Slow acceleration with 90 Accord

My mother recently gave me her old 90 Accord (she bought a new one). It
only has 100K miles and has been well maintained (and garage kept).

Up until recently it performed fine - accelerated normally and ran well.
However, this morning when leaving to run some errands its acceleration was
very sluggishly at low speed. It has an automatic transmission, and it
acted like something was slipping (the engine rpms would stay around 2000
while the vehicle slowly accelerated). At higher speed, however, it seem to
operate normally.

Do anyone know what might be going on with this? Since this problem just
started suddenly , I suspect it's something control related (maybe something
sticking) but have no idea what.

Thanks for any help. I appreciate it.

Pat

 

Sounds like you are taking off in a higher gear than 1st.

 

| > very sluggishly at low speed.

Same in D4 & D3, with & without sport mode ? Connect a long wire &
digital voltmeter to exhaust manifold's oxygen sensor's output
www.flash.net/~lorint/lorin/fuel/lambda.htm & see how lean / rich fuel
mix is.

 

Yes. I think that's what's happening. If I shift it to 1st then is accels
as normal. Any ideas why it would be doing this?

 

It responds the same in D4 and D3, with and without sport mode.

Haven't tried measuring the voltage on the oxygen sensor yet (sounds scary
....)

Thanks for the help. -Pat

 

Trash in the shift soleniods, bad shift soleniods, or a bad transmission
control unit. Does your S light come on and/or blink?

 

Yes - the "S" light comes on and stays on as soon as the key is turned. It
doesn't blink though.

What next?

Thanks for the help. -Pat

 

Is the S button on the shift lever down? In other words, can you turn the S
light off? If not, I would think you have a problem with the transmission
computer.

 

The S indicator stays on regardless of button position. I also found some
weblinks that gives some instructions how to troubleshoot this. They're at:

http://forum.mpt.org/messages/9/4396.html?1087400420

http://home.earthlink.net/~michaelpkeefe/HowTo_Codes.htm

I haven't done this yet, but if it also indicates a bad transmission
computer, where's a good source for a replacement?


Thanks for help.

Pat

 

http://www.car-part.com would be a good place to look for a used one (look
under computer box, not engine).

There are many online Honda dealers if you want a new one.

I've seen some articles on repairing the box, but I'm not so inclined to
try, when a used one is under $100.

 

Thanks.

 

bad trannny control unit. replace it. or find the directions online
for replacing the bad components, and it may last a little while.
Chip