just bought my first civic... problems follow

newby92

New Member
bought the car yesterday.
the car itself is in fantastic condition with no rust or major body dings, interior is clean, all power options still work, engine is perfect, the A/c still works even.

the problems are as follows: the Tach doesnt register at all. if you really climb into the rpm's the tach actually spins backwards to about 6k until you let off the gas then it spins rapidly back to zero. this is weird to say the least. are these tachs ran off the computer or ran directly from the distributer?

also the odometer doesnt work. from my experiece they typically are driven by the speedo cable, but the speedo still functions properly??? any ideas?

also none of the rear lights work except for parking lights. no flashers no break and no turn. the front lights all work properly. is there a seperate relay for the rears? are they all ran off of the brake on/off switch?


please dont be affraid to provide a wiring diagram if necessary. i have built alot of cars before and am not new to this at all, just never had a honda before. im actually going to dive into this project tomorrow i just wanted to get some ideas thrown around before i tore it apart.

thanks in advance and i love the forum! lots of good info in here.
 

lethal6

Your Mom's Moderator
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What year, model, etc? You gave no information on what it actually is.

I believe most if not all civics (at least after '92), the speedo is controlled by the vss. NOT cable driven.

Tach is controlled by the distributor.

In my '93 the blinkers ALL run through the hazard switch. If it is unplugged or broken, no blinkers what so ever. If just your rears aren't working, might try replacing the bulbs. It isn't very common, but it is possible that the second filament is blown.
 


newby92

New Member
sorry, car is a 92 4 door sedan, title says its a lx/ex, had the motor replaced 40k ago, i beleive with a stock replacement, has no sunroof, but has power windows locks tilt wheel and cruise. its def not the bulbs as its all of the lights including the third brake light. plus if the bulbs were burnt out there would be less resistance in the system causing a faster blink interval.. the interval is at a normal speed for the front signals. the flasher idiot lights on the dash and front signals work fine. but only the rear parking lights work.

im assuming the entire gauge cluster needs replaced due the odometer not functioning. im hoping that will fix the tach as well but if not i will check all the wiring all the way to the distributor.

does anyone have any experience with junk yards for these cars, never had to look through for a honda. are there a decent amount of these cars junked yet? because it seems like the engines last forever. im worried i wont be able to find any parts... :(
 


RonJ

Banned
Was the failure of the tach and odometer associated with anything you or a mechanic did?

Do the hazard lights work?

Have you checked 20A hood fuse 42 (brake lights) and 10A dash fuse 15?
 

newby92

New Member
sooo i figured out what the tail light problem was after some digging around. turns out someone replaced the brake on/off switch recently and neglected to install the rubber pad on the brake lever that actuats the button on the sensor, thus leaving the sensor in the out or "break light on" position. to combat this situation which i am sure was draining the battery, they decided to pull the fuse to provide a hillbilly fix.

if the rest of this car is set up this way it is going to be a long cheap road to fix everything lol.

thanks for everyones help

oh and also the odometer and trip started working after i repeatedly pressed the reset button. apparently it was stuck. so now i just have the tach to worry about. tracking that fiasco down in the morning, wish me luck.
 
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