First drive is the scariest and best drive there is!
First drive is the scariest and best drive there is!
In reply to Professor_Brap :
Absolutely. It was especially exhilarating because I've owned this car for 7 months and have not yet driven it. That is a first for me and it feels awesome!
gas station pic makes it legit ;-)
This thread is rad. Can't wait to see how summer works out with this car.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
Thanks! Me too. I want to get it sorted ASAP and get some miles on it, then I would really like to try some kind of track day or hpde somewhere. The budget is fairly tapped at the moment so that may be a summer 2020 excursion.
Well, it snowed like 4" here last night, so there was no further road testing.
However, I did go tidy some things up on the car, and I think I may have found an indication of why the idle was so high. I pulled the codes from the ECU and got a code 6 (engine coolant temp sensor) and code 20 (which is the electrical load detector, which will require further inquiry). I checked a few sources and it looks like I had the Vtec solenoid plug connected to the engine coolant temp sensor. I found what should be the correct plug (same plug shape, different wire colors) and connected it. Obviously a road test would be great at this point to see if this solved the idle issue, but that isn't in the cards at the moment. Beyond pulling codes I moved the air filter so it's no longer directly in harms way down low and gravity-bled the front brakes a bit. I will probably have my wife help me fully bleed them tonight but I think I got a few bubbles out as it is and the pedal feels better.
Side note: The fact that I am able to read codes from an OBD1 ECU in an OBD2 car & wiring harness is completely amazing to me. I have become increasingly fond of utilizing whatever factory engineered components I can, and the fact that I can still read the codes in this mismash of a car makes me so happy. Way to go Honda and thank you internet for documenting all of this so well.
Great news on the first drive. Sounds like a couple minor bugs to work out, but nothing serious. Congratulations!
In reply to 10001110101 :
Thank you! Hopefully it will be a fun summer of Honda enjoyment!
If you haven't ventured over to Honda Tech yet, there is a lot of good info if you ignore the noise and "search noob" posts. I usually get there by googling the symptoms. May help narrow down the CEL issues. High idle could be a dirty IACV or you could have it switched with the IAT sensor - the plugs are similar. Mine does idle high (about 1500 rpm until warmed up then drops to about 900), but sometimes stays at 1000. Of course you mentioned eyeballing the throttle cable. With the GSR trans I'm at 3500 rpm at 65, which is normal.
Looks like you also have the SRS light on too. That is an easy fix - disconnect the yellow(?) plug from the cluster, it could be an ECU fault too. Mine lights up when its plugged in.
In reply to chrispy :
Oh man, I am forever in debt to Honda Tech on this project. So much of my information has come from there, and most of the write ups are so detailed and great. The IACV shouldn't be dirty, it's brand new, and I'm pretty sure I didn't mix up the IAT plug. However I did mix up the VTEC and ECT plug, I'm hoping that helps the high idle. My thought is that it probably was running crazy rich and likely idling high because it had no ECT and was thinking it was like -100 degrees out or something like that. I'll look into it further when I can drive the car again. Right now there's about 4" of snow on the ground.
Thanks for the tip on the SRS light, I'll try disconnecting that plug and see if that turns it off.
Glad to see it on the road, good work! Should be a blast for the summer haha.
Congrats on the first start and drive!!
Your ELD code is probably a result of the Canadian spec harness, ELD is a US-only thing I believe. You'll need a Canadian spec ecu or US spec harness. Might be able to wire it up separate. Actually, what kind of alternator so you have? I remember when my EK had a B series there was a difference in the alternator plug. That's the direction to look into anyways for that code.
In reply to Run_Away :
Thanks! The reading I've done supports what you're saying about the canadian harness. I have the stock alternator from the B20 which has the 4-wire square plug. The Canadian harness had a 3-wire oval plug. I'll keep looking into it, at the moment that's pretty low priority.
I'm Jonesin for a Hondoo again. Maybe a SheRV this time instead of a Civic, to keep it fresh.
Here's the Tax day update: I drove it to work!
Spent some more time this weekend playing around and addressing things. Re-bled the brakes on Sunday and finally got rid of the air in the system. I actually think there's a chance I bled the brakes the first time with the e-brake on :/ . Anyhow, they're bled and working properly now. I also moved my air filter so it wasn't in harms way and got a stock radiator overflow tank to replace the Gatorade bottle. Engine bay is pretty well set up now.
I also got a set of stock mudflaps from the junkyard and installed those. I love them and I think they look really tidy on the car.
Then I pushed the car outside and warmed it up. My driveway was super muddy so I decided against going for a test drive, which was hard.
Still need to replace the passenger side door handle, still need an alignment, and I want to change the timing belt before long. Overall though it works great. Correcting the plug for engine coolant temp seems to have cured my high idle issue, as well as alleviated my check engine light. As discussed earlier I expect to get another one shortly for the ELD, but for now I'm tickled. The car feels great on the road and seems pretty happy cruising at about 65-70 which is nice. The only negatives are the solid motor mounts make everything pretty buzzy/rattly, and the resonator on the exhaust hangs pretty low. Fortunately the car isn't slammed so it's OK, but it's less than ideal. For now I'll live with these minor issues.
In reply to Cousin_Eddie :
So far I really like the mechanicals of this car. The Honda engineering seems quite logical & thought out.
Gunchsta said:In reply to Cousin_Eddie :
So far I really like the mechanicals of this car. The Honda engineering seems quite logical & thought out.
Way back in the day, like the early 90s, I was a young mechanic. I formed my opinion then that Honda engineers consistently did things that made the most sense to me. I still believe that to this day. Just little things that make you say "damn, that's smart the way they did that".
And my dim bulb just put it together why your engine is so sanitary. You got no AC ! That is a foreign concept to me here in Texas.
In reply to Cousin_Eddie :
Agreed. I was a mechanic for a short while as well, and the Honda engineering always seemed more logical than say, GM FWD platform engineering.
No AC on this one, it gets pretty hot here in the summer, but none of my 'toy' cars have ever had AC so I'm used to it. As a matter of fact I think this is my first real toy that has power windows, so upgrade!
Well, the car is going in to get an alignment on Wednesday and the timing belt/water pump kit is on order. Hopefully once I check those two off the list I can look forward to a summer of enjoyment.
Gunchsta said:The only negatives are the solid motor mounts make everything pretty buzzy/rattly...
Call me crazy, but I've always really liked solid mounts. I think they provide a much more direct feel for the drivetrain and I love the feedback they provide. Rattles be damned.
In reply to JeremyJ :
That is definitely the trade off. I too appreciate how snappy and responsive the car feels with the solid mounts, close ratio trans, and stage 2 clutch, it's kind of an animal though I doubt it's actually fast in any sense of the word.
Maybe you've convinced me, they aren't all bad :)
My work is done here.
Huge mega update here folks. My hood prop rod clip came in the mail yesterday. Come with me on this photographic journey of installation.
Please hold your applause. My hands are bloodied and beat to a pulp from ... wait no they're not. Installation was as easy as it looks. Open bag, push clip into hole, push prop rod into clip. Profit.
dang, Honda Genuine. check out Mister Deep Pockets over here!
j/k of course. this morning on my way to work i stopped at the honda dealer and paid too much for Honda Genuine cabin air filter and engine air filter while i was there picking up 4 quarts of HG ATF for wifey's 2010 Ody. sometimes easy beats cheap.
In reply to AngryCorvair :
Deep pockets is right! Since I've shared so many of my projects with you guys, here's a picture of myself.
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