So I've had this problem for a really long time now. Every now and then when I go to start my car the S light will be flashing and it won't be able to start. It tends to happen more often in warm weather or if I've shut the car off recently (less then 5 mins before or so). Sometimes I can still get it to start when the S light is on but it'll only shift up to 3rd and I'll have to "manually" shift it to get it to do that.
I've replaced the
-transmission
-TCU
-All Transmission Sensors
-Speed Sensor
-Battery
-Alternator
and it's still happening. The TCU is the only thing I've replaced because of it all the other things I've replaced because of other problems, but as of right now this is the only problem that I have with the car. Any ideas? I was thinking of cleaning all of my grounds and replacing as many ground wires as I possibly could. Is there well known fix that I haven't been able to find?

 

First, welcome to HAF.

Yes, cleaning the grounds costs almost nothing and can't hurt anything.....note there is a very important one on the t-stat housing where the lower hose connects to the engine.

What does the CEL light do when the "s" light acts up, I ask as this kind of sounds like a main relay issue but I want to be sure.....when the car acts up, turn the key from off to on/pos II and listen for the fuel pump to prime...you'll need to blower off, radio off and the door shut.

 

Usually the CEL comes on and it isn't until it turns off that I can start the car, but sometimes it doesn't. Not totally sure but I think I can hear it priming.

 

Sounds like an ECU problem.

Check for engine or transmission codes See checking engine codes thread in common diy thread on top of the gen tech help forum. My guess is the S light will flash a code 13 and/or code 14.

 

I don't get any ECU codes but I get a ton of TCU codes. They're different almost every single time usually ranging from 4-7 codes. The codes were happening before I replaced anything and still are obviously. I've been thinking there's some kind of connection problem somewhere since it starts and drives fine most of the time.

 

Can you share the codes that you are getting from the TCU?

 

Sorry for the late reply but the codes I've been getting are 1,2,3,7,8,14.

 

Hi! My car did the same thing a while ago. I *think* I made a thread about it and my mechanic solved the problem. I think all he did was change the (i think it's called) solenoid? I don't know what its called in English since my mechanics speak only Spanish. It's basically the stick with the P,R,N,D, things are. He went and got it off another accord at the junkyard.

If I don't find the thread, then most likely, I didn't post it on here. Anyway, the total came to less than $50...with the family friend discount.

Edit: It's the Gear Shift with the problem. Is there an emote with a facepalm? Can't believe I forgot what it was called.