I just joined tonight and I'm having a lot of difficulty navigating to the correct forum and such so I'm not sure if I'm at the right place.

I have a 1990 Accord LX with the 2.2L, Single OHV, 16 valve, US made motor and manual tranny. 257,000mi rode hard and put up wet.

I work away from home a lot and there are times the car just sits for a month or two without moving and then I get home and drive it like I stole it around locally. Mostly under 20 mile trips.

I just got home and my daughter had been driving it some and said the check engine light came on and it ran "funny" so she quit driving it. No triggers that she noticed.

When I got it the light isn't on and it runs like a scalded ape. Which is normal. Until around day 2 of driving to work and back, 18 mile trip one way, the light comes on, stays on and the RPM will only go to 4000. I have researched and found this to be "limp" mode. Found some post about low oil. Yup, it was 2 quarts low. Should have checked it when it came back from the daughter, I know, but I am working long hours.(See Below) Didn't fix it. Check the codes with the paperclip and get numerous 4, 8, and 9. I did figure out I could turn off the key and it would reset and run fine for awhile or just come right back on and "limp".

4 CKP - crank position sensor
8 TDC - top dead centre sensor
9 CYP - cylinder sensor

I am working 6 days a week, 12 hours a day and on nights right now so I have virtually no time to really mess with it. Should change in a couple of weeks but I'm trying to "limp" it out that long but don't want to do any permanent damage.

I happen to have an extra 1990 accord LX but no clue where these sensors are to change them out. I don't have a garage and have to do any work in the yard. Not a real mechanic on this new stuff. Used to work on my 68 Fairlane V8 but quit when I got the electronic stuff. Not looking to make it a show car, it's just my go cart for running around local. It still gets 25 mpg with me driving like an idiot. My Tahoe that I travel in would be getting about 12 mpg if I drove it like this one.

You said you wanted all the details so here they are. I could use any help there is out there.

 

The TDC/CKP/CYP sensor is part of the distributor housing.

 

If they are all in the housing, I can fix that. I have an extra one of those. And I believe even I can't screw that one up to bad. I'll try it tomorrow night and let ya know. It's my only night off. Thx

 

The sensors can be replaced, but it is pretty demanding to remove and disassemble the distributor to access/replace. Most folks opt for a replacement distributor; ebay, amazon, etc.

You should also be aware that we've seen quite a few instances where these intermittent codes arise from ECU faults. Repair requires replacing the ECU w/ used or rebuilt unit.

If you check the resistance of the sensors at the distributor connector and find them good, then a second check of the sensors at the ECU connector is necessary to confirm ECU is problem and not sensors.

good luck

 

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