1990 Honda Accord Overdrive issue

Hi,

I have a 1990 Honda Accord Ex with automatic transmission and 120K
mileages on it. The overdrive light will come up randomly and
transmission shift will not change to gear 4 (up to gear 3 only.). I
have tried to fix the problem a few times. Below is the description the
all of the repairs I have done in two repair shops:

About 3 months ago on repair shop #1: The overdrive light would always
be on and transmission gear would not change to gear 4. I believe the
shop did some repair on the overdrive control itself, the problem went
away.

Three weeks after the first repair: The issue came up again. I brought
the car to the second shop. This time the shop diagnosed the issue as
transmission issue. The shop replaced the transmission with a used one.


5 weeks after the transmission change: the speed speedometer stopped
working and the override light issue came back. I heard mechanical
cracking noise from the car. I brought the car back to the shop. I
thought the speed cable was broken (I am not sure if I am using the
right terminology.), but the shop told me a mechanic part that
connected to the cable was broken. The shop replaced the part.

4 weeks after the repair, the overdrive issue came back again. The
light would constantly be on. I brought the car back to the shop and
the shop owner saw the overdrive light was on. On the second day, when
the shop owner started the car, the overdrive light was off. He drove
the car around, but the issue just wouldn't come cup. He bought a
replacement part for the speed sensor, but he told me that he didn't
think the speed sensor's caused the issue (he used an electronic test
equipment to test if there was any issue, but the equipment did not
indicate any thing wrong with the car.). I told him to replace the
speed sensor anyway.

Two days after the previous fix, the issue came back. This time the
shop owner told me the test equipment indicated some problems with the
car's control computer (he told me the equipment returned code 19, 24
(I may remember the numbers wrong)). He refreshed the computer's
setup and drove the car home to make sure it worked this time. I went
to his shop to pick up the car last night. The issue came back after
about 4 miles of driving. The overdrive light would come up and
disappear randomly. It went away after about 10 miles of driving. This
morning the light came up after about 5 miles of driving. It stayed on
for the rest of driving (13 miles of driving totally.).


Since I have replaced just about everything, I am deciding on what I
should do next. I do believe the second shop was trying to fix the
issue, but I am just getting a little tried of all the time and money
spent on this issue. Based on what people have posted on the net, it
appears to me that this issue might have something to do with the
transmission control computer. Should I bring the car to a Honda
dealer? I live in San Jose, California. If anyone can recommend a good
repair shop or dealer, I will appreciate it.

wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have a 1990 Honda Accord Ex with automatic transmission and 120K
> mileages on it. The overdrive light will come up randomly and
> transmission shift will not change to gear 4 (up to gear 3 only.). I
> have tried to fix the problem a few times. Below is the description the
> all of the repairs I have done in two repair shops:
>
> About 3 months ago on repair shop #1: The overdrive light would always
> be on and transmission gear would not change to gear 4. I believe the
> shop did some repair on the overdrive control itself, the problem went
> away.
>
> Three weeks after the first repair: The issue came up again. I brought
> the car to the second shop. This time the shop diagnosed the issue as
> transmission issue. The shop replaced the transmission with a used one.
>
>
> 5 weeks after the transmission change: the speed speedometer stopped
> working and the override light issue came back. I heard mechanical
> cracking noise from the car. I brought the car back to the shop. I
> thought the speed cable was broken (I am not sure if I am using the
> right terminology.), but the shop told me a mechanic part that
> connected to the cable was broken. The shop replaced the part.
>
> 4 weeks after the repair, the overdrive issue came back again. The
> light would constantly be on. I brought the car back to the shop and
> the shop owner saw the overdrive light was on. On the second day, when
> the shop owner started the car, the overdrive light was off. He drove
> the car around, but the issue just wouldn't come cup. He bought a
> replacement part for the speed sensor, but he told me that he didn't
> think the speed sensor's caused the issue (he used an electronic test
> equipment to test if there was any issue, but the equipment did not
> indicate any thing wrong with the car.). I told him to replace the
> speed sensor anyway.
>
> Two days after the previous fix, the issue came back. This time the
> shop owner told me the test equipment indicated some problems with the
> car's control computer (he told me the equipment returned code 19, 24
> (I may remember the numbers wrong)). He refreshed the computer's
> setup and drove the car home to make sure it worked this time. I went
> to his shop to pick up the car last night. The issue came back after
> about 4 miles of driving. The overdrive light would come up and
> disappear randomly. It went away after about 10 miles of driving. This
> morning the light came up after about 5 miles of driving. It stayed on
> for the rest of driving (13 miles of driving totally.).
>
>
> Since I have replaced just about everything, I am deciding on what I
> should do next. I do believe the second shop was trying to fix the
> issue, but I am just getting a little tried of all the time and money
> spent on this issue. Based on what people have posted on the net, it
> appears to me that this issue might have something to do with the
> transmission control computer. Should I bring the car to a Honda
> dealer? I live in San Jose, California. If anyone can recommend a good
> repair shop or dealer, I will appreciate it.
>
first, i don't want to sound difficult or facetious, but are sure this
is a honda? hondas don't have overdrive so you can't be having a
problem with it.

second, yes, take it to the dealer.

third, sue the idiots that ripped you off for misdiagnosis.

if you want to find out what's really going on, buy the factory manual
from helminc.com.