needing help w/my 91 honda accord. thx :)
 

hey everyone , here is my issue . 1st i do have a bad tcu , however that is not the issue due to the accord still drives but i do have to manually shift the auto trns gears ... i have 2nd and 4th , do plan on getting that fixed soon as i can come up w/an extra 200$ .... , the big issue is this , i started my car this morning to leave and when i did i could tell that my car was pulling hard from the battery , like i had kept my lights on or radio for an extended amount of time , it drove fine . i parked my car @ gas station , let it stay there long enough to get a redbull and talk to the chick @ the registar for bout 5 min . went back to the car , started it again .... "same thing w/battery ... " like i left it on for a few hrs ... well , went to eat lunch for 30 min w/fam member , left car off for 30 min , then went to start car again , same thing "battery etc" ... however while i was driving , @ 3000 rpm's it started sputtering , like bad gas , but also i noticed lack of power as well . sputterd the whole way home only if i was inbetween 3,000 rpms and it seemed like it wanted to die on me if i kept it at those rpm's ... when i let off of the gas it ran fine "but w/a lil less power than usual , when i got it home i put it in park and gave it gas it would sputter @ 3g's ... n didnt seem to have the power it had yesterday or any time b4 today's incedent. when i start it , i can tell it seems like the altenator is not doing its job or sumthing ... idk . i am very car illiterate , n not sure what i should do , cept not drive it on rd. i'm really scared since only car i got and i have to go 2 wrk etc . any help in this area would b greatly appreciated. thnx to anyone in advance.

also , i do have a pretty new battery which is around 1 - 2 months old , so i know its not the battery.

well , just went outside to start car and battery was dead , turned half way over then it started clicking on me ... ugh. so really not sure , u guyz think it could b altenator ?? what should i check 1st or how should i chk it??

First is your CEL on or D4 light flashing? if yes to either of these it would greatly help us to help you if you checked the codes. https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...l-codes-35962/ on our cars it's very easy. on the passenger side under the dash there is a 2 wire blue connector. take a paper clip and jumper this connecter, turn the key on and count the flashes. long flashes, followed by short flashes means it's a 2 digit code. short flashes is a 1 digit code. look here for a list of the codes. https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...u-codes-33940/

ok the first thing you mention is the TCU. on the 4th gen cars (90-93 Accords = 4th Gen) , it is very common for the computers to go bad. the resistors burn out because the capacitors start leaking. i have seen many cases of this. right now i have that problem with my 92.

next, the "lack of power" i also have. i believe for mine it's a combination of the EGR valve and the TPS. now it could possibly be something else for you.

next the battery, you can have that tested at AutoZone or Advance for free. they also have a machine that can load test your alternator while they are at it.

any additional information by following any of the things i have named above BEFORE replacing parts would helps us better help you.

EDIT: i didn't read all the way through your second post. do you have a jump box? or someone that can come jump you off with jumper cables? if the battery is that new it very well could be the alternator. if you can get it started again even with assistance, take it to Advance or AutoZone and DON'T SHUT IT OFF. run in to get someone to have them come load test your alternator for you. if it is that i would think it would show up in the load test and your "lack of power" problem may be due to the alternator but i could be wrong.

k , gonna break it down a lil further c if this helps . car does have a messed up tcu "trans control unit" ... but still drives . however today , when i started my car it seemed as if my battery was losing power "or as if i left my lights/stereo on" when i started it. when i was driving home it had lost almost all of its power and it had started sputtering ... after i got home and shut the car off i tried to start it back up after 15 or so minutes . the battery had died . any ideas what this could b? ... rotor button , distributor , alternator ???? if anyone could point me in the right direction it would b very helpful. thanks again .

sorry i added content after i posted it.

@ honda lady , the D4 light wasnt flashing , however the shift light has been flashing since i bought the car , as soon as i would start it "it would start flashing" not sure what the cel is , TCU .. the tcu i have known was bad for a month or so now .. just lacked the money to get it ... , the lack of power only started today ... maybe last night as i went to work , however if it was last night it wasnt enough to make me realize the power was not there , it has been driving fine "for a car that had a bunk tcu ... " ,,,, the battery is fine ... actually had it replaced 2 months ago ... due to me leaving my interior light on and radio and draining the old one and giving it a dead cell . i wasnt able to take my car to autozone /advanced to see if the alternator was bad , the car died in my driveway this morning after i had drove it and had it start sputtering ... by the time i had got it home most of the power was gone and i was afraid i would make it up my hill "however i did make it up my hill" but it ended up dying after i shut the car down . i am going to try that thing about the lights flickering off and on ... to see how many light blinks it gives me and i will post it on here 4 u . thank u for helping me ... i really do appreciate it more than u can imagine. thank u alot. maybe this message mite help u b able to help me a little more sufficiently .

FIRST OFF please read my entire post before replying so that you understand the tip i am trying to give to you.

i got the TCU part in your last post. i understand that you already know it's bad.
lets concentrate on your battery/alternator problem please?

with the information you have given me i believe your alternator is bad. without being there to help you first hand i can't give you more info and without being able to get it tested you won't know for sure. you may need to bother a friend or perhaps even a neighbor to take you with your alternator to AutoZone or Advance to bench test it. if it tests bad then you replace it.

other then that the only other option you have is having your car towed to a shop and have them fix it for you.

i am going to take battery to advanced , they will charge it 4 me 4 free . then will take accord back there after i get the battery installed. sry if my posts were running together , i had posted a post w/out the knowledge of you making a post on this sight "the 3rd post i posted i did not know that u had already tried to help me" sry for the misunderstanding on that ." after i take it to advanced they said they would b able to run the test u had told me about and then if it isnt the alternator they would b able to try and troubleshoot something else for me , they advised they can check 3-4 different things ... i am a noob to this stuff so this is all a learning experience for me "a difficult but enhancing experience" ... i will post back on here in an hr or 2 hrs soon as i get back from advanced . thanks again... like i said in last post i do appreciate u taking ur time out to help me.

no problem at all. i like helping people save money. i know i like it when people help me with stuff i don't know about my car so i can save money. good luck and let me know what you find out :)