Service Indicator Stuck, Part II

The service indicator's stuck again on my 1991 Accord, at 224K. It's been a couple hundred miles now and it still refuses to reset when the key is pushed into the reset slog. In a couple hundred more, I'll just put the mileage when the oil change is due on a sticker like the good ol' days. But just out of curiosity: Anyone happen to trip across an explanation other than "age and wear"?

Reply to
JRE
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Update: A sharp rap on the dashboard enabled it to be reset. (I knew it was something mechanical, so I just had to try. ;-) It's green again...at least, for 7K miles or so...

Reply to
JRE

Good update.

I have been reading about and also maintained Hondas for about a decade now. My impression is that the main problems of middle aged and older Hondas are aged electrical connections. Soldered joints are typically the problem. Engine and tranny wear is far less likely.

Maybe the problem is that soldering technology is not at the point that most soldered joints exposed to heat cycling like that seen in a car can be guaranteed beyond about ten years.

Reply to
Elle

that service indicator is mechanical, not electrical. it works just like the trip counter reset.

Reply to
jim beam

The light is electrical. It may be set off by the odometer, and I agree there may be a failing in the mechanical signaling system, but there is still an electrical connection. Either may be at fault here.

Reply to
Elle

what light? it's a little disk with green, yellow, and red bits on it. it rotates with mileage.

Reply to
jim beam

Elle wrote in news:b2b41bc6-4eb9-4809-bbe6- snipped-for-privacy@i31g2000yqm.googlegroups.com:

This one actually a little plastic wheel that turns with the odometer. The reset mechanism is identical to that used for the trip odometer, just operated with the ignition key, not with a pushrod. Same as with the trip odo, you use it enough and it breaks.

Reply to
Tegger

The wonderful world of plastics... Not one of the trip odometers on my gen II Civics work.

JT

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

Tegger's right about it being mechanical.

Perhaps interestingly, the trip odometer is reset every time I fill the gas tank, far more often than the service indicator. It seems possible that the opposite is the problem--that the service indicator does not get reset often enough to keep it clear of accumulated dust over a nearly 20-year period, for example, and the infrequency of use (once every 7500 miles vs. once every 350-400 miles) is the root of the problem. As my lathe reminded me yesterday, many mechanical devices just hate to sit around...

Maybe I'll spray some Teflon around the edges of the reset slot and see whether the thing wants to reset next time without rapping on the dash.

As far as the engine and transmission go, most of the stuff on this car seems likely to outlast the body, which weighs a bit less, it seems, every day. ;-)

Reply to
JRE

My boo-boo. Got it now, thanks.

Reply to
Elle

Elle wrote in news:2f5aa7fa-7f56-4b1f-9199- snipped-for-privacy@k39g2000yqb.googlegroups.com:

I didn't realize this myself until my own mistake was corrected by somebody else in this group or in another.

Reply to
Tegger

Grumpy AuContraire wrote in news:Ls- dnSglP4PZNqLRnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

My wife broke the one on her MR2; she reset it with each and every gas fillup. I've told her to leave it alone on the Tercel unless she /really needs it/. It still works.

I've used the trip odo maybe once or twice on the '91 Integra, and it still works. Been wondering about my tape-player, though. It's NEVER been used during the whole 19-years I've had the car. Does it even work? I'm afraid to try...

Reply to
Tegger

Try it. If it won't work, clean the heads. Did you know there is a $20 gizmo that allows an MP3 player to be operated with your cassette tape player? The MP3 player plugs into a cassette gizmo or something, and the recording plays through the car's sound system.

Reply to
M.A. Stewart

The tape player probably would be fine IF you replaced the belt(s). Even the temperate temperatures can have a detrimental effect after that many years.

JT

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

car cassettes usually use capstan wheels, not belts. but they do have an elastomer track, and they do also deteriorate. mp3 players are much more capable and don't get tangled, and as m.a.s. says, converter "gizmos" are only a few bucks.

Reply to
jim beam

snipped-for-privacy@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (M.A. Stewart) wrote in news:i1r10a$9eh$ snipped-for-privacy@theodyn.ncf.ca:

Yeah, my wife's original iPod-player was one of those. It was a major pain. Her newest one plays through the radio via an unused frequency. /Way/ better than the tape-player one.

Reply to
Tegger

Grumpy AuContraire wrote in news:PMWdndwGys_jm9zRnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

I think I'm just going to leave it alone. I kinda like the idea that it's never been used, same as the cigarette lighter.

Reply to
Tegger

pws wrote in news:i1vjm9$b23$ snipped-for-privacy@speranza.aioe.org:

It says "Griffin" and "iTrip" on it. I forget how much it cost.

Wife uses it with her brand-new iPod that looks exactly like an iPhone. No idea what model it is.

Reply to
Tegger

A friend bought a house back in the early 1980's then got transferred about seven years later so he put it up for sale. He had never used the dishwasher, not once...

JT

Reply to
Grumpy AuContraire

I guess I can look this up myself, heh.

I had planned on replacing my stereo with one that plays CD's, but an MP3 player adapter will work fine. I am not going for super high-quality sound, just the ability to hear some sounds while driving.

Even without taking the sound quality into consideration, the inconvenience of a cassette player has made them essentially worthless to me.

Thanks!

Pat

Reply to
pws

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