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A/T "S" Light and speedo needle problem

3K views 14 replies 6 participants last post by  ludeatik23 
#1 ·
Basically what happens is this:
Driving along about 5-10mins after starting off, the speedo needle jerks around. It doesn't matter what speed im doing, its done it at 20kph and also at 95kph. It'll drop down and jump back up, drop down, maybe sit on 0 for a few secs then jump back up. It doesnt seem to coincide with rpm or throttle at all though.
After a few seconds of this, the "S" light on the dash (ill include a diagram below) will start flashing all hell, and it never stops. If i pull over and turn off the car for 10seconds and start again, it seems to fix the problem altogether for that trip, so im pretty sure its not loose connections.
Now ive read every page in the manual that mentions A/T and dash lights (seriously not exaggerating) and there's no mention of this anywhere.
Basically the toggle switch for this mode is on the gearstick and thumb activated. I guess its "Over Drive", but Honda obviously settled for "SPORTS MODE GRAWWWR!!!!".

Another problem which may or not be related, is when im cruising between 75-110kph, my car seems to randomly "switch gears". I dont mean actually change into 3rd gear as the rpm difference isnt ever more than 200revs, but theres a definate judder and change in engine noise. It just likes to do it every now and then, sometimes more than others. I know its not difference in throttle there either.

Neither of these pics are actually my car, theyre just to give a general idea:



The closest thing i've found are these two articles:
http://www.preludepower.com/forums/showthread.php?t=295599&highlight=flashing+light+automatic
and
http://www.preludepower.com/forums/showthread.php?t=298810&highlight=flashing+light
But neither are exactly what i'm after.

The workshop manual is for american cars and from what i gather USDM and CDM versions dont have this Sports Mode or whatever its called. Im hoping someone can shed some light on my problem.
Also if anyone can explain exactly what this Sports Mode is or does...would be appreciated aswell, since i haven't found any significant difference in shifting with it on or off..maybe since its not working right...


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#2 ·
change your vehicle speed sensor. this is the same thing that happened to me when i first bought my lude.
 
#3 ·
cheers dude. I'll give that a try. Strong's quoted me $65+gst which would be ~USD$138. is that a decent price coz it seems stupid paying so much for a tiny hunk of metal :p
 
#5 ·
I'm an idiot. it would be USD$38.80. which obviously is still shitloads more than i could get it off ebay for... might give honda a call and see how much oem would cost.
 
#6 ·
I checked with Honda and they wanted ~USD$160. i opted for the secndhand one for USD$38.
I installed it yesterday.
I drove around the corner to get a carwash and it didn't start again. i took the key out and waited 5 secs and then it started fine. haven't had any problems with the S light going on since then.

It still does the switching gears thing. Also the car still jerks like mad when it goes from Neutral to First.
Oh and every now and then when i stop and put it in Neutral or Park, it still does that stupid revving up and down between 500-1500. Stupid piece of shit, oh well at least it passed it's Warrant xD
 
#7 ·
Hey all, sorry to resurrect this ancient post, but surely it must be better than starting a whole new one and wasting space :p
OK i've progrssed pretty much nowhere since my last post.
Car starts fine in the morning or if its been sitting for a few hours. If however i drive it for a little while (sometimes as little as 500m up the road, engine still cold) then turn it off, it wont start again for 10mins - 5hours.
It does that stupid check-engine + S light combo.
If i turn the key, it turns and turns but wont fire. Most people i;ve spoken agree its either spark or fuel. Personallly i reckon either fuel pressure (perhaps flooding when turning off) or temperature related since it starts first time every time in the morning.
Sometimes when it does it i'll just take the key out and try again for 5mins and it works, sometimes it wont do it for up 5hours (i found out the hard way after being stranded infront of the liquor shop in the city until 4am)

Other things id like to note: Someone noticed there are 2 nozzles right next to each other on the CAI pipe next to the filter. one has a hose attached to it and goes into the head as normal, the other (much thinner) is bare and just open. Should something be attached there to supply air into the engine somewhere? i cant see any other open hoses anywhere, but this could explain why its running so rich, and might well be related.
Spark plugs are brand new, and clean.
Please can anyone think of anything else that might cause this?
Any suggestions greatly appreciated, i'm sick of this ruining every weekend for the last 6 months.
 
#10 ·
As soon as it stops raining ill go for a drive and try a diagnostic.

I wouldnt have a clue how to test the injectors actually, so if it comes to that i'll need to just drop it into a mechanics.
 
#12 ·
ive got the manual. It's bugger all help as it seems like my car is the only one in existence that has Sports mode and that damn S light on the dashboard!!
i kid you not i literally went through every single page looking for a sign of what it might be. No mention of this problem or that light anywhere.
If the error codes dont show me anything conclusive im just gonna sell it and let someone else deal with it
 
#13 ·
Right...not much of an update, but definately more info. Turns out it doesnt matter if the engine's been running or not...
Came out of work today, put the key to ON, turned up the stereo, turned on the lights, walked around and checked out my shiny new bumper (didnt mention this but some dick backed into the front right corner and damaged all the panels and smashed the lights and bumper to pieces. his insurance took care of it all) satisfied i jumped in, turned the key....BLINKITY FUCKING BLINK!!
So i sat and waited for a little bit, tidying up, reconnecting my alarm etc.
Then i decided to try spraying ether into the air intake. It spluttered and fired a bit but didnt stay on. tried it again and this time opened the throttle and it fired and ran!! :Rock: the light kept blinking mind you.
I put it into drive and went to move off but it felt like it was in fifth gear, hardly any acceleration at all. Putting it into 1 and then 2 worked fine but in drive was just weird, very very slight acceleration only.
Anyway at least i got home.

Based on this im almost ruling out injectors, spark and relays. Is it possible that there could be vapour lock in the fuel lines that just kinda clears itself after a while or until it gets nudged by this ether backdraft?
 
#14 ·
to tie up loose ends and for any future peoples with these problems.. it was the fuel relay.
Now next problem is the surging revs at idle which it does occasionally and the strange irregular half-shifts in 4th gear
 
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