you mention VTEC for, did I misspell it or something?

Oh yeah, I see I did misspell it as "VTECH". My mistake, excuse me please.

Alright, the coolant issue I am not worried about too much. I have a '95 Del Sol with brand new radiator hoses on it and they will fit on this '95 Civic EX. I went to Advance Auto parts and got 3' of the correct hose to replace all of the small hoses that run around the engine that carry coolant so I will replace them all, bought some spare clamps too.

Ii want the CEL light to work and the seatbelt light to work because they should and because that might point to other things that are wrong when I fix them. What is a practical method of checking the CEL light? It could be burned out but I have no clue how to get behind the dashboard to reach it and I am not really sure that is the problem. I know about the sticky post where you can short the pins behind the passenger kick panel to make the light blink out the codes but if it does not light at all, ever, would this work or even help much? What is a good, practical way of checking the CEL light and making it work?

Couple more questions; does the automatic shifter on the floor have lights in it so that at night, you can see where you are shifting to? My shift indicator lights on the dash work but the actual handle on the floor does not light up, should it? Are there lights in there?

The seatbelt light I want to work so that when you drive and don't have your seatbelt on, the red light will come on. Is there a way to check for that? The light does not come on ever, not even when the key is turned on before the engine starts. There is such a light on the dash, I can see it there with a flashlight.

Does a '95 Civic EX have a key in the ignition door open "binger" that makes a binging sound if you shut the car off and try to get out and leave the keys in the car? My '95 Del Sol never did that and the new '95 Civic EX does not do it either. That is a good feature to have because leaving your keys in the car is a really bad thing to do and a reminder like that would be most welcome. Does or should this car have this feature or not?

I am going to start a new thread for the cruise control because that can get pretty involved and I really need the help.

I really need your input on the CEL light not working, the key in the ignition binging sound if there is one, and the seatbelt off the driver when driving if you can help with these issues. Please help in any way you can, thank you very much.

Ohmster


Modified by Ohmster at 11:34 AM 1/22/2008

Ohmster

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by VTEC_PRODUCTION &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">wow resize that picture...anyway 2250 is too much for a 95 ill pay 2 g MAX. but as for everything else they are simple fixes...that hose if its original should be replaced. they should after so many years anyway. they will deteriorate from the inside before the outside.</TD></TR></TABLE>

VTEC_PRODUCTION,

I did resize the picture, it was way too big for this board, thanks for the advice. I am going to put the brand new radiator hoses that I bought for my '95 Del Sol less than 5 months ago into this '95 Civic EX because the hoses are the same and these hoses are brand new. So far as the little hoses go around the engine block, I bought about 3' of the same diameter good quality reinforced hose from Advanced Auto Parts and will replace all the small hoses too. So far as the heater hoses go, they are pretty hard for me to get at, I can see them but the clamps are way in back of the motor, against the firewall. Should they be changed too since we are changing all the hoses or do you think it is safe to leave them alone? Car has 130K miles on it. Do you think it would be worth it to take it to a mechanic and have him just replace the heater hoses for me? I am worried about that because that by itself is not a big money job and most all of the mechanics around here do not like small, low pay jobs. They get you in with a teaser rate of $49.95 for brakes but by the time you get out of there, you have spent like $700 or more. What do you think?