My 1986 LX-i

[Tecknixia]

Well, just a couple days ago (Saturday, July 15, 2006) I picked up a blue '86 LX-i with manual transmission, 4 door.

$300

Considering I drove it home (about an hour away), I'd say I got a pretty good deal! Well, it did have some problems, but I'm working on it.

The biggest problem was that it didn't start before I bought it. Upon closer inspection, wires and vacuum hoses were cut. Sunflower seeds and hair on the valve cover... chipmunks. Yeah, they chewed the wires and chopped the vacuum hoses. 1 wire going to an injector, 2 going to the EGR valve, 3 coming from the coil, and vacuum hoses 15, 12, 24, 19, and 16 were cut.

So using some speaker wire, the wires were reconnected (except the 2 going to the egr.. I thought they were fixed, but were cut further down the wire also (didn't notice it until after the drive). Turned the key, vrooom! It starts and stays running with a fluctuating idle (obviously the vacuum hoses).

On the drive back, engine power fluctuated. It wouldn't respond, then would kick back in, and sometimes wouldn't kick back in and the car would stall. Start it and it's working again for a little while. It was quite random though. After a while I just changed the battery, cause I had a new one with me and was tired of push starting the car every time it died.

Figured it could be bad gas, so filled it up, didn't have a problem for a long time, then it started happening again, I noticed the temp gauge was rising too. Finally got it to it's destination (my storage) without overheating.

I fixed the wires and vacuum hoses today, and also changed the air filter (it had an indent in it with chipmunk fir lining it, obviously somebody's favorite relaxation spot... not any more. It's a good thing it didn't chew all the way through the filter... chipmunk + combustion chamber = NOT GOOD. The temp gauge still rises above what i would consider normal. It also idles at 1,000 rpms, but it's steady.

I'm going to try a new thermostat to see if that fixes the rising temp gauge. Other issues:

Power steering leak
Sticky clutch
CV makes noise on turns
shaking while braking (rotors)
tires out of balance

That's it! I don't know if the car will stall or not since fixing the wires and vacuum hoses, but I suspect not.

Non engine related issues are right front door window won't roll up.
(Problem fixed, here's the thread: http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?p=737231)

Door locks are very noisy
Body has a few areas of rust on it

Oh yeah, I need to change the oil too, cause it's above the top hole on the dipstick.

All in all, not bad for a drivable car for $300.

I will be fixing the major problems first, then the other problems little by little. The biggest problem right now is the unstable temperature.

[MECM]

I got my 86 LXi for $100 :)

[Tecknixia]

Ugh, and hatchback too! U suck! (I'm jealous)

Wanna trade? :deal:

:bowrofl:

[ghettogeddy]

i got both my lx's for $300 in great running condition

[Tecknixia]

Yeah but they're carb... :thumbdn: j/k man, I used to have a DX and it was a great car!

Actually I probably could have gotten the car for less. I didn't mind though. He wasn't trying to make money, he just didn't want to junk it.

So where does everyone get these great deals? I found mine on craigslist.com

[ghettogeddy]

i got my lx from an ex-coworker it was a quick buy caus emy volvo needed a lot of work at the time and i was cumuting :45 to 1:00 a day
and i got my girls lx from Eric R here on the board for her first car and another one for me to fix up/ oem mod it

[Tecknixia]

cool

[MessyHonda]

found mine in craigslist...500 for a semi mint car

[Tecknixia]

Well, I've started working on it a little bit...

Rotors:

Since I can't drive the car yet (no insurance on it) I decided might as well take off the rotors and have them turned. Ha! Easier said then done... on the left side, the screws were messed up. The other side was fine, so I took off those screws. Then I went back to the other side and used an impact driver and a 3lb hammer. It worked!

So the rotors come right off now right? WRONG... well, I got the right side off, but the left side was STUCK HARD. I used PB blaster or whatever it's called and just kept trying to knock the rotor off with the 3lb hammer. Finally it took a good hard whack with the hammer and it seperated from the hub. Whew! I just hope I didn't mess up the rotor trying to get it off.

After getting the rotors off I painted the hubs with anti-seize to prevent it from happening again.

Tomorrow I might try to have them turned, that is if they're within spec, there's some serious grooves, and the left one has a dark mark where the brake pad was sitting... stuck caliper maybe?

Clutch Cable:

My clutch pedal was real sticky (not to the point of staying on the floor, but slowly followed my foot when letting up). I checked the adjustment and there was no play at the clutch arm. So I loosened it and the pedal definitely feels different, but I can't drive it since I don't have the brake rotors on the car... so I don't know if it's fixed or not.

Loss of Power:

I think I know why the car stalls and loses power when driving... there's a wire harness that comes out of the distributor... and although I fixed those wires (after being chewed through) I had noticed that the ground wire was corroded. So perhaps the distributor is just losing it's ground connection... that could definitely cause what I was experiencing. I'm going to order a new harness (distributor to coil) $64.07 ... ouch! Oh well, hope that does it... if nothing else it will keep me from having to have speaker wire laying around in my engine bay, hehe.

Fluctuating Temperature:

I haven't worked on this yet, but I'm going to be ordering a new thermostat and a new radiator cap, so hopefully that takes care of it.

Power Steering Leak:

I believe this leak is the PS pump leaking. I'm ordering some gaskets and seals to stop that.

[jlros75]

Hey Tecknixia,
Give me a call I have some good parts from my car 86 lx that could be used to fix your's, If you're interested send me a p.m or call me at : 801-856-7631.

I think the problem with the temperature might be the coolant sensor mounted at the bottom of the radiator (I have one if you need it.) I will suggest to replace that sensor before dumping money in other sensors and thermostat (been there before and after new thermostat, new water pump, new temperature gauge sender unit, I still had the overheating problem until I changed the coolant sensor) That sensor controls fan operation and if not working properly will overheat your car.

[Tecknixia]

Cool man, I'm glad you posted...

I will get back to you on this since every week is a busy one for me. PM you later.

I remember that both fans were on, but the car was still hotter then it should be. I think one of the sensors might need to be replaced, cause after turning off the car, the fan didn't come on right away, it came on a few minutes after the car was off... so it might still be the sensor, idk.

Do you have the distributor, and the wires that come from it and plug into the coil? (not spark wire).

I might be able to make a trip up to Denver on a Monday or Tuesday...

Edit: In fact, there might be a meet on Labor Day....

Edit2: The carb distributors are different, so that wire harness won't work unfortunately... that sucks.

Rotors:

I took the rotors in to get turned... they were within specs... I had to leave them there though, cause I was working... I'll get to pick them up tomorrow... sounds silly but I can't wait!

Edit: Got them now, so they'll probably go back on the car Monday.

[Tecknixia]

I almost got upset with Majestic Honda... but I'm waiting to see how they respond.

I submitted an order using a different shipping address. I used to have the "same address" box checked, so I forgot to uncheck it. So it applied my shipping address as my billing address.

I sent an email explaining what I did, and asked if there was a need to call them. The response was...

"We'll need to cancel the order. Please submit and new order online."

... but then I checked my bank account and they had already charged me for the order!

They weren't clear on if I needed to call them or not, but were clearly telling me to submit another order. I am not happy about that... but I sent an email just saying that I don't see a need to cancel the order since they already charged me, the shipping address is correct anyways.

I'll let you know how they respond.

[ESDEEZ]

you make me feel good about selling my car. there are still some desp.... I mean loyal 3gers :D

[Tecknixia]

Haha, yeah, I guess I'm an addict... they're just such cool little cars...

Why are you selling yours?

Actually, it's ironic you said what you did cause I'm pretty sure now that it burns oil... oh well.

It's kinda weird... I'm not used to having a beater again... I keep wanting to fix it up.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh yeah, so I got another email from majestic, and they said they voided my order and told me to allow a few days for processing. So I'm just going to wait until my bank account shows that they've credited it back to me before I order again.

[ilikevtecs]

Clutch cable might be frayed inside causing it to stick like that, I just got a new from ebay for 30 bucks.

[ESDEEZ]

Haha, yeah, I guess I'm an addict... they're just such cool little cars...
Why are you selling yours?

I can not agree with you more 3gees are da bst.
im selin mine becus we movin abroard
*snif**snif*

[ESDEEZ]

Haha, yeah, I guess I'm an addict... they're just such cool little cars...
Why are you selling yours?
I can not agree with you more 3gees are da bst.
im selin mine becus we movin abroard
*snif**snif*

[Tecknixia]

ilikevtecs,
After adjusting the cable it is a lot easier to drive, but still doesn't feel smooth... you are probably right about the cable. I'm just gonna drive it like that for a while, since it's no longer a critical problem.

sds,
Sorry to hear you have to sell the car, but good luck with your move!

----

Well, majestic took off the charge, so I re-ordered the parts (using the correct info this time).

For the injectors:

4 o-rings
4 RUBBER RING, INJECTOR
4 SEAL RING, INJECTOR

For the power steering pump

1 OIL SEAL (16x30x7)
2 SEAL, HOUSING
1 SEAL, PLUNGER
2 O-RING (18.3x1.9)

For the cooling system

1 CAP, RADIATOR
1 THERMOSTAT UNIT (82)
1 RUBBER

Positive Crankcase Ventilation

1 VALVE ASSY., PCV

Rotor Screws

4 SCREW, FLAT (6x14)

My lug nuts get stuck in the socket that I have, I think they're rounding off, so...

16 NUT, WHEEL

For the distributor (TEC)

1 CAP, DISTRIBUTOR
1 HEAD, ROTOR
1 COVER, LEAK
1 WIRE HARNESS ASSY.

For the hood prop, to attach it to the car...

1 GROMMET, HOOD STAY

That's all for now, I'm just waiting for these parts to arrive. Grrr! I forgot to order a fuel filter for the car... I don't know if it's been changed or not, oh well, next time I guess.

I forgot to mention that the rotors are back on the car... I think I still felt the pedal pulsate... so I guess having them turned won't help if they're warped? That sucks. I also have 2 extra prelude rotors that I think will fit, but they probably need to be turned too (completely covered in rust).

[ESDEEZ]

ilikevtecs,
After adjusting the cable it is a lot easier to drive, but still doesn't feel smooth... you are probably right about the cable. I'm just gonna drive it like that for a while, since it's no longer a critical problem.
sds,
Sorry to hear you have to sell the car, but good luck with your move!


Thanks mate

[Tecknixia]

I bought some windshield wiper blades for the car... much needed, the old ones' blades were torn off.

I forgot to mention that I changed the oil a while back... but not the filter yet, I'll get to that eventually. I'll probably change the oil again before it's ready for the road.

Window:

The front passenger window doesn't roll up. I actually somehow got it to start to, but then it wouldn't work again. It's weird, but characteristic... I can roll it down anytime I want, but can't roll it up at any point. I think it's electrical and not mechanical.... but it seemed like the both times it worked I was trying to assist the movement. However, when it doesn't work, trying to assist it won't help. So it might have just been coincidental.

I'll just have to keep experimenting... and I might look at the circuit diagram to get ideas.

Tires:

The front right tire goes flat after a couple weeks. If I find where it's leaking from I might be able to plug it.

[ChaseR]

chipmunk + Combustion chamber = REALLY GOOD SOUP! LOL Id like to see what would happen to a chipmunk LOL, really neat images are running through my mind, I am sick...

[Tecknixia]

lol

[Tecknixia]

Well, I finally have an update (sorta). I just finished putting back together my power steering pump after replacing all the rubber gaskets and the oil seal. The pump was leaking horribly, but now it shouldn't leak.

I haven't put it on the car yet, I'll probably get to it next week.

I'm also trying to work on the distributor, but those screws are all locked down so tight I'm afraid of stripping them. So how do you replace the rotor on these things? I guess I need to take it apart more. Damn screws.

[1ajs]

may i sujest buying some zink oxied primer to spray on the rust on the car to stop it from geting wors

[Tecknixia]

^^^ Yeah, I'll probably do that one of these days... right now it's just in storage.

---

I put the power steering pump and distributor back on and it's running again! I didn't drive it much, but I don't think it will stall anymore.

The power steering pump belt was slipping quite a bit, but I don't know how to adjust it yet. I tried just pulling up on the pump while I tightened the nut on the bottom.

The car had an intermittent surging idle when it was warming up, but it went away after letting it run.

I also changed the thermostat and radiator cap (and bled the coolant)... I heard the fan come on and off a few times. It was cool outside, so I don't know if the car will still overheat in hot weather or not.

So, it seems driveable... but I need to replace the right axle and fix the front right power window.

[Tecknixia]

The power steering pump belt adjustment is possibly the most ghetto thing I've seen Honda design. I read the service manual and even did it that way, and I'm still thinking... Do you seriously have to pry up the pump to get the belt tight? That's ghetto. Anyways, no more squeeking, and power steering is working perfectly.

I need a couple relays for this thing. I was trying to figure out why the right front window will roll down (sometimes), but not roll up. There was also hesitation with the left front window... but it works more often then the right window. I checked the fuses (in case the current was jumping) and they are good. I took out the window relay and put it back in. While I was holding it I noticed it was warm. I felt the relay next to it, and it was cold. I think the window problem is the relay.

(Problem fixed... here's the thread: http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?p=737231)

Also, when I put my hazards on, sometimes only one side of the car will light up, so I need the hazards relay also.

My reverse lights don't come on, so I guess I need to replace the bulbs.

Other then that, the only thing that I'm not happy with is the fact that the car spews smoke (from oil) out of the exhaust, even when just idling. If anyone has a spare engine, I need one...

Also, if anyone has those relays, I need those too.

[Tecknixia]

So I keep hearing that after Dec 31rst I won't have to worry about emissions, so I can get the car registered... I just need to wait.

I was driving it today and it hesitated again, almost lost power, but power came back... so I guess it still has that problem. I've replaced the distributer wire harness, the distributer cap, and spark plug wires... so I suppose it could either be the spark plugs themselves, or the coil or ignitor...

... actually, come to think of it, it could just be the main relay... it seems like a lot of relays are failing on this car... weird. I bet either that's it, or the coil/ignitor because it kinda stumbles when first starting.

After I fix this problem, and putting some no smoke in there, I'll probably just drive it around with a for sale sign in the window while I replace the axle and fix the power steering problems on my prelude. I'll probably sell it for like $600.

Then get me a hatchback.

[Tecknixia]

My prelude wouldn't start one day, so I had to call up the insurance company and get insurance started on the Accord. I've been spending so much money lately it's depressing. So I've been driving it around for a few days.

The biggest problem the car has that bothers me is that when the gas needle gets towards the bottom of the gauge, the car sometimes stumbles at idle. When the tank is full, it's fine. Seems like a fuel pressure issue. I bought a fuel filter for it, so hopefully that takes care of it.

The first day I drove it, it was smoking a lot from under the hood. I suspect it could either be an oil leak, or left over power steering fluid from when I replaced the pump shaft seal. I haven't noticed it as much recently, but it's been very cold outside. So I don't know if it went away, or if it's something I need to pay attention to.

Both axles are clicking.

The clutch pedal doesn't work smoothly. It feels hard to press, but doesn't come up willingly either. So I guess it needs a new cable and return spring.

The headlight assembly on the left side is missing a bolt and it bounces with uneven surfaces of the road. I'm sure it's very annoying to other drivers.

The gas pedal responds as SOON as I touch it, and I usually have a slightly high idle, so I should probably adjust the throttle cable to give it some slack.

When it was cold and I first started driving the car again... something was making a high pitched whirring sound in the clutch. Pressing the clutch pedal affected the sound... and usually got louder when I pressed it in, but was still present when releasing the clutch pedal. It's not so appearent now since I've been driving it around, but if I drive off without warming up the car and it's cold outside, the noise is there.

I also have some clutch chatter.

Last thing that bothers me is that the rear view mirror won't stay in place... it's become loose over the years.

Oh yeah, and theres some vibration at highway speeds... I'm assuming it's the tires.

On the bright side, the brakes feel good now... strange, because I thought they were pulsating after I turned the rotors, but now it's fine... oh well, cool.

The car still isn't registered, and I got my Prelude started again, so now I'll put the car back in storage. I have until the 4th of January to get my car registered, so I'll probably try the no-smoke thing and see if it'll pass emissions this month... if not, I'll just wait until after the first because I won't need to get an emissions test then.

------------------

Edit [12-05-2006]: I just finished changing the fuel filter... when I poured the gas out of the old one, it came out a nasty muddy brown, more so towards the bottom of the filter of course.

Oh, and I also re-adjusted the FIV, so maybe it won't fluctuate while warming up anymore.

[mushroom_toy]

You work fast man lol.

[Tecknixia]

Well, I'm gonna sell the car.

Not right away, but it smokes too much, so it's not worth keeping.

I put in half a bottle of "NO-SMOKE" with leak sealer, and some Penzoil 10w-30... that shit is smoking just as bad if not worse then when I had Mobil1 synthetic in it.

Hmm, I broke a plastic screwdriver handle and strained a muscle in my neck trying to get the old oil filter off... maybe it hadn't been replaced in a while. I think the screwdriver was caught on something that wouldn't let it turn though. I got it eventually.

I found some relays from my wrecked prelude, and swapped out the cooling fan and power window relays. The passenger side window still got stuck trying to move the window up. It'll move down just fine (although slowly) but it sometimes moves up and sometimes doesn't. When it's not moving up it won't help to pull up on the window... it only helps when it's moving slowly.

I don't think there was a problem with the cooling fan, there may be a problem with one of the coolant sensors though.

Adjusting the FIV definitely fixed the fluctuating idle issue. The idle is set a little high... more then likely it was done at the throttle body... probably to keep the car from dying at times. The throttle cable has enough slack in it.

I might spend some time making the car seem less like a POS and clean it, primer rust spots, lubricate window sliders and power door locks, etc. I don't know though.

Hmm... I guess I do work fast... lol

[Tecknixia]

So now my car is road legal... but the insurance card I have expires on the 4th... ha! I have insurance, but I need the proof of it.

The other problem is, the lady at the DMV said that the title wasn't signed right by the sellers... but she took it anyways, but she said I might get a letter from the state. I asked what if I couldn't get a hold of the previous owners... she said the state would contact them. Well, I hope everything gets worked out easily... because I might be selling the car again.

At least it's insured and registered for now.

This engine smokes BAD while it's idling... but when I'm accellerating I don't see a cloud or anything... I wonder if changing the PCV valve would make any difference or not. That's the next thing I'm going to do, that and changing the injector seals.

Edit: oh I forgot to add that I added the missing bolt to the headlight assembly so it won't bounce anymore... and I lined up the washers with where it looked like the washers had been before and tested the pop ups and both motors are working properly and no weird noises.

[killa_16]

you have done alot 2 that car...lol...seems like u keep finding sumthing new every day lol good luck with everything

[Reptile]

On the 22nd or 23rd I am picking up my new 87 LX-i hatch same color as yours for $1500 on ebay. I am going to pick it up and drive it from Florida back to Kansas City where I live. I am looking forward to the long trip to get to know my new friend.

God I missed having a 3G!

[MessyHonda]

On the 22nd or 23rd I am picking up my new 87 LX-i hatch same color as yours for $1500 on ebay. I am going to pick it up and drive it from Florida back to Kansas City where I live. I am looking forward to the long trip to get to know my new friend.
God I missed having a 3G!


congrats....that car better be mint for that much money

[Reptile]

Actually one of the fenders and underside of the hood is a different color but the biggest thing is that it is rust free. A $100 paint job can fix that minor problem and the guy has made any other mechanical repairs that it needed. I have his word in writing that it will run well enough to drive cross-country and after spending a lot of time talking to him I believe him. If I did not think the car was worth the price I would not have paid it.

[Tecknixia]

Congrats on the 87 LX-i hatch!

Yeah this car I have has it's problems. Appearently... my friend said that the smoke smells like coolant.... but I swear it looks like oil... so, it could possibly be some of both. It also seems like I may be losing coolant. I remember the car trying to overheat on a warm day too. So, I'm pretty sure the head gasket is leaking.

On top of that, my friend said the reason the clutch is so hard to press is because of the throw out bearing. I tried pulling up on the clutch arm with my hand, but it's HARD to move. I took one end of the clutch cable off and noticed it moved easily enough. I returned the new clutch cable I bought. So basically it also needs a clutch job.

The dude I bought it from said it just needed some TLC... but damn! I didn't know he meant overhauling the whole car!

Dispite a fuel issue, and overheating in hot weather (no problems in cold weather), the car runs great though! It's a shame it needs so much work. There is someone who will more then likely buy this one from me if I decide to get a hatch. He knows about the TO bearing and engine problems and is still interested in it.

[MessyHonda]

the coolant and oil could be your headgasket.

[Tecknixia]

Yeah, I'm thinking that's what it is.

I forgot to mention the car's engine power cuts out at random. I made another thread about it and it was determined to be the fuel pump.

So this car needs:
1) headgasket
2) fuel pump
3) clutch TO bearing
4) new axles
5) alignment

I talked to this one dude that has an lxi hatchback and will be getting a newer car soon. He still has the hatchback and will let me know when he's ready to sell it. The scary thing is that the car has over 300,000 miles on it. I've seen him driving it around though, and didn't notice it smoking... so that's a good sign.

I'll hopefully be able to buy it for around $600 and sell the car I have now for around $200 - $300.

[shepherd79]

rule #1: never use Synthetic oil on engine with a lot of mileage. My engine started to smoke after i started to use synthetic oil. I will never use it again unless i have freshly rebuild engine or new style engine.

[MessyHonda]

Yeah, I'm thinking that's what it is.
I forgot to mention the car's engine power cuts out at random. I made another thread about it and it was determined to be the fuel pump.
So this car needs:
1) headgasket
2) fuel pump
3) clutch TO bearing
4) new axles
5) alignment
I talked to this one dude that has an lxi hatchback and will be getting a newer car soon. He still has the hatchback and will let me know when he's ready to sell it. The scary thing is that the car has over 300,000 miles on it. I've seen him driving it around though, and didn't notice it smoking... so that's a good sign.
I'll hopefully be able to buy it for around $600 and sell the car I have now for around $200 - $300.


yeah that is alot of work.....i would get a lower mile car try to get an 89

[Tecknixia]

I definitely would... but I don't want to spend a lot of money (my main car is my 3rd gen prelude, the accord is my beater), and I want a hatchback. I would be willing to fix up one that has problems as long as it has good emissions and is drivable.

If I didn't want a hatch so bad I'd buy a headgasket or another engine, a TO bearing, and a fuel pump and do the work myself...

I'm sure I would enjoy the car then... but one of the reasons I want a hatch is since I use the car to throw newspapers, the sedan's driver window is too small, it restricts my arm movement when throwing papers and it's annoying. A coupe would work too, but I'm going to be moving stuff, so a hatch would be better.

I really would love to be able to spend $1500 or so on a low mileage 89 hatch with manual trans, but it would take time to find one, and I can't afford to spend that much :(

Well, since i still have this car for now, I've been trying to figure out why the power window in the right front door will go down, but only occasionally go up. I tried testing the wires. I found out from the service manual the way the motor works, is it has two wires going to it. When you move the switch to the up position, it sends voltage through one wire, while the other is grounded. When you move the switch do the down position, it sends voltage through the opposite wire, while the other is grounded. Basically it swaps polarities depending on which way you want the motor to go, and both wires are grounded when the motor is off.

Here's the weird thing. When I move the switch to down, I get 14V on one wire... the way it's supposed to work... but when I move the switch to up, I get half the volts (6 something) on both wires! It's not constant either, it jumps between 0 and 6 something volts. It seems like something is shorting out and leaking voltage to ground. I need to do more testing to find out whether it's a switch, the wiring, or the motor.


rule #1: never use Synthetic oil on engine with a lot of mileage. My engine started to smoke after i started to use synthetic oil. I will never use it again unless i have freshly rebuild engine or new style engine.

I've heard that you're not supposed to use synthetic oil on a new engine either, it affects the break in process... so don't use it on a freshly rebuilt one. Wait until it's broken in first.

[Tecknixia]

The power window problem is definitely the motor. I tested the wires coming from the switch going to the motor, disconnected from the motor and they work as they should.

I'll probably take the motor out (as soon as I get the window to go up a little bit), and prop the window somehow for now. Then, when I can get to it, I'll take the motor out of the right rear door and install it into the right front door and prop up the right rear window somehow. I will then eventually disassemble and inspect the motor that was originally from the right front door. Hopefully I'll be able to fix it... if not, then oh well.

Edit: Crap! Just found out online that the front and rear motors are different! Aw, that sucks!

Edit number 2: Problem solved, it wasn't the motor, here's the thread: http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?p=737231

[2oodoor]

You could probably swap the guts outta those, just rob the motor brushes out of the rear motor. There are some interesting threads if you search, I think everybodys windows are slow sometimes. You just have to make sure the tracks are lubed with silcone, and that the window does not bind, anything that makes the motor work too hard, eliminate.
Make sure grounds are good, voltage drop occurs on the ground side as well.

[Tecknixia]

Thanks for the tip... if it comes down to it, I'll try that. With the wires disconnected from the motor I get 14V on whichever wire is supposed to be positive depending on the direction the switch is pushed. With the wires connected to the motor, in the down direction the motor works fine 14V on that wire... but when I push the switch up, I get half the voltage on both wires.

The motor will click only sometimes, most of the time it won't even try to move. That window doesn't move smooth, but I can pull up on the window while pushing the switch and it still won't move at all. It's like I'm not even pushing the switch. I suppose it could just be a matter of resoldering something inside the motor or something.

Oh and good news, the dude who I might be getting the hatchback from says it's an 89! Yay!

[Tecknixia]

Well, I've stumbled upon a new option...

I found this on craigslist.com... it's an 88 LX-i, and is about 40 min away from me.

--- the listing ---

i am offering this car, as i bought this for 850.00. apparently i got ripped really good, as it needs $850.00 worth of work underneath. i can't afford this at all. i am offering this for $350.00. the inside is clean, the body is still good. the gas milage is fantastic!!! (1/2 tank almost 300 miles) i hate to get rid of this, its a great car to drive, however, i cannot afford the repair. i have a clear title for this. it needs;
moter mount
(2) upper ball joints
(2) outter tie rod rims
front end alignment
muffler

---

I emailed him and asked about the condition of the engine and other things. If the engine is good... I can get this car, swap over good parts from the 86, and then sell the 86 to my friend who will fix it up for himself.

The problem is... I don't know if it's a manual or auto... and the 86 has a good manual transmission. I could swap the auto to a manual, but I'll need a 88-89 manual ecu for the 88 and a 86-87 auto ecu for the 86.

OR... I could just use the auto transmission, and let my friend have the manual... and then cry... jk.

Edit: the dude never got back to me, I guess he sold the car

[Tecknixia]

Ok, now about these power windows...

I just took the motor out and took it apart, didn't notice anything wrong, put it back together hoping it would work, but nope, it does the same thing. It's not the window track either, because when I tested the motor, I didn't even have it inside the door.

I tested continuity between the connector and the brushes in the motor... one pin goes to one brush, the other pin goes to the other brush... no problems. Continuity does not cross over.

I made sure the brushes were put back in correctly and did not pop out upon re-assembly (there's a trick to this).

I'm beginning to think there's nothing wrong with the motor itself, and the problem lies elsewhere. I'll probably be testing the switches again next... more thoroughly this time.

It does make sense that if I'm losing a connection to ground, both wires to the motor would be the same voltage... (they are electrically connected through the motor) but why half the voltage, and why does it keep jumping between that and 0 volts? Hmm, could there be an intermittent short, with normally enough resistance to create a 7 volt voltage drop, to ground in the power wire used to move the window up?

I'll probably make a seperate thread for this later. (http://www.3geez.com/forum/showthread.php?p=737231)

Edit: Oh, and I forgot to mention the left rear window does the same thing, but is more likely to move if you hold the switch. Once again, it rolls down, but won't roll up right away.

[Tecknixia]

Well, I have a few new developments...

Got a fuel pump from a Junkyard for $10. It's $1 to enter... so really $11. After pulling it I realized that the car had just over 300,000 miles on it... but it looked clean and everything, so maybe it had already been replaced in that car.

I also got a newer year sidemarker for $3 to replace the broken '86 one. When I was done I was like, oh crap, it would have helped to get a matching one for the other side... oh well, I can go back later.

Nearly every LX-i there (which was quite a few) still had an engine. I also saw one in a 2nd gen prelude. I think I saw about 5 fuel injected A20s. I also saw a ZC. There were also 2 3gee hatches.

Engines are $100, no warranty, plus a $25 core charge.

So basically, I can fix this car up real cheap... here's the thing though...

A while back I used to have 2 3rd gen preludes. I sold one to a friend for $2,200. The sad thing is, he hadn't changed the oil since he bought it from me. He also never got plates for it and got pulled over without insurance (the temp tag he got for it expired nearly a year ago). So it got impounded. He's being charged $15 a day. He doesn't have a job and doesn't have any money... and if he doesn't get it out in 30 days it goes to public auction. So I made him a deal...

I get the car out of the impound and keep it, and in return for the favor, I give him my 3gee Accord. So I'm gonna fix it up a little bit for him. This way, he'll still have a car, and I'll get my Prelude back instead of it going to public auction. That way I'll have a spare engine, clutch, and transmission for my other Prelude.

Haha, I told my friend I am tempted to pick up one of those A20 engines from the junkyard for myself just to have one for when I get another Accord someday (a hatch next time). Really though, I'll just wait for when I actually get the Accord.

Edit:

I just changed the fuel pump. Um... it's easy... I thought it would have been harder. The car feels sooo much more reliable! $10 well spent!