I would appreciate some feedback on the following issue I have with my Honda Accord. First, some info. on my car:
It's a 1994 Honda Accord EX 4-door Sedan with the VTEC engine. I am the original owner and have used it primarily as a 2nd car and mainly for city driving and relatively short trips. Therefore, It only has 76,000 miles on it. I have taken good care of this car, for the most part, and it hasn't needed much more than regular maintenance. I have changed the oil on average about every 4,000 to 5,000 miles. It has not yet had the original timing belt replaced. The Honda specialist who services my car says it's probably OK for now, based on the limited mileage I have put on the car.
About 9 months ago, the yellow "Check Engine" Light started coming on intermittently. Usually, it comes on either immediately or shortly after starting my Honda when the engine is cold. If I shut the engine off and re-start it, the "Check Engine" light will go away until my next cold engine start. However, if I don't shut down and re-start the engine, the light will stay on as long as I drive the vehicle (until I shut off the engine). Sometimes the light comes on well after I have started up the cold engine. But again, It will go away (temporarily) if I shut down and re-start the engine.
During this time, I have had a comprehensive tune-up (including valve adjustment) done on the car and replaced the muffler assembly. Neither one of these things solved or even reduced the problem.
My owner's manual says that if the light goes off after shutting off and re-starting the engine, that it is not as serious as the light staying on continuously even after re-starting the engine.
From reading this newsgroup, it seems like many different things can cause the "Check Engine" light to come on, some serious and some not so serious. Anyone have any idea what could be causing this problem and how I could diagnose/fix it? Could the warning light just be a false positive due to the age of the vehicle and the sensor not working properly?
Thanks for your help!