Today i wanted to give my Acura Legend a break from being my only transportation to work so i found a 94 Honda Accord Coupe. She has 300,000 miles and a couple issues but nothing seems to major as a work car. I just want to know some of the common problems with the car. It seems that there is something wrong in the driver door with the locks. The lock work but it makes an awful grind sound whenever it is being locked. Not sure exactly what it is. It also must have some bypass for the alarm because if your "P" is blinking there is a switch under the dash that you flip until it quits blinking and the car will start. Does this sound like an alarm bypass just making sure trying to get a feel for the car.

 

For the door lock grinding sound, common problem. Most likely one or both of the rubber bump stops inside the door lock actuator has broken off. The gear is going past the point it should normally stop at and making the buzzing noise. If this went on for too long, too many of the gear teeth inside the actuator may have broken off and the whole actuator needs replacement. If only one or two teeth broke off, it may still be okay. The rubber stops normally can be glued back. You can remove the actuator to try to see the problem. See this thread for some of my posts and pics.:
94-97 Accord D.S. Lock Actuator - Microswitch Repair/Reset? - Honda-Tech

The switch under the dash for the alarm is a reset button. Is this an aftermarket alarm system or a Honda add-on accessory alarm unit?

 

I would assume the alarm is still stock i dont see anything that would lead me to think of running an aftermarket alarm. Is there any way i can get the car back to stock where i would not need to flip the switch?

 

I don't believe 1994 Accord came with factory installed alarms. There was the dealer installed option. However, it came with remote transmitters.

The reset/disarm/valet switch button was normally located on the lower dash cover. It is not a "flip-type" switch, that is why I was asking if it was an aftermarket alarm.

For the 1994 Accord, the dealer installed security control unit was normally located under the driver's seat. (See attached pic.) -- However, for later year Accords, it was located behind the lower dash cover, where the reset/disarm switch was.

The dealer installed Honda alarm, arming mode can be switched to Manual mode, so it doesn't automatically arm.

 

Not sure about 'common issues', but there was a 'balance shaft update campaign' in the early 2000s for these engines that fixed a seal that could back out, causing a sudden evacuation of oil from the engine block. Your local Honda dealer should be able to run the vin and make sure this was done.

Other than that, there aren't a lot of problems with these cars aside from usual wear and tear. Rust gets hold of the wheel arches, especially if you lives in a location where snow, ice, and salt accumulate on your car. I had a fifth-gen Accord like this, and it was mostly just wear-and-tear items that required fixing.

Good luck.

 

It may be installed after the fact then. Its a regular flip back and forth switch. I did notice a horn of some sort disconnected in the rear of the motor area. It would be cool if i just had the car just start and not having to slip the switch when i turn the key over everytime.

 

is there a possibility for removing it and not using the switch?

 

Have you looked under the driver's seat to determine if this is a Honda alarm system? If it is, one option is, to switch the alarm mode to "Manual" as shown in my post above.