The other day my CEL went on and the car exhibited a rich running condition (i.e. idled at 1000 rpm, hestated off the line). I shut it off and then attempted restarting it. The starter continued to spin but the engine wouldn't fire. It finally started on the 6th attempt and continued to run strangely. 5 miles or so later I shut the car off, restarted it and it fired right up. The CEL went off and it operated normally. Car is an '89 Civic LX.

The ECU is now giving me code 3-7-16. What does this code mean and can I reset the ECU? Someone told me that eventually the CEL will come back on.

Thanks in advance!

 

Got it!

3--MAP sensor (from when I removed and reattached the plug this morning)

7--TPS (from my problem the other day?)

16--FI system (also from my problem the other day?)

To reset I understand I can pull the ECU fuse for 20 seconds or so, or if that doesn't work I can pull the negative battery cable for a length of time.

 

quick question, did your motor rev up and down at idle? i have a friend that just had the same prob. he changed his map sensor and all three codes went away, but his wierd idle is still there

 

just pulll the battery cable for a few seconds to reset the ecu

 

Yes, removing the neg. battery cable reset the ECU. The CEL is off and car is operating normally. Perhaps the TPS is sticking and that set off code 16. I know I set off code 3 yesterday when I disconnected the MAP sensor.

My idle the other day was rock solid, it just was revving at 1000 rpm instead of the usual 750 +/- 50.

On another note I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to access the ECU and was also surprised that they put a diagnostic light on the top. Removal of the ECU also appears very simple. As a comparison here is the procedure for my 944 turbo which took me literally 45 minutes to disassemble and 1.5 hours to reassemble my first time through (everything lines up like a puzzle):

1. Remove floor mat
2. Peel back velcroed carpeting
3. Remove 4 screws from wooden access panel
4. Remove wooden access panel
5. Remove 10 screws and 1 spacer bolting bracket to the floor
6. Remove DME and KLR (knock and boost regulator) computers from the floor after disconnecting wire harnesses and boost line to KLR.

I love Honda simplicity!