Hi there,
1998 civic LX 270000kms (rolled that yesterday), 5 spd sedan.This car has been bulletproof since I bought it new... never had a major problem that was not covered by a TSB or warranty.
I am having what seem to be a number of unrelated issues.... am hoping this is nothing too major...
Drove home in a major snow storm last night. Car performed well, and we got home safely.
The next day, I started it normally, but the CEL came on, and the speedo was whacked (even at a standstill). Every time I reved up the engine, the speedo went for a loop, going all over the place with no real logic, from 0 to 220 and back. Very weird.
Next, I noticed that there was a slight surge in the idle. This was not there before. I decided to take it to the store to see if it would clear itself up.... perhaps some moisture found its way where it was not supposed to? Inspected all connectors visible under the hood, nothing appears out of the ordinary.
Have read that the whacky speedo problem can be caused by a grounding issue and alternator issues. Checked my ground cable and VOILA! the clamp was loose on the battery. Stuffed a nail in there and tightened her up... still surging like crazy.
Ran my multimeter across the terminals at idle, it ranged from 12.4 - 12.8 volts.... a touch low... ?
I also found my code reader under the seat... so i plugged that in... it threw P0135 and P0141. Primary and Secondary O2 sensor malfunction..... Let the codes clear and they came right back.... what the hell?
In summary:
-Car surged at idle very mildly.
-Negative battery cable was loose. Tightened. No more surge that I could notice.
-Voltage across battery terminals 12.4 - 12.8 volts at idle. (couldn't rev it up as I had no assistance).
-Codes P0135 and P0141 for Primary and Secondary O2 sensors won't go away.
What could the above have to do with each other? What would you do to diagnose this problem correctly?
I decided that I would give the battery a charge... if the alternator is struggling, perhaps that would help... I will let it sit for a couple hours and see where we end up.
Any input appreciated!
Terry in Winnipeg. :)