I know nothing about Hondas..... I recently bought a '90 EX from my daughter's friend. Stupid, stupid me, I trusted him and didn't have it checked out. The transmission had to be replaced. Now, the "S" light is blinking intermittently. I took it to the repair place whe I had the tranny replaced. They said it looks like the computer needs to be replaced. They cleared the computer, and it was fine for about a week. Now, the 'S' light blinks again. When I stop the car and restart it, the 'S' light stays off for a while, anywhere from a day to a week, and then re-occurs. I can feel no change in the running of the car. The last time I had a computer replaced in a car it was about $1500. I simply can't afford something like this after the cost of the tranny if I don't need it. Are these guys on the up-and-up? Or are they trying to scam me? I would deeply appreciate any comments.

 

If I were you i'd go ahead and find out what the code it throwing is. Heres a great link to do so http://home.earthlink.net/~mic...s.htm

I recently had a problem with my tranny and it was just the shift and lock up soleniods weren't plugged in. I was throwing codes 1,2,7,8.

Honda Tech hasn't been a very good source for me when asking questions of significance so I went over to cb7tuner.com. The Forums there are specifically for the 4th gen accord so....

 

If you are not having any drivability problems, then I'll say that the TCM is probably NOT the problem. Something is causing the light to flash and you'll have to pull the codes to find out what it is.
For instructions on how to do this, search for my post "TCMs for sale".
Email me if you have any questions.

 

Hey man, it sounds like your getting jacked. I recently replaced my whole transmisison (auto) by myself for only $125 for the new tranny from the junkyard. Only 88k miles and its fine, took about 6 hours. But thats already in the past.

If you need to replace the computer, $1500 is wayyy too much. Just do what i did and go to the junkyard, and pull a TCM from a car and either pay them about $25 or shove it in your pants, but its only 25 bucks. Its really easy to swap out the computer, like it shows in that website, theres 4 screws holding in the kickpanel and 3 screws for the TCM. Let us know what happens.

 

Check the VSS

 

Thanks everyone! The info is great! I think the price they're quoting for the computer is too high, too. In the past year I've taken three vehicles to this mechanic, and all three times he ended up telling me that the computers needed replacing. Hmmm..... I think I'm being taken for a ride. I'll definitely check out all the tips I received here!

 

Don't ever tell the mechinic that you know nothing about cars. I'll tell you right now, I can get the engine, tranny and ecu replaced for less than $1500 on that car. That mechanic is taking you for a ride across the whole US.

Those sound like dealer prices.

 

For the past few days I have had my car in the "sport" mode, and I have driven it quite a few miles. The "s" light has not blinked since. Anyone know if this is significant? Is it ok to drive the car in the Sport mode, or is this just for highway driving?
I think SeaQuake is absolutely right. The repair guys have been using me for a cash cow on all my vehices.

 

I'm assuming that the "s" light is the check engine or service light right. If that is the case, there are many auto supply stores that will check your ecu with a computer and tell you the reason the "s" light is blinking for free. I know here in Southern California, there is Autozone who will do it for free. It may be something very simple.

 

It is 99% chance the VSS is bad. Mine was too and that fixed it
Good luck

 

It's interesting that evidently the '90 has a separate 'check engine' light. The "s" light is supposed to be a transmission warning light. It hasn't blinked since I put it into the "sport" mode. But I think you guys are right and it's probably the VSS. Next time I'm on the freeway I'm going to see if the cruise control works. I read on another site that a symptom of the VSS going bad is that the cruise control fails to work properly. Whatever happens, I'm not taking it back to my usual mechanic! I'm going to find someplace like an autozone where they will check the codes. I think I've been the goose that laid the golden egg for the other guys! Enough, heh.