'88 LX died!!!

[TwtrLX]

Was comin home from a friends house after work last night, started to slow down for a red light. Light turned green before i got to it, hit the gas, oil light, battery light came on and my '88 LX died! Right at the line of an intersection. Sat there for 2 hours until 2 am (phone was dead) when a tow truck happened to come by. Cost me 65 bucks to tow it 2 blocks to my work. Im guessing it is the alternator/battery or a belt. No idea. Now im sitting at home with no ride to my car (spring break + collegetown = NOBODY). anybody in the delaware valley area want to help out a 3g owner?? I have had the car for about 3 weeks, bought it with 89,000 miles for $600. Had a JL 300/2 and satellite radio running off the battery, so i dont understand why the damn thing died. DAMMIT. help me please

[86accord4dr]

well i had some alternator probs just after i got mine. my buddy hooked up my sub amp wrong and it wasn't powering down when the ignition was off... that killed my battery and the original stock alt couldn't keep up. so open up the hood if the alt belt's still on then i'd rip the alt out and get it tested at a shop. (warning. they're a bitch to get out on carbs)

as for the oil light well the first newbie idea i had was to make sure your oil exisits. i'm sure you aren't so stupid to run with no oil but maybe you got a crack or your seals are gone. but with such low ass milage that's a good possibility cuz sounds like she sat for a while. (which is hell on gaskets)

anyways welcome to the board, use the search button for alt + battery related stuff and there's a lot of really knowledgeable ppl hanging around. enjoy your car. you will grow to love it more when you get her rolling in style again.

cheers

[dXsquared]

or...

when the car shuts off... the oil light comes on automatically!

everytime! wanna know why? cuz there is no oil pressure when the car isnt running so it throws the light!

man... i hope i just saved you a shit load of money on diagnosing the motor!

Travis

[87accordlxi]

timing belt?

[86accord4dr]

check under the driver's seat for the computer. there should be a blinking light to tell you what's wrong if the computer knows of it. do a search for ecu codes on here and that'll help diagnose your problem. you'll need to put an asterisk (*) after ecu in the search bar cuz you need a min of 4 letters to do a search.

if that's a no go take it to a buddy who knows cars or to a shop you trust and be prepared for some spending. accords aren't the most expensive to fix but they are still imports and the engine is quite cramped especially for electronics...

hope that helps

[cruznz]

hmmmm.....just died.....hope it wasn't your cambelt

[mindlos]

I guess we need to know more. Does the car crank when you turn the key? Not (1)? If it does does it is a high piched fast whine (2) or does the car shake and like normal but just doesnt get combustion (3).
(1) - Battery or alternator not good. Seen any other lights before it died?
(2) - timing belt...
(3) - ignition, or fuel delivery (pump or electrical), or compression.
If it just doesnt get combustion unhook the fuel line in the engine compartment from the filter and put it in a bottle. Crank a few times and and check if there is fuel in there. If not either your pump is not getting power because of a bad relay or it is dead itself. You will have to hook a voltmeter to the pump harness to find out.
If the pump is good then maybe the ignition. You will need to test the coil for resistance at the terminals. After that the distributor, plug wires, and spark plugs.
Did your car ever overheat? If it did then the head gasket fails or the head cracks and you dont get the compression needed for combustion. You will need a compression gauge that hooks to the spark plug hole.

Basically, get a Haynes manual from the auto parts store and go through the mentioned troubleshooting for the systems I suggested. Or more if necessary. Otherwise you will pay dearly for someone to do it. Friend = beer, mechanic = college fund.

[TwtrLX]

It was the timing belt after all...got an estimate for $325 installed and towed, not too bad from some of the other prices i was gettin that were close to $600. Guess im out of a car till i get paid...

[87accordlxi]

yeah, when the car just shuts down for no reason and with no warning whatsoever, it most likely the timing belt. one drawback to a japanese engine's quietness and refinement is the use of a timing belt rather than a chain, and it's times like this that make that engineering decision potentially regretable.