98 Honda Civc EX 110K - P1362?

So far it has been hit and miss with the mechanic on fixing this one - Evil mechanic or not, does anyone have experiences with this type of code? My car tends to want to die when it idles in traffic. Esp. at red light. If it does not stall it shakes like its getting ready too etc. I have posted a prev. dicussion “why did I pay the mechanic” that describes this in detail - I am almost sorry i posted it - many seem to thikn all mechanics are honest joes, though I have had expriences that say otherwise.



Please help - I am so broke, I can’t pay attention - I don;t have the money to play games.

On your other post, you were told your mechanic read the code and then had to make a judgement call. He hopefully picked something he thought was likely and less expensive than other parts, but unfortunately it didn’t solve your problem. That doesn’t mean he was out to steal your money or that he’s a bad mechanic.

An internet search revealed that Civics of your vintage seem to have some sort of issue with the TDC sensor in the distributor, which causes the computer to throw this code. If I were you, I’d consider replacing the distributor, as that seems to be the fix that worked for others. It will probably cost you $300 to $400 at the mechanic, or you could possibly replace it yourself for less than $200 - I’m not sure how hard it is to do. There might be a way to check connections to the TDC sensor itself, but I’m not familiar with that. Maybe someone else can weigh in with their thoughts.

My 98 Civic sometimes idles a little rough too, especially when the air conditioner is on. The problem is that the idle speed is too low, which doesn’t usually hurt the engine and might even save a little gas. When it gets bad enough so that the engine dies, I clean the throttle plate with a can of carberator cleaner. I think the true culprit is some kind of air flow sensor, but it isn’t bad enough that I am willing to put money into it. Some day I might get it diagnosed and fixed, but as long as it doesn’t stall, I don’t see the need.

After reading hoffmalr’s response, I might try replacing the distributor cap. After all, I think I am still driving around with the original after ten years. You might also try some carberator cleaner to see if your Civic idles a little better.

Thanks for that - aside from judging mechanics - I got a tune up at 81k when I first bought the car. They actually replaced the distrib cap I know for sure. It is currently at 110k. I have the paper work on it. It’s hard for someone who doesn’t work on cars to know whether or not you are getting services you paid for. Try and lok at it from that perspective. Evrybody’s out to make a buck these days.

Be wary your Civic is well overdue for a timing belt replacement if never changed at this point in its life. Save up if you have not performed otherwise this repair will seem like peanut after the timing belt snaps and you get a $2000+ estimate to fix the engine.

Thanks!

Just a note - I said distributor, not distributor cap, as the TDC sensor is located within the distributor. The P1362 code is a Honda code that says there’s no signal from the TDC sensor. It’s a lot cheaper to replace the cap first, but the solutions I saw when I searched the internet said the entire distributor needed to be replaced.

Two of the sites with solutions:
http://www.hondacarforum.com/honda-3/21288-check-engine-light-code-p1362.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080129215038AASx3Sh

As for the judging, I’m not saying that there are no dishonest mechanics. But you can’t go into a business transaction thinking they’re out to get you. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, you know? Ask around and find a good mechanic, and then be polite, describe the problem as thoroughly as possible, and trust him. Ask for explanations for things you don’t understand, and ask to see old parts if you don’t believe the work is being done. But I don’t think you should think they’re automatically out to get you.

OKay, thanks for that info - May be termeed distrbutor and cap (I don’t work on cars, so I may be mistaken)- I need to check the paper work to be sure. But I have had a tune up at 80k, so those kinds of parts I would think - should have been replaced.

A tune-up (that term is subjective and doesn’t denote particular services) almost definitely didn’t include the distributor - it’s not a normal maintenance item and it’s fairly expensive. The rotor and maybe the cap should be replaced during a “tune-up”, so I can pretty much guarantee that’s all you had done since you took it in for maintenance and not service.

It’s a good chunk of money so I can understand your hesitation, but I’d lay pretty good odds this is the solution. After researching, I don’t believe you can replace just the sensor, so replacing the distributor is the only way to replace the sensor.

Just a thought, one thing to check first is the wiring from the distributor to the ECU. It could just be a bad connection to the computer.

you didn’t post the new code. when you make two seperate posts it makes it hard to follow the progression of the diagnosis.

just because you got one code the first time, doesn’t necessarily mean it the same code now.

BUT if it is the same code you could then have a rationale argument with the original mechanic.

more info.

BTW the reason i asked about the timing belt, that is an issue concerning the distributor timing, bit you did answer that. so, get the code read again.

Will do cappy. Thanks! Hopefully it’s something minor, that car has served me well, is paid off, and gets about 29mpga city. Hard to beat that.