Honda Car Forum

I removed the automatic transmission control unit from my '91 accord
and opened it up. The capacitor marked C32 which is a 330uf 10v
electrolytic has failed and leaked electrolyte onto the board nearby,
giving it a black appearance. Also the resistor marked R41 is burnt.
It is color coded Brown-Green-"BURNT" and has a gold tolerance band.
I guess the burnt band is a Black band so this would be a 15 ohm
resistor, just like the one next to it. It and the one next to it
measure about 15 ohms. Does anyone know if 15 ohms is correct for
R41? I have read on this forum that there are two resistors that
fail. Does anyone know which one it is?

I can easily replace these 2 parts, but my questions are: What makes
these parts fail and is there another commonly-failed part that makes
them go out that should be replaced while I have the TCU out of the
car?

Thanks much for the help!

John

jbbrooks99@yahoo.com (John) wrote in message news:<c2500c83.0312090608.63876ff@posting.google.c om>...
> I removed the automatic transmission control unit from my '91 accord
> and opened it up. The capacitor marked C32 which is a 330uf 10v
> electrolytic has failed and leaked electrolyte onto the board nearby,
> giving it a black appearance. Also the resistor marked R41 is burnt.
> It is color coded Brown-Green-"BURNT" and has a gold tolerance band.
> I guess the burnt band is a Black band so this would be a 15 ohm
> resistor, just like the one next to it. It and the one next to it
> measure about 15 ohms. Does anyone know if 15 ohms is correct for
> R41? I have read on this forum that there are two resistors that
> fail. Does anyone know which one it is?
>
> I can easily replace these 2 parts, but my questions are: What makes
> these parts fail and is there another commonly-failed part that makes
> them go out that should be replaced while I have the TCU out of the
> car?


electrolytic capacitors "perforate" with age. the electrolyte breaks
down and there is a burn through between conductors. i don't have a
tcu handy, but will look in my box tomorrow to see if i can find the
resistor value.
Chip

It seems that electrolytic capacitors do not age well. This begs the
question: Should all the electrolytics be replaced to prevent future
problems or is this particular one (C32, the 330uf) under more stress?
Is this the cap that failed for you?

Thanks for your help.
John

chip@chipanddebby.com (Chip Stein) wrote in message news:<5ddcea74.0312091710.74a4f055@posting.google. com>...
> jbbrooks99@yahoo.com (John) wrote in message news:<c2500c83.0312090608.63876ff@posting.google.c om>...
> > I removed the automatic transmission control unit from my '91 accord
> > and opened it up. The capacitor marked C32 which is a 330uf 10v
> > electrolytic has failed and leaked electrolyte onto the board nearby,
> > giving it a black appearance. Also the resistor marked R41 is burnt.
> > It is color coded Brown-Green-"BURNT" and has a gold tolerance band.
> > I guess the burnt band is a Black band so this would be a 15 ohm
> > resistor, just like the one next to it. It and the one next to it
> > measure about 15 ohms. Does anyone know if 15 ohms is correct for
> > R41? I have read on this forum that there are two resistors that
> > fail. Does anyone know which one it is?
> >
> > I can easily replace these 2 parts, but my questions are: What makes
> > these parts fail and is there another commonly-failed part that makes
> > them go out that should be replaced while I have the TCU out of the
> > car?
>
>
> electrolytic capacitors "perforate" with age. the electrolyte breaks
> down and there is a burn through between conductors. i don't have a
> tcu handy, but will look in my box tomorrow to see if i can find the
> resistor value.
> Chip

I have a 1990 honda accord and I think I have narrowed the sport light that wont go off, the car starting off and staying in 3rd gear and the tcu red light on to the tcu hvaing something wrong with it. You named all these weird parts I have never heard of and y ou said they were easy to replace so if I took my tcu out and looked at it would the parts needing to be replaced just be obvious and would they be easy to take out of the tcu? And also where do you get the new needed replacement parts? Also where could I find like a replacement tcu except from the honda dealer?

I had the same problem on my '91 Accord with the same symptoms you
described.. Found a replacement tcu from a local junk yard for like $90.
Transmission has been working well since.

I remember at that time, ordering a tcu from Honda would have taken 3-4
months because no dealership had the part in their inventory. I believe it
might still be the same today.

- Dave



"jfk05" <lil_kendy@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bff78b958c20422b3c817daced33bd9f@localhost.ta lkaboutautos.com...
> I have a 1990 honda accord and I think I have narrowed the sport light
that wont go off, the car starting off and staying in 3rd gear and the tcu
red light on to the tcu hvaing something wrong with it. You named all these
weird parts I have never heard of and y ou said they were easy to replace so
if I took my tcu out and looked at it would the parts needing to be replaced
just be obvious and would they be easy to take out of the tcu? And also
where do you get the new needed replacement parts? Also where could I find
like a replacement tcu except from the honda dealer?
>

"Dave Hau" <nospam_davehau_nospam_123@nospam_netscape.net> wrote in message news:<7wJBb.36534$Ov5.18750@newssvr29.news.prodigy .com>...
> I had the same problem on my '91 Accord with the same symptoms you
> described.. Found a replacement tcu from a local junk yard for like $90.
> Transmission has been working well since.
>
> I remember at that time, ordering a tcu from Honda would have taken 3-4
> months because no dealership had the part in their inventory. I believe it
> might still be the same today.
>



i don't know the price but we stock the tcu. it's common. 3-4 months
someone was blowing smoke up your ass.
Chip

"Chip Stein" <chip@chipanddebby.com> wrote in message
news:5ddcea74.0312101555.1c74c042@posting.google.c om...
> "Dave Hau" <nospam_davehau_nospam_123@nospam_netscape.net> wrote in
message news:<7wJBb.36534$Ov5.18750@newssvr29.news.prodigy .com>...
> > I had the same problem on my '91 Accord with the same symptoms you
> > described.. Found a replacement tcu from a local junk yard for like
$90.
> > Transmission has been working well since.
> >
> > I remember at that time, ordering a tcu from Honda would have taken 3-4
> > months because no dealership had the part in their inventory. I believe
it
> > might still be the same today.
> >
>
>
>
> i don't know the price but we stock the tcu. it's common. 3-4 months
> someone was blowing smoke up your ass.

I remember even for the '91 Accord LX, there are several varieties of the
tcu, and ideally you want to match the code exactly, based on your current
tcu. Are you saying that you stock all of the varieties for the '91 Accord
LX? If so, that's quite impressive. Let me know which dealership that is
and I'd be sure to look you up next time I need a hard-to-find authentic
part.

- Dave


> Chip

I have two honde TCUs. The circuit board for one is
labelled "EAT X4J/A-B" and the other is "X4J/A-E".
In both, the R 41 and R42 resistors are the same (15 ohm).

I have a 92 Accord with the same problem. In researching this problem, I heard
the release solenoid on the shift handle will short out and burn up those
resistors. See the following link for a horror story on it. As your email
implies, we know if you don't fix the original problem, you can keep replacing
computers (TCU's) until your pocketbook quits or you give up.

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff49761.htm

Good luck!
Mac

In article <c2500c83.0312090608.63876ff@posting.google.com> , John says...
>
>I removed the automatic transmission control unit from my '91 accord
>and opened it up. The capacitor marked C32 which is a 330uf 10v
>electrolytic has failed and leaked electrolyte onto the board nearby,
>giving it a black appearance. Also the resistor marked R41 is burnt.
>It is color coded Brown-Green-"BURNT" and has a gold tolerance band.
>I guess the burnt band is a Black band so this would be a 15 ohm
>resistor, just like the one next to it. It and the one next to it
>measure about 15 ohms. Does anyone know if 15 ohms is correct for
>R41? I have read on this forum that there are two resistors that
>fail. Does anyone know which one it is?
>
>I can easily replace these 2 parts, but my questions are: What makes
>these parts fail and is there another commonly-failed part that makes
>them go out that should be replaced while I have the TCU out of the
>car?
>
>Thanks much for the help!
>
>John