Hello all,

I've just joined the site and wanted to see if anyone may be able to help out a newbe.

I just purchased a 93' prelude with only 86,000 miles on it, from the original/only owner. The car is all stock, and has the 2.3 16v d.o.h.c. (non v-tech) The body, interior, and engine seems to be in excellent cond. other than a few spots on the trunk where the clear coat is pealing in a couple spots.
Question is that my a.b.s and check engine lights are constantly on. I have changed all the pads, and have fresh b. fluid in the master cylinder and a.b.s res. Someone said that I had possibly a clogged up a senser, and that should've caused the a.b.s light to go out....Nope.
Also should I have a o.b.d (1) test on the e.c.m or should I replace the O2 senser and pray that it goes out? I checked on one today and they wanted $120 for the sucker! If I were to go that route, would you guys point me in the right direction to a website that would provide a great deal of parts for my lude for a reasonable price? Also after all is well and after I get those problems fixed, could you guys help me out a little mech. wise, on what and where I should start to trick her out, and to get the best performance out of this baby? I'm not planning on street racing, but I would just like it to perform and breathe a little better for better gas mileage....Etc.
Thanks a great deal,
-Shadow-

 

No one....What's the deal???

 

Get yourself a service manual
Go through the flow charts for diagnosing the mil's.

Read the Prelude Faq's.

 

abs i'd start with vehichle speed sensors, they like to fail in preludes. and there are 4 of them so if one goes the light goes on. does the light go off after you crank the car over but come back on after you've been driving a bit?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shadow29485 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">No one....What's the deal??? </TD></TR></TABLE>

The deal is you need to wait longer than 20-30 minutes. Have some patience....

Search for how to check OBD1 codes and find out what the problem is. You can do it yourself with a paperclip in the little blue 2-pin plug behind the dash.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hawkze_2.3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

The deal is you need to wait longer than 20-30 minutes. Have some patience....

Search for how to check OBD1 codes and find out what the problem is. You can do it yourself with a paperclip in the little blue 2-pin plug behind the dash.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Lol he did. I was going to say the same thing, but the first post was the 20th and the next was the 22nd, lol.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pinecone &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Lol he did. I was going to say the same thing, but the first post was the 20th and the next was the 22nd, lol.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Oops, my mistake Sorry it took you so long to get help.

 

No prob. man ....It did take a couple of days, that's why I was wondering.
I just figured that since I was a "Noob" that I wasn't going to receive any info.

Anyways, I'm courious how you would check the diagnostics using a paper clip???
How would you get a reading? And on what? I'm not new to computers, or electronics, I 've been doing car audio installations/alarm diagnoses, for over 12 years, on and off. So I'm a little knowledgeable about certain problems that may exist.....But I'm a little stumped when it comes to a computer that runs an engine, I just need a little guidance. That's why I'm here....And hoping to be for awhile.

"Mattsnooz", You hit the nail on the head......The light (ABS) is OFF, as soon as I crank the car up, but after approx. 2-3 minutes it "Clicks" right back ON and remains ON until I shut the car off. Same as the C.E.L except it takes anywhere from 5-15 min. What's weird, is that I thought maybe a couple of harnesses were loose to throw the C.E.L, so I pressed down on as many as I could visually see....I drove it for a good 45 min until it came back on. You guys know as well as I do about anything electrical....It could be something as simple as a loose connector, or something as complicated as finding the needle in the haystack.

Thanks a great deal for the responses....I hope I may be able to contribute a little of my knowledge to help anybody out on this board that I can.

-Shadow-

 

1. Reach down below your dash, right behind the center console, you'll find a 2pin plug. 2. Run a piece of wire or a paper clip from one pin to another.
3. Turn your ignition on and look at the dash.
4. Count how many times the light flashes and write it down.

You may notice two different flashing patterns; long and short.
Think of them as: long - 10, short - 1.
So if you have two long flashes and five short ones, for example, that's the code 25.

When you do that, come back and post what code you came up with.

 

Gtechpro,

Thanks for the reply. I did just what you said, and found it right away.
I used a jumper, and the C.E. light on the dash blinked.....one long, and two short....Which was a 12 on the diagnostics chart right? E.G.R lift sensor is that correct? If so, is it indicating a type of position sensor? Or the E.G.R valve itself?
Also the A.B.S light came blinked one long time, consistantly, then went off after 3 or 4 times....But the check engine light remained in the same consistant pattern.

I used a little common sense and thought that the sensor may have detected something earlier with the previous owner, and that the problem was that the computer may have been re-reading something that happend only once, and that by resetting the computers memory by pulling the "Clock" fuse would reset it to it's default applications. The A.B.S light stayed on, and the engine light went off for the remainder of the day (approx. 4 hours of driving), Than it came back on.
A lot of people told me not to worry about it, if the car is running fine, but I beg to differ, I may not be getting the correct amount of fuel per milage, if it happend to be the valve or a sensor.....Which as you know, is not at all that cheap. What do you think the next move would be?

Thanks again man ,
-Shadow-

 

Take your EGR valve off and clean all the crap out of it and inspect the electrical connectors for corrosion and such.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hawkze_2.3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Take your EGR valve off and clean all the crap out of it and inspect the electrical connectors for corrosion and such.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Hawkze,

I took the egr valve off and cleaned the hell out of it, also used a little ethal alcohol to clean the connections on the harness but it still remains on.

I have just replaced the master cylinder (brake) and replaced the pads, flushed/bled the lines thinking that would solve the ABS light issue (even though it has nothing to do with that system the M.C was shot). This has got me puzzled....Could it possibly be the O2 sensor perhaps? I have also noticed that when driving first thing in the morning the temp. gauge on the dash will all of the sudden jump from approx. 1/4 cool to an automatic jump to 1/2 on the gauge. And leads me to believe that I may have read the code wrong, and it possibly being a I.A.T sensor. Or may be a thermostat.....Hell, I don't know, I'm just hoping that I'll luck out and figure out where the problem exist.
Thanks man,
-Shadow-

 

speed sensor for abs light

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shadow29485 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I took the egr valve off and cleaned the hell out of it, also used a little ethal alcohol to clean the connections on the harness but it still remains on.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

The actual EGR valve is only one part of the whole system. There are numerous vacuum lines and several solenoids and crap over on the driver side of the engine bay. Check that stuff out...

You still get an EGR code?

 

I would double check everything, clean it out very good and reset the ECU. Then check the code again (if the light comes back).

As for the ABS, it's most likely a speed sensor as they do have a tendency to fail. But it doesn't have to be. A faulty speed sensor could cause the ABS to activate at random speeds. Does it brake ok? Do your wheels lock up during hard braking or do you sometimes feel like the the ABS is kicking in when it shouldn't be?

Triple check all connections. I would also reset the ECU by unplugging it completely as opposed to taking out the clock fuse. I had a similar problem with my previous lude. The problem persisted no matter what I did, until I unplugged the ECU all together. It never came back after that.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shadow29485 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have also noticed that when driving first thing in the morning the temp. gauge on the dash will all of the sudden jump from approx. 1/4 cool to an automatic jump to 1/2 on the gauge.</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is correct. There's isn't anything between a 1/4 and a 1/2 on the temp gauge.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.....I have more time now that the weekend is here so I'll check those key points out, and let you know what I come up with.
I just received my service manual in the mail on disk, and I'm sifting through it to become more educated about these problems so I don't have to ask such novice questions that would take weeks possibly, to diagnose.
As for noticing the A.B.S system kicking in while I'm driving it....I can't feel any difference in change....Even when breaking hard, the brakes seem fine (no shutter or locking). I guess I'm going to start with rule #1 and reset the e.c.u by "unplugging" it all together, than go from there by testing the vacuum lines and so forth.
Thanks again,
-Shadow-