89 Honda Accord ECU..not normal?

[Toobusy]

My husband is working on a 1989 Honda Accord (sons girlfriend's car).

He wants to pull the codes. He has the service manual. It says the ECU is under the driver's seat, under the carpet. He has pulled back the carpet to and found the ECU but it's NOTHING like the ones we see on the net that people say belong to this car nor is it like the one in the manual. It has no LED for diagnostics.

This is NOT the actual one from the car, but it is the same one:





This does not have any LED code light (the flashing light). Any idea how to pull codes from this? Husband is puzzled as everything he has read said that it should have the LED.

Thanks for any info.

[ricebike]

title of thread says it's a 98... i bet you mean 89, like in the body of your thread...

must be dyslexic... according to the following link:

http://www.troublecodes.net/honda/

it's behind the passenger's side kick panel.

if your honda is a 98, it should have an OBD II port and you can goto autozone for a free trouble code retrieval scan

[CivicSpoon]

Looks like a TCM (Transmission Control Module), for an Automatic transmission. It even says "KL-AT" on it, which means it's a California version for an Auto Transmission (where KA would mean the other 49 States [because of emission differences]). As ricebike said, the ECU is under the passenger side of the dash, under the carpet. There might be a big metal bracket covering it that bolts it down to the floor, so he might have to unbolt that. If that is the case, the ECU is actually bolted to the bracket, so when he unbolts the bracket, the ECU should be attached to it. I've never worked on an Accord that old before, only the '90+ styles, so I'm not positive about the bracket even existing on that car.

[Toobusy]

Originally Posted by ricebike

title of thread says it's a 98... i bet you mean 89, like in the body of your thread...

must be dyslexic... according to the following link:

http://www.troublecodes.net/honda/

it's behind the passenger's side kick panel.

if your honda is a 98, it should have an OBD II port and you can goto autozone for a free trouble code retrieval scan

Not dyslexic....just fingers faster than the brain! Sorry about that.

Yes, this IS an 89. I told him to look on the passenger side (tomorrow) and he said he already did and didn't see anything. He'll look again in the morning.
The only thing he found anywhere was this part (in the pictures) and that part is being sold on ebay as an 89 Honda Accord ECU. THe manual says it should be under the drivers seat which is where this part is. Without any kind of LED, he can't get the codes.

Yes, it's an old car but it's a 20 year old's car. First car, part time job..no money. That's the best she could get.

[Toobusy]

Originally Posted by CivicSpoon

Looks like a TCM (Transmission Control Module), for an Automatic transmission. It even says "KL-AT" on it, which means it's a California version for an Auto Transmission (where KA would mean the other 49 States [because of emission differences]). As ricebike said, the ECU is under the passenger side of the dash, under the carpet. There might be a big metal bracket covering it that bolts it down to the floor, so he might have to unbolt that. If that is the case, the ECU is actually bolted to the bracket, so when he unbolts the bracket, the ECU should be attached to it. I've never worked on an Accord that old before, only the '90+ styles, so I'm not positive about the bracket even existing on that car.

The one in the picture above is being sold on ebay as an 89 (yes, I messed up the title of this thread..wish I could change it) Honda Accord ECU and it's in the place that the manual says the ECU is located in the 89 Accord.
Just no LED to see the codes (no flashing lights)

[jeffcoslacker]

I fixed your thread title...but I can't help with your question...sorry...

[ricebike]

it's not under the passenger side seat... it's by the kick panel...

um below the glovebox.. right next to where the door opens up & under the carpet

[Toobusy]

Recap: 89 Honda Accord. Has some problems passing smog so husband wants to check the codes. In our own vehicles, he can use a code reader. On the 89 Honda Accord the manual says it has an ECU with a LED that flashes. You count the flashes and the speed of the flashes. It is located under the drivers seat, under the carpet (again, per the manual).

Husband found a box under the drivers seat, under the carpet. It looks like the one above. The one above is being sold on ebay as an 89 Honda Accord ECU which is the part he is looking for to read the code. HOWEVER, this ECU does not have any LED light in it. Therefore, no way to read the flashes.

He is at a loss as to how to read the codes on this year/make of car since the ECU does not have the LED that the manual says it should have (and so do others on the net). There is nothing under the passenger seat or kickbox area. He took the entire carpet up on the front of the passenger AND drivers side and the only thing there is the box above (in the picture).

So, anyone else have an ECU that looks like this? How do you read the codes? There is another year of this car that uses the "check engine light" instead for code reading but he could not find a service connector. He found something similar but it's a yellow plastic body of the connector and wires are green and black (one wire) and black with silver dots (the other wire). Since it's not mentioned in the manual, he doesn't want to mess with it. It is located under the steering column.

This can't be the only 89 Accord with this weird ECU (I guess the one for sale on Ebay proves that doesn't it LOL).
If this is the ECU, then it must be a replacement of some kind. It was where the manual said it sould be but it's not the same one in the manual. Could be that it's just a coincidence that the ebay one is too as I do see other units, WITH LED lights that look like the manual, listed on ebay. But again, without the LED light--it does no good.

So....He'll pull up the carpet again (I'll try to get photos this time) and check the passenger side kick panel.

So, hope this additional information is helpful.

[mpumas]

I vote for the ECU under the passenger kick panel. You have to pull back the forward floor mat and remove floor board to find it. I don't know if the 89's had a service connector but if it did, it might be to the right of the glove compartment at the top of the right side panel.

[Toobusy]

Ok..here are some photos. Photo 1 & 2 are the passenger side kick panel (under the glove box..yes that's a piece of metal holding the glove box closed..it's a teens car).






This is the driver's side kick panel. There is a yellow connector under the steering wheel and above the gas pedal (for photo reference). He isn't sure if that would be a way to get codes. The unit in the original post above was found under the driver's seat, under the carpet.



As you can see, there is nothing on the passengers side so that has to be the ECU he found under the drivers seat (it was where the manual said it would be) but it's just not the same unit that the manual shows and other websites show. We can only assume it's some kind of replacment but it has no LED to read the codes.

Any one know of another way to read the codes?

[ricebike]

pan to the right on this pic... follow that main wire to the ECU

from another site for possible locations:

It could also be located at the base of the fire wall on the passenger floor, directly under where there feet would be. There is a kick plate (metal tray) covering the ECU if it is in this location.

Just peel back the carpet from the center consol. There may be two fasteners that you have to remove first. As you pull the carpet back you may see it right there behind the consol or if you pulll it back a bit further you may see the tray and ECU on the floor.

All honda's have the ECU somewhere on the firewall. Most accords have them located in the passenger side footwell. Just peel back the carpet and you should see a steel plate, and the ECU will be under it.

[ricebike]

further digging:

strange that on another site, says it's under the driver seat too

but on the same page, it shows a diagram that's under the passenger feet area...





key question: is this a carbureted or fuel injected vehicle; according to another site there were 2 kinds in that year

in carbureted engines, the 1984-89 Accords and 1984-87 Preludes use a feedback control ECU, the control unit does not have a self-diagnostic capability.

peel back that other black covering as well; maybe you'll find that plate over the ecu that protects the ECU

and here's what the ECU looks like on another eBay listing...



you see that diamond shape? that's where the one LED is supposed to be at!

[Toobusy]

Ricebike,
This is Ed, my wife has been writing for me.
Thanks for finding that info on the carbureted version of the car (that's what it is). This is the first thing that makes sense, although the Chilton Book doesn't mention this. I guess I'll have to be a real mechanic and fix the problems as I find them instead of relying on the electronic garbage to do the work for me.

The cable shown in that picture to the right goes in to the passenger side door for the power window, door lock and mirror.

[ricebike]

thanks for the update, Ed...

gl w/ that

& least this will help others search for their ECU if they need to...