Honda Car Forum

I don't think you can find one so cheap, they are around $100

"DrPimpDaddi" <drpimpdaddi@aol.commodore64> wrote in message
news:20030918120840.14296.00000934@mb-m18.aol.com...
> >where did you buy it??
>
> it was some auction site, unfortunately now defunct.
>
>
>
>
> ...................
> I do not killfile nor use do-not-call lists.

Are these code readers generic across all Hondas?
I have a '96 Integra, my brother has a 2002 RSX
and my mom as a 2000 Accord. It would be a great
thing to get then.

I remember years back when I was driving an old
beater. My dad had a chilton manual that said if
we pulled the connector from under the dashboard
ans shorted out certain points, the check engine
light will flash a code. Just wondering if Hondas
do that too. This was in a '81 Chevy Chevette.

DrPimpDaddi wrote:
>
> >I am sure not all of them are the same. Or you prefer to pay $80 for
> >somebody who can find it faster??
> >
>
> Just buy the code reader, bought mine for $10, and do it yourself.
>
> ...................
> I do not killfile nor use do-not-call lists.

monkey <monkey@monkey.com> wrote in message news:<3F69A1FF.241714DD@monkey.com>...
> Just a heads up.
>
> My mom has a 2000 Accord LX sedan 2.3L auto that she just loves.
> The car has been well flawless since she bought it. Well about
> 6 weeks ago, she called me saying that her check engine light
> came on and won't go off. She stated that my youngest brother
> has gasing up her car and that he didn't tighten up the gas
> cap correctly. She tightened the gas cap but the problem didn't
> go away. I told her to wait it out before taking it into have
> the car looked at. About 3 weeks after her car, I made a trip
> to Houston to visit family. I gave her car a good once over
> to see if anything was obviously out of wack.
>



I had almost the exact same problem right after I bought my car. I
replaced the regular gas cap with a locking gas cap. The place where
I bought the locking gas cap had incorrect lookup/cross-ref
documentation, so they sold me the wrong cap. After 2 fill-ups, my
CEL came on and I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. I ended
up phoning Honda dealership and they told me that you can reset it by
turning the car on and off 3 times. I tried that and it still didn't
turn it off, so after driving around a few more weeks, I finally
decided to take it into Honda - off went the locking gas cap and back
on came the stock gas cap. The day before the appointment, I had to
go do some shopping and go figure, the CEL turned off!

After that, I took a closer looked at the gas cap and noticed that
although almost identical in sizing, the locking cap was a little bit
shorter. Then through some sleuthing, I had somehow did some more
cross-referencing and found out that they had sold me the wrong
locking gas cap. Got the correct locking gas cap now and the CEL
hasn't come on now for 2 years.

Just an FYI on the CEL... I've got a 2001 prelude and you can actually
get the CEL code from it without the reader (although the reader will
probably tell you a lot more). All we do with our cars is open up a
panel on the center console (floor area) and there will be a connector
that you can jump with a piece of wire or paper clip and then turn the
car onto the accessory mode. The CEL light will flash out the code
that is the problem and then all you do is look up the code.

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 21:52:18 -0500, monkey <monkey@monkey.com> wrote:

>Are these code readers generic across all Hondas?
>I have a '96 Integra, my brother has a 2002 RSX
>and my mom as a 2000 Accord. It would be a great
>thing to get then.

The affordable ones are OBDII generic across all makes of vehicle - dunno
if any have brand specific switches/settings. I don't think they'll
deliver the "freeze data" which could be useful in some situations; for
that you might need a Honda specific reader and AFAIK that contains data
that Honda is very secretive about... meaning big $$.

>I remember years back when I was driving an old
>beater. My dad had a chilton manual that said if
>we pulled the connector from under the dashboard
>ans shorted out certain points, the check engine
>light will flash a code. Just wondering if Hondas
>do that too. This was in a '81 Chevy Chevette.

That works for some models, e.g. your Integra - the connector is tucked
behind/above the passenger side kick-panel. Any model which started after
~1998 seems to not have the jumper method and requires a OBDII code
reader.

>DrPimpDaddi wrote:
>>
>> >I am sure not all of them are the same. Or you prefer to pay $80 for
>> >somebody who can find it faster??
>> >
>>
>> Just buy the code reader, bought mine for $10, and do it yourself.
>>
>> ...................
>> I do not killfile nor use do-not-call lists.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

Most Hondas will flash out a code if you don't have the tool. Don't know
about the newest ones, but at least up to '96 they do.

On 9/18/03 9:52 PM, in article 3F6A6F62.848FC49A@monkey.com, "monkey"
<monkey@monkey.com> wrote:

> Are these code readers generic across all Hondas?
> I have a '96 Integra, my brother has a 2002 RSX
> and my mom as a 2000 Accord. It would be a great
> thing to get then.
>
> I remember years back when I was driving an old
> beater. My dad had a chilton manual that said if
> we pulled the connector from under the dashboard
> ans shorted out certain points, the check engine
> light will flash a code. Just wondering if Hondas
> do that too. This was in a '81 Chevy Chevette.
>
> DrPimpDaddi wrote:
>>
>>> I am sure not all of them are the same. Or you prefer to pay $80 for
>>> somebody who can find it faster??
>>>
>>
>> Just buy the code reader, bought mine for $10, and do it yourself.
>>
>> ...................
>> I do not killfile nor use do-not-call lists.