Honda Car Forum

Hello friends,

CEL is on in my 98 civic.
Plug in with my OBDII and saw P0420.
Dropped the car to mechanic yesterday.
They replaced my catalytic converter 2 years ago.
And... I just got a phone call, mechanic claimed that my computer gond bad...
They said they can't read any code.
Mechanic suggested to replace computer $900 (new) or $460 (used).
So, after all these, they may find P0420.

Any suggestions?
I'm gonna go to other mechanics and get second opinion today.
What if computer really gone bad? Probably it is.

Honda service bulletin 05-027 relates to P0420. Possible poor connection at ignitor

Thank you, Jimmyd22.
Here's an update.

I went to the first mechanic to pick up the car.
they tried two different scanner to read my computer and failed.
they also tried another computer from a different car and hooked up to my car to see if that's the problem.
They claimed that everything's "fine" with another computer.
"Fine" means there's no code detected... (well i'm not surprised!!)
the mechanic suggested to drive some more and see if the same problem comes up again.
I agreed and came home.

Then, I used my OBDII.
It sure did show "unable to connect", even though I saw P0420 myself two days ago.
Then, I tried again...
Somehow it was connected/tried to retrieve the code and screen says no DTC stored.

well... it seems like the computer is reset.
i plan to drive some more and see if the same problem comes up.
man... too many possibilities.

i'll keep you posted.