hey all, i'm new to the forum, so bear with me. i got a handful of small problems with my accord that i'd like to get taken care of. i do all my work myself, so i'm not dumb when it comes to cars, just unfamiliar with working on this specific car cuz i've yet to have to do much to it. now my 4runner on the other hand, i could tear it apart and put it together blindfolded! haha, anyways, here goes:

1. left front turn signal short- sometimes it works fine, other times it blinks twice as fast (signaling a "burnt out" light, normally). i know it is the front left because when it was blinking fast i got out of the car and confirmed which one it was. sometimes it goes back to normal. i'm 95% sure there is a short where a wire has rubbed through on bare metal and is just grounding out. is there a common place that this occurs?
2. dash clock back light- my clock still works, but the back light doesn't always work. i thought it was just burnt out until after about a year without it it just suddenly came back on. and then it went out again. so again, i'm assuming a short somewhere.
3. major clunk in front suspension- i thought this was the struts, so i changed them a few weeks back. as i pulled the old ones off (the originals), i compressed them and noticed they seemed ok, but put the new ones on anyways. it still has a major clunk when we hit bumps. everything else feels solid (checked ball joints, CV joints, etc). seems to be worse on right side. not sure what else it could be. i'm hoping for suggestions. a guy at autozone suggestion the rubber bushing on top of the strut? i don't really see how this could clunk, but i suppose it's worth asking about.
4. wheel bearing- got a pulsating sound in front while turning left. i'm assuming it's a wheel bearing but both wheels feel sturdy when i lifted them up in the air and wiggled them. any other way to diagnose this or what else could it be?
5. squeal on brand new brakes- i have a brand new set of brakes all the way around. when i put the fronts on this spring, i put in new pins and everything was sliding nicely. i did the drum brakes as well. on the fronts, there was a little shim plate behind the brake pad. i couldn't figure out what the point of it was so i didn't re-use it. now i'm worried it was some kind of anti-squeal something or other.
6. rattle somewhere either up front or underneath- assuming it is a heat shield that came loose somewhere. it's just an annoying little rattle, mostly just at idle speed. is there any place that is common for these to break loose?
7. check engine light- got a code P1457, it's an emissions code. doesn't affect driveability of the car. i guess there's like 6 different things that could cause this code. where do i start? the CEL is pissing me off.
8. alignment- just had it aligned. it still normally pulls to the left (but nowhere near as much), but every now and then it will pull to the right. WTF?
9. timing belt! this car has the original timing belt. IS THIS AN INTERFERENCE ENGINE? i meant to look into this about 100k miles ago. ooops. if so i really need to think about changing this bad boy.

so yeah, since i have several different problems all in one post, i'm hoping there are good writeups about several of these already so i don't have to bother with people writing them up again. got any links? if not, any info on any item would be wonderful! thanks in advance!

 

3) also check the radius rod that goes forward from the lower control arm, into a set of rubber bushings up front. Obstructed view, those rubber bushings can rot without you knowing about it if you don't look for them.

4) yeah, could be the wheel bearing

5) I think those shim plates are indeed for noise dampening

6) most common is probably the heat shield around the converter

7) go to the DIY forum & look for a post about EVAP system or search for "P1457"

8) another reason to find out what's loose with the suspension

9) YES it's an interference engine. Be afraid. Be very afraid...

 

dang, i was worried it was an interference engine. i'll have to do some searches on writeups for timing chain R&R cuz for some reason there are NO auto parts stores around here that ever have my car's service manual, so i've never gotten one for it. prolly cuz it's a honda and this is detroit, lol. people here tend to think a bit negatively about foreign vehicles. and much MUCH moreso than any other place in the country. well, looks like i'll be scheduling one of my upcoming weekends for a timing belt swap!

any idea on #1? that one is so flipping annoying. and if i could find where it had rubbed through it would be a 30 second fix!

 

Fast flashing sounds more like an open-circuit, not a short. Look for dirty/corroded sockets for the bulbs.

I had a really strange one several years ago (not a Honda). The little contact nubs on the base of the bulb had mushroomed over (age?) and didn't quite fit the socket any more.

And... look over in the DIY forum for something about timing belt. I think there's one for an older 4-cyl Accord, maybe mid-90s? Should be essentially the same. The biggest PITA will be the bolt in the crankshaft pulley.

 

well, i would think open circuit if it didn't come and go at random. literally it could come and go 3 times within a single trip. which is why i was thinking a wire rubbed through and was shorting, then not shorting as the car flexed, then shorting, etc.

the crankshaft pulley is always the hardest. dunno if it'll work on the honda, but on my 4runner, the easiest way is to put a wrench on it and bump it up against something solid (like the frame) and then very briefly turn the starter. works every time!

 

I'm not sure if this will work on an 01. The crank pulley is on the driver's side of the engine bay and the engine spins the wrong way.

Doing what you suggested will tighten the crank pulley bolt.

 

PA is right, the engine spins the wrong way.

Open circuit from a BROKEN wire will stay broken. But excessive resistance from an oxide (corrosion) layer inside the bulb socket will change with vibration & temperature. I had an intermittent open in a Jetta that was caused by the copper-stranded wire broken inside the (intact) insulation. It WOULD come & go and it drove me nuts until I figured it out.
Since you haven't found another explanation, removing the bulbs & burnishing the contacts is easy & no-cost (if you do it yourself).