91 accord lx trans problems help!!!!

[petey882]

hey guys my girls car is a 91 accord with 265xxx miles on it automatic..... ever since she has had the car the s light on the dash which im guessin is the indicator for the sport shift mode always blinks no matter if you push the sport shift button or not and the car has always been sluggish...well today she calls me and says she left work and backed out and it was fine and then put in in drive (d4) it wouldnt go hardly so she put it in d3 and she said it took off but very slowly so i told her to drive it hoem just go slow... so she gets home and tells me everytime she came to a stop it would take forever for the car to get up to speed she said she had it to the floor and was only goin 30mph so i go out and back it in and out of my driveway and it is taking off fine now like it has always not like she was decribing could that be the trans computer bad also the fluid smells a little burnt please help this is her only ride to work and she cant drive my 5spd yea i know shes slow like that

[Joay]

If it's intermittent and works fine sometimes, then it could be the TCU. Couldn't hurt to change the fluid, but if it isn't the computer you're probably going to have to get a rebuild anyway.

[petey882]

well it has always been sluggish on take off and it shifts hard into second it does need the front motor mount also.... and two when you are driving at 45 and then have to slow down to say 35 the trans doesnt want to downshift unless you push the gas pretty hard then it downshifts really hard and why is the sport light (the square light beside the gear indicator on the dash with an s in the middle) why is that light flashing all the time and there is no difference when you push the button for sport or normal

[2oodoor]

sounds like its hung in TC lock up, bad solenoid or TCM

[Dr_Snooz]

Burnt fluid is bad. I'd start with a fluid flush. ...and prayer...

I have a '93 SE but I don't have any light for sport mode or any sport mode at all for that matter. Do you have a pic? The only S anywhere near the indicator is an SRS light, but I don't think that's what you're seeing. The gear indicators flash a trouble code when there is a problem with the tranny (usually the D indicator). There's a diagnostic section in the factory shop manual that can help you narrow it down. It might be as simple as a bad solenoid on the outside of the trans that you can replace easily or as bad as a valve body replacement. I would fix it sooner before later because judging by the burnt smell you don't have long before it's going to die.

[Civic Accord Honda]

i think i read somewere on cb7tuner that its the CEL light for the transmission, and there is someway to check the codes i belive.. , id ask over on there as its problay a common problem

[Hauntd ca3]

thats sounding very much like a converter prob. like roodoo said, either the lock up is stuck on , or quite poss that the lock up clutch has packed a shit and the stator is locked with clutch material. that would cause sluggish accel.
that burnt smell would suggest serious over heating of the fluid, which would cause the clutches to fall to bits rather rapidly

[ecogabriel]

First of all, get rid of the old transmission fluid.
Drain and refill would not get you rid of all the fluid however as quite a bit remains in the torque converter; a couple of drain and refill cycles would be necessary to get rid of most of the old fluid. But you may get rid of probably half of the old fluid which may let you run some troubleshooting (more on this below)

I would give you a couple of links that explains how torque converters work and the kind of problems that may give you. It also allows you to make some troubleshooting; if your transmission is electronically-controlled then you need to scan for trouble codes. Some are electric-related and you may probably be able to fix them yourself (like a dead solenoid for example). The first one is quite general,

http://www.aa1car.com/library/2003/ic60340.htm

The second also relates w/torque converters (from Toyota training manuals). It won't hurt reading though,

http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/AT02.pdf

[Oldblueaccord]

TCU is shot. Its under the passenger kick panel. Unhook it and youll have 2n and 3rd. You have to manually shift it. I got one from a place in FL for like 220$ lifrtime warrenty. Ill get the link its on another computer. If you drive it normal it will slip like a bitch.

wp

[2oodoor]

Im not real familiar with the 91 but if you can distinguish which solenoid is for lock up, you can disconnect it to see if it is the solenoid or the TCM. What Haunted says about the clutch material in the converter makes sense too, a good flush may or may not help with that.

On my 89 B20a auto tx, I am running a weber carb with no ECM or TCM and I use toggle switches to control the lock up. I only energize the lock up at highway speeds in D4, I disenguage it anytime I decelerate as well as when Im slowing down or stopping. If conditions do not allow me to keep the engine rpm tight up on the tranny I do not use lock up.

[Oldblueaccord]

I have posts under Oldblueaccord on cb7tunner.com. youll have to dig thru the trash on there and find out the info. The S light or D4 blinking is the TCU sending you a code or its not operating. You can try also opening the computer up and resoldering whats burned out. Its usually 2-3 caps that the juice leaked out of that need replacing.

wp

[Dr_Snooz]

Im not real familiar with the 91 but if you can distinguish which solenoid is for lock up, you can disconnect it to see if it is the solenoid or the TCM. What Haunted says about the clutch material in the converter makes sense too, a good flush may or may not help with that.

On my 89 B20a auto tx, I am running a weber carb with no ECM or TCM and I use toggle switches to control the lock up. I only energize the lock up at highway speeds in D4, I disenguage it anytime I decelerate as well as when Im slowing down or stopping. If conditions do not allow me to keep the engine rpm tight up on the tranny I do not use lock up.

Two solenoids. Right up topside and easy to get to.

[2oodoor]

Two solenoids. Right up topside and easy to get to.

i know that is were mine are, I wonder why there are two though, anybody have a clue?

[Dr_Snooz]

There are three lockup stages in the 4g: half-lockup (one solenoid), partial lockup (other solenoid) and full lockup (both). They come on at varying stages throughout the gear range. Not sure why really. I would say it's for fuel economy, but my 4g only got 20 mpg or so so if it's that, it didn't work. I do know that if you put Bridgestone tires on the car, the lockup stops working.

[Oldblueaccord]

http://autocomputersupply.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=165

I think we got the Ebay price, 174$ so hunt around there a little. My wagon was more then the standard car which is BS really I think there all the same except if you have the sport mode theres some xtra stuff it does.


wp

[ArokASE88LXi]

I do know that if you put Bridgestone tires on the car, the lockup stops working.

lol i just had to... how does that work?