Alright... My CEL has been on for way too long and since I'm broke as a joke I can't really pay 100+ bucks to have the Honda dealership take a look at it.

So with some free time after work I ran down to my friend's shop and borrowed their scanner. But it was a 3rd party Snap On unit... So the Honda Specific codes were jibberish to it.

I had 3 codes come up stored.

P1302, P1491, and P0304(I know this one)

And then two more pending.

P1491 and P1399

My car's idle has also been dropping significantly, reading about 500 RPM instead of the normal 750. So I figure that's got something to do with one of the codes there.

Any help is appreciated as well as any idea which code would recur instantly once I started the engine.

Thank You all in advance for your help,
97AccordProject

 

P1491 is Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Valve Insufficient Lift.

Don't know what to do about it right now. Maybe try a search on it. Good luck

 

Well update here:

The only active code was P1382 this time... With the P1491 code pending also.

The freeze frame data from the P1382 code indicates that it happened at idle.

-----FREEZE FRAME DATA DIRECTLY FROM ECM-----
Absolute TPS %: 10.2%
Engine RPM: 634
Calculated Load: 30.2%
MAP "Hg: 8.9" Hg
Coolant Temp: 194 Degrees F
IAT: 144 F
Fuel System in Open Loop


And is it just me or do the 194 degree Coolant reading and 144 Degree IAT reading seem off kilter? Ambient air temp locally has been averaging about 90, but heat index could be higher.

So whatever the P1382 code is, must be associated with my idle issue.

 

Code #1382 = Cylinder Position (CYP) Sensor No Signal.

I am assuming that would be the Top Dead Center Sensor, or whatever it's called. Good luck

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BLKFLSH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Code #1382 = Cylinder Position (CYP) Sensor No Signal.

I am assuming that would be the Top Dead Center Sensor, or whatever it's called. Good luck </TD></TR></TABLE>No, it would be called the cylinder position sensor. The top dead center sensor is abbreviated TDC.

Whichever one it is, they're in the distributor. Check for bad wiring from the distributor to the ECU. Otherwise you have to replace the distributor because they don't sell the individual sensors.

 

Well, I was wondering if there's a possibility the failure is in the ignition controller rather than the sensor? I mean the way I'm thinking is that it could be a false positive situation where the computer believes its one thing because the ICM isn't reading the signal correctly or at all.

Just a theory... Feel free to shoot holes into it all day long if it's completely out of left field.

Oh and is the distributor honestly designed so that it can only go on one way and only one way? Because that'd be the best news I've gotten so far with this.

 

Thanks for the clarification there JB.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 97AccordProject &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Just a theory... Feel free to shoot holes into it all day long if it's completely out of left field.</TD></TR></TABLE>The sensors in the distributor (TDC, CYP, & maybe CKP for some years) tell the ECU exactly where the engine is in it's cycle of operation. Based on these sensors, it fires the injectors (in order) and it sends a trigger signal to the ICM telling it to fire the coil. The ECU has error codes for each of these sensors, & they're pretty specific by '97.

The ICM ('ignitor') doesn't read those distributor signals directly. The ICM isn't a sensor or much of a controller at all, it's more like an isolation amplifier. The ECU does the real control of spark timing. It's got a different error code (don't remember what ##) when the ICM trigger circuit is the problem.

The Honda distributors I've known, they only go on one way. The end of the shaft has a blade that fits into an off-center slot in the camshaft. That blade is off-center, but with enough force, or a BFH, they can go on backwards.

But if you've taken out the pin & removed that blade from the distributor shaft, it IS possible to put it back on backwards. That's one reason why you can't buy those little distributor parts separately.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JimBlake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The sensors in the distributor (TDC, CYP, & maybe CKP for some years) tell the ECU exactly where the engine is in it's cycle of operation. Based on these sensors, it fires the injectors (in order) and it sends a trigger signal to the ICM telling it to fire the coil. The ECU has error codes for each of these sensors, & they're pretty specific by '97.

The ICM ('ignitor') doesn't read those distributor signals directly. The ICM isn't a sensor or much of a controller at all, it's more like an isolation amplifier. The ECU does the real control of spark timing. It's got a different error code (don't remember what ##) when the ICM trigger circuit is the problem.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well thanks for the clarification there bud... I guess it means that I need to get myself a new distributor. At least I know exactly what I need to do now. At least that should clear up the problems with throttle response and idle.

Thanks for all the help.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 97AccordProject &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well thanks for the clarification there bud... I guess it means that I need to get myself a new distributor. At least I know exactly what I need to do now. At least that should clear up the problems with throttle response and idle.

Thanks for all the help.</TD></TR></TABLE>Make sure you've checked for bad wiring from the distributor to the ECU. The ECU can't tell the difference between a bad sensor vs. bad wiring.