Hi guys. I'm new here. I have a Honda Accord LX 2000. Automatic transmission. I think it's a V4. No idea what liter the engine is; can't seem to find those numbers anywhere. But here's the problem.
Yesterday, my brake lights were stuck on while I was at work. I figured i'd deal with the problem later, so o looked for the fuse for the brake lights and tried to disconnect it so that the battery won't be drained. Í disconnected fuse 9 and 10 on the driver side (not both at the same time) while the engine was running. But after research, i realized it'd take too long to find the fuse so I just decided to go ahead and investigate the brake light problem further, turned out the rubber/plastic stopped thing broke, so the switch wasn't getting pressed at all. Simple fix no problem.

But after that discovery, after work, I turned the car on and noticed that the engine light was on. I didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. It even drives the same as it did that morning, except...when I got on the highway, I decided to floor the gas pedal. When the tachometer needle reached 4000 rpms, the car started jerking and the needle was going up and down to 4500rpms and 3500rpms. This would only stop if I let off the gas slightly.
This has never happened before. I can go to speed like 70mph no problem. But it's if the rpms reach exactly 4000rpms where it freaks out. I did this multiple times and it's only when rpms reach 4000. The Engine light is the only light that's lit.
Based off the Manual, the fuses I disconnected didn't have anything to do with anything in the engine. Fuse 9 is the instrument panel and back up lights while fuse 10 is the turn signals.

If anyone could lead me in the right direction, or have any insight of what the problem might be, let me know.
Thanks!

 

If the engine light is on, what does the scanner say the error is? No use guessing, get a scan at the local parts store if necessary.

 

All the parts stores near me aren't doing scans because of the virus, sadly. I tried to get a scan this morning.

 

I went to an Auto Zone the other day to get a scan on my girlfriend VW, and the way they broke it down to me was that they could not got to your car and do the scan, but they could hand you the scanner, you could run the scan and then bring it back in so that they could pull the codes at the register. Are you in a state that is in a heightened state of quarantine protocols?

 

that's exactly what I did the last couple of times. I was driving through New Mexico, and got a code, didn't have my scanner with me, stopped into an auto parts store, and they handed it to me to go do the scan myself.

 

Otherwise buy a cheap scanner, I use Carista, a bluetooth scanner that works with your phone to get the codes.

or direct from Carista

https://caristaapp.com/

It's $30 and works with all OBD-II cars.

You don't have to get this one, ti's just a suggestion for what you can do.

 

the paperclip trick will still work for engine codes.

VTEC on this engine (F23Ax) has conditional activation between 2800 and 4k rpm. after 4k it's active unless coolant temp and/or oil pressure is too low (there are other variables too...). you may have a VTEC system problem. just a guess.

 

Until a P#### code is posted guessing at what the problem is is pointless.

 

Okay, I got the code and other news.
The code is P1259. It's the only code that the scanner pulled.
Also, the jerking or sputtering stopped. Turns out I was 2 Qts low on motor oil. Which is weird because the oil light never lit. After filling up the oil to the appropriate level, the jerking stopped and I was able to have the car go over 4000 RPMs no problem, but the engine light is still on.
Overnight after filling the motor oil to level, a lot of oil just leaked out! that's never happened before. Especially since I just got the car from a used dealer a month ago. it seems like a significant leak I'm going to have to deal with on my own. I wonder if it's related to the engine light.
Also 2 days ago, the car started overheating fast. I checked and turned out only one of the fans was blowing; the driver's side fan. I checked the other one, the one that wasn't blowing, when I took my finger and pulled one blade toward me, it started spinning FAST then slowed and stopped. So from that, I assumed that the fan blades might be off track or something. Over time with testing, the driver side fan started blowing the ever it wanted. It was starting to get inconsistent with the timing of when to blow while the engine was hot. Soon that one fan that was working just stopped working and wouldn't blow at all. Even the passenger side one. I try to pull it toward me and it won't spin at all even the temperature gauge was on all the way up to "H" (yes the car was on). So I decided to test the electricity. I checked all the fuses; they were all good. I checked the cooling fan relay. I gave it power and heard the click, and also tested it for continuity; it passed. So then I concluded that maybe it was the cooling fan temperature switch sensor thing. I just replaced that today and put the fans to the test but getting the engine to "H." Sadly that didn't work either!
I checked the connector that goes into the driver's side fan. The one that works for sure. I checked the voltage while the engine was on and gauge at "H" or just below; a temperature that was supposed to cause the fans to blow. There were zero volts.

I'm stumped. What else could cause the cooling fans not to blow? Where else should I check?
Also any idea with the P1259 code?

 

https://www.troublecodes.net/hondaco...sm%20on%20Bank

Notice the 4000RPM in the article.

When you say oil is leaking, I guess get under it to see where it's leaking from. Is your floor just covered in oil? Or are you saying the oil just disappeared (that sounds even worse because it had to go somewhere). ?
For it all to leak out overnight is a massive leak.

I know this is silly, but did you check to make sure you have enough coolant? Maybe you are low on that as well.

 

Overnight, or in other words the span of 12 hours, I lost about half to a third of a Quart of oil based on the reading of the dipstick.

I filled coolant to the appropriate level last week. i guess it wouldn't hurt to check again.

 

Does the oil seem milky or the coolant seem milky? Trying to guess if there might be a hed gasket leak at this point.

 

Neither the oil or coolant seem milky to me.
Yesterday after responding to 99stockcivic's message, I checked the coolant level. Turns out the reservoir was somehow empty. I guess that assisted the overheating problem. I refilled it up to the max line.

Another update: the engine light went off and hasn't come back on in a full day so far. Even after driving it at high speeds. I'm guessing the problem somehow resolved itself?? I sure hope so.
Also, yesterday, I turned on the ac after starting the car, and usually, when this is done, the cooling fans turn on and stay on. I did this to test the passenger side fan, the fan I suspected wasn't working. I tested the voltage of the connector going into the fan, and it was definitely giving power to the fan, so I concluded that the fan just totally died. I replaced the fan this morning and the cooling system is definitely better, but here's something surprising:
This morning I also found that the reservoir was empty again! I checked to see if I had any coolant leaks which would be easy to see considering the color of it is blue, but there weren't any leaks. I refilled it up to the max line once again in the reservoir. I assume that maybe the entire cooling system was low on coolant and so the car was just sucking it all up into the system leaving the reservoir empty.

I drove around today and it doesn't overheat while driving like it used to, but when I'm just sitting with the engine running, eventually the temperature gauge will slowly rise up to or close to "H," which I'm sure isn't supposed to happen.
I found out that yes the fans are working, but while the needle is close to or at "H," both fans will just slow down and cut off randomly, then turn back on when it wants. But the weird thing is that this happened while I had the AC on.
(When the needle is close to "H," and I start driving instead of sitting, the temperature gauge drops fairly quickly.)
I'm thinking that maybe the entire cooling system is low on coolant and that when the fans stop blowing, it might be because there isn't enough or any coolant passing by the coolant temperature switch, but at the same time, the AC was on so i'm unsure.
Should I pour coolant straight into the radiator?

Am I on the right track with my thinking? or does anyone have any other ideas?

 

That still sounds like you might need more coolant. One of the ways when you are really low and want to make sure it's full is to put the front up on jackstands or ramps so the front is higher than the back (I suppose a steep hill could work here). This way all the air will then try to escape out of the opening. Often, I fill and run the car a bit to see of it's sucking down the water/coolant before I close it up.

Low coolant can cause issues, so I think you need tomake sure it's truly full before moving on. Since it's summer still, you can simply just keep adding water at this point, you don't need anymore antifreeze.