91 Accord - speedo comes & goes, flashing S, check engine light

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R Flowers - 21 Jan 2008 00:07 GMT

I have a 91 Honda Accord. This is the latest in the car's lifelong ambition
to have everything go wrong at least once.

As I was driving (highway speeds) the speedometer acted up - it went a
little higher (maybe), fluctuated, went to zero, then came back. Well,
another thing to look into, I thought. We stopped and ate.

Then, coming back home, it started doing it again. At the same time, the S
light started blinking. Then the speedometer seemed to correct, but the S
light kept flashing. As it flashed, the engine's power was diminishing. Then
the check engine light came on, and the power came back (like a kick in the
pants). The S light kept flashing, and we made it the short distance back to
home.

Doing a little research made it seem like the problem was the vehicle speed
sensor. When I got the codes, though:

Check Engine - 43
S (TCU) - 4

That doesn't seem to make sense. Some websites show 43 as a fuel delivery
problem??

BTW, I don't know if it has any bearing, but the cars battery went low a
couple of days ago and we had a friend jump it (I wasn't there). The battery
seemed to go dead for no reason, although my wife thinks she might have
gotten the seat belt buckle jammed in the door.

Thanks for any insight,
R Flowers

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Charles - 21 Jan 2008 02:46 GMT

> As I was driving (highway speeds) the speedometer acted up - it went a
> little higher (maybe), fluctuated, went to zero, then came back.

The S indicator will keep flashing until you turn off the engine. It will
not reappear if the fault has been cleared since it was first set.

> ...the cars battery went
> low a couple of days ago and we had a friend jump it (I wasn't
> there). The battery seemed to go dead for no reason, although my wife
> thinks she might have gotten the seat belt buckle jammed in the door.

The whole story has the aroma of an electrical problem. A skittish power
supply could manifest itself by throwing some codes from the engine or
transmission computers.

I'll bet you have an intermittent electrical connection somewhere. When was
the last time you checked and cleaned the battery terminals? Perhaps you
have a loose ground connection somewhere. When you drive at night, do the
headlights dim? Does the horn work?

Does the charging circuit work?

Has the problem reappeared since that fateful drive?

Signature

Chuck

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R Flowers - 21 Jan 2008 03:23 GMT

> The whole story has the aroma of an electrical problem. A skittish power
> supply could manifest itself by throwing some codes from the engine or
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> Has the problem reappeared since that fateful drive?

This just happened today. It is my wife's car, and she won't drive it unless
I can convince here the problem is gone for good.

The bad connection theory intrigues me. My garage has some bags & buckets of
bird seed. Mice have gotten in. Just the other day I noticed some empty
sunflower seed jackets on my battery (the other car).

It could be as simple as that, although those things can be hard to track
down.

Thanks,
R Flowers

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Charles - 21 Jan 2008 07:10 GMT

> It could be as simple as that, although those things can be hard to
> track down.

It might take some scientific investigation and the careful recording of
evidence. Get a schematic of the car's electrical system. Determine what
circuits are in common with the failed items. The more simultaneous
failures, the closer to the battery you get. That's why I mentioned the
lights and the horn.

Stress the electrical system by putting on additional load. Rear window
defogger on, blower on. Don't rev the engine. If everything's working adding
load shouldn't dim the headlights. You might have a high resistance
connection somewhere which will be exacerbated by the extra current flowing.
Fix whatever bursts into flames.

Signature

Chuck

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Kim Bonnesen - 10 Feb 2008 10:18 GMT

This look like a problem with the minus wire somewhere , please check it
from the battery to the chassis (could be here)

Kim

>I have a 91 Honda Accord. This is the latest in the car's lifelong ambition
>to have everything go wrong at least once.
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
> Thanks for any insight,
> R Flowers

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R Flowers - 12 Feb 2008 02:12 GMT

Here's how this turned out: I replaced the vehicle speed sensor, and that
has apparently corrected the problem My theory regarding the trouble code of
43 (fuel delivery problem) is: As the VSS sent an improper signal to the
computer, the computer began to cut down on the fuel supply. Then as I
pressed the gas pedal for more fuel, it might have gone into some failure
mode that gave up trying to tune the fuel delivery. I don't know much about
the computer/fuel interactions, though.

Thanks to all those who responded.

-- R Flowers

> This look like a problem with the minus wire somewhere , please check it
> from the battery to the chassis (could be here)
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>> in the pants). The S light kept flashing, and we made it the short
>> distance back to home.

<snip>

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