ON AND OFF DILEMMA
MY wife owns a 2008 Honda Civic 1.8 i-VTEC.
Recently, the ABS, VSA and brake indicators have been lighting up whenever she restarts the engine after a 10 to 15-minute stop.
These indicators will go off after a while of driving. It doesn’ t happen if the engine is switched off for a few hours.
I’ ve noticed that it happens frequently during a hot day compared with driving at night or on a rainy day.
According to the Honda service centre, we have to change the ABS modulator which costs RM8,000 plus but they’ re unable to diagnose why it only happens occasionally. They have reset the system twice but to no avail.
Some other mechanics have advised that I send in the car for thorough wiring diagnostics as they assume it’ s only a minor wiring issue. Have you come across this problem before?- Luke Dinessh
Reply: Frankly, I am not too sure of what your problem may be, except that it looks like a harness or connector problem as it is intermittent and there has not been a complete failure.
I do not know where you live but I would
suggest that you contact the Honda Customer Service Department and get them to have a look at your car.
Sometimes dealer service departments may not be up to the mark with peculiar problems and it is best to go back to the franchise holders for their expertise.
STARTING HASSLE
I USE a 2002 1.6 Proton Waja manual.
I find that it’ s difficult to start the engine when it is cold, requiring two or three turns of the key, or I would have to press the gas pedal, only then will the engine start running.
When the engine is warmed up, driving will be normal.
However, if I start driving before the engine warms up, it will die easily. So I have to warm up the engine before I start driving.
I’ ve referred the problem to the EON service centre and they did engine tuning, and also cleaned out the throttle body. Even then, the problem still occurred. The workshop people said my choke has a problem.
Should I change a complete unit of the throttle body or is there another part that I missed? If I change the original cam pulley to racing, will it affect the power of my engine, and should I do tuning again?
What will happen if the car gets extractor damage? I have raised the clutch from a 1.6 to a 1.8( different vehicle).
Will this damage the clutch and in the long run damage my engine as well?- acesaixxx @ yahoo. com
Reply: Sounds like a faulty cold start valve or cold start circuit.
Normally when the engine is cold, the cold start valve will be giving a richer mixture until the engine warms up.
It operates very much like an automatic choke in a carburetted engine.
TURBO ADDITION
I HAVE a Proton Satria Neo CPS. Is it possible for me to add a turbo system to my car’ s engine? Will it result in any side effects to the engine? What brand of turbocharger is suitable for my car’ s engine?- 0132740xxx Reply: There are many turbo specialists around who would be able to give you a quote and explain in detail what the job entails.
However, you must be aware that with any system of forced induction, you are making the engine to work harder to produce more power and the result will be higher engine wear and higher fuel consumption. You cannot get something for nothing!
Also, when you have all that additional performance, will your standard suspension, tyres and brakes be able to cope with it?
Going faster in a straight line does not necessarily mean that you will be driving safer.
84 M N M 2 0 1 3 | I S S U E 3