i have a 1992 accord lx, 4 cyl, auto with about 180,000 miles. runs good, generally happy with the recent purchase as a daily driver, but am having issues with converter not wanting to lock up in od. started out when i bought car like it just needed few miles driving to warm up before it would lock up, but now after a few months it seems to take 1/2 hr driving or more for it to lock up. haven't changed tranny oil since i bought it so that's where i'll start, but wondering if anyone else has ever had this problem.....thanks

 

Use genuine Honda ATF (it DOES seem to matter). Drain & fill, don't "power-flush" it.

Then try adjusting the downshift cable - that's a cable from the throttlebody down to the trans. The lever on the trans should begin to move at EXACTLY the same time as the throttle just barely begins to open. Maybe the cable is too tight, causing the tranny to stay out of lock-up.

 

i will check that also. but as a sidenote to that idea, doesn't the setting of this cable ultimately affect your "kickdown" characteristics? to me it doesn't have any trouble in that area. (doesn't seem to downshift too early or late) i would think typically with wear that the cable would go out of adjustment on the loose side which if i'm thinking correct would cause it to shift out (upshift)earlier than intended and maybe not kickdown instead of not allowing convertewr to lock up. just thinkin outloud. thanks for the idea

 

Yeah, its exactly like you said. But still, it's easy & free to check the cable and verify that it's adjusted properly. When basic adjustments are off, it can throw off the other troubleshooting.

 

thanks jim. drained and filled fluid, it was dirty so don't know how long since last changed, but still having same issue. have noticed that seems to be directly related to ambient air temp. if temp above freezing, seems to shift out much sooner. if cold,(single digits or below) takes a long time for it to "warm up" to the point that converter will lock up

 

Newer Accords the torque converter doesn't lock up until the engine temperature reaches a certain point. That's handled by the engine computer (which has a water-temperature measurement) talking to the tranny computer. So is your water-temperature sensor working OK? That's a different sensor from the dashboard gauge.

But I don't know whether that stuff was done as early as 1992.

 

no. haven't checked the water temp sensor. haven't looked too close, but where about is that sensor located? would guess somewhere on the intake, but haven't looked like i said. that said it does sound like a possible/probable candidate for my problem. is this sensor something you can bench test or check resistance on or just r/r it?

 

The temp sensor would be on the cylinder head. The online manuals thread in the DIY section has a link to a site with a 91 shop manual. It will show the location of the temperature sensor. The sensor that sends info to the ECU has 2 wires going to it. The one with one wire only operates the temp gauge on your dash.

 

Yeah, on the head, kinda below the distributor. 2-wires.