1992 HONDA PRELUDE light

Changing a Flat Tire
If you
have a flat tire while driving,
stop in a safe place to change it.
Stopping in traffic or on the shoul-
der of a busy road is dangerous.
Drive slowly along the shoulder
until you get to an exit or an area to stop that is far away from the traf-
fic lanes.
1. Park the car on firm, level ground away from traffic. Turnon the hazard warning lights and
turn the ignition to LOCK (0). 2. Put the transmission in Park
(automatic) or Reverse (5-speed).
Set the parking brake.
3. Open the trunk. Raise the trunk floor by lifting up on the back

edge.

4. Take the tool kit out of the trunk. 5. Unscrew the wing bolt and take
the spare tire out of the trunk.

Taking Care of the Unexpected
CONTINUED

The car can easily roll off the

jack, seriously injuring anyone
underneath.

Follow the directions for chang-

ing a tire exactly, and never

get under the car when it is

supported only by the jack.
TRUNK FLOOR

JACK

SPARE TIRE

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If Your Engine Won't Start

Diagnosing why your engine won't
start falls into two areas, depending
on what you hear when you turn
the key to START (III): You hear nothing, or almost
nothing. The engine's starter
motor does not operate at all, or
operates very slowly.
You can hear the starter motor
operating normally, but the
engine does not start up and run. Nothing Happens or the
Starter Motor Operates Very
Slowly
When you turn the ignition switchto START (III), you do not hear the
normal noise of the engine trying to
start. You may hear
a clicking
sound or series of clicks, or nothing
at all.
Check these things:
Check the

transmission interlock.
If you have a 5-speed, the clutch
pedal must be pushed all the way
to the floor or the starter will not operate. With an automatic
transmission, it must be in Park
or Neutral.
Turn the ignition switch to ON
(II). Turn on the headlights and
check their brightness. If the
headlights are very dim or don't
light at all, the battery is dis-
charged.
See Jump Starting on

page 191
.
Turn the ignition switch to

START (III). If the headlights do

not dim, check the condition of

the fuses. If the fuses are OK,

there is probably something
wrong with the electrical circuit

for the ignition switch or starter
motor. You will need a qualified

technician to determine the

problem. (See Towing on page
202.)

If the headlights dim noticeably
or go out when you try to start
the engine, either the battery is

discharged or the connections

are corroded. Check the condi-

tion of the battery and terminal
connections (see page 153 ). You

can then try jump starting the

car from a booster battery (see
page 191).

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If Your Engine Won't Start, Jump Starting

The Starter Operates
Normally

In this case, the starter motor
sounds normal when you turn the
ignition switch to START (III), but
the engine does not run. Are you using the proper starting
procedure? Refer to Starting
the Engine on page 109 . Do you have gas? Turn the
ignition switch to ON (II) for a
minute and watch the fuel gauge.
There may be an electrical
problem, such as no power to the
fuel pump. Check all the fuses
(see page 199 ).

If you find nothing wrong, you will
need a qualified technician to find
the problem. See Towing on page
202.
Jump Starting

If your car's battery has run down,
you may be able to start the engine
by using a booster battery. Although this seems like a simple
procedure, there are several precau-
tions you should take. Follow the
directions closely.
You cannot start a Honda with an
automatic transmision by pushingor pulling it. To jump start your car:
1. Open the hood and check the physical condition of the battery
(see page 152 ). In very cold
weather, check the condition of the electrolyte. If it seems slushy
or like ice, do not try jump
starting until it thaws.
If a battery sits in extreme cold, the
electrolyte inside can freeze.
Attempting to jump start with a frozen battery can cause it to
rupture or explode.
2. Turn off all the electrical acces- sories: heater, A/C, stereo system,
lights, etc. Put the transmission in Neutral
or Park and set the parking
brake.

Taking Care of the Unexpected
CONTINUED
A battery can explode if you
do not follow the correct

procedure, seriously injuring

anyone nearby.

Keep all sparks, open flames,

and smoking materials away

from the battery.
NOTICE
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Low Oil Pressure

The low oil pressure light should never come on when the engine is
running. If this light comes on with
the engine running, take immediate

action.

Running the engine with low oil
pressure can cause serious mechani-
cal damage almost immediately.
Turn off the engine as soon as you
can safely get the car stopped. 1. Safely pull off the road and shut
off the engine.

2. Le
t
the car sit for a minute. Open

the hood and check the oil level
(see page 135). Although oil level
and oil pressure are not directly
connected, an engine that is very
low on oil can lose pressure
during cornering and other
driving maneuvers.

3. I f
necessary, add oil to bring the

level back to the full mark on the
dipstick (see page 135
).

4. Star t
the engine and watch the

oil pressure light. If the light
does not go out within ten
seconds, turn off the engine.
There is a mechanical problem
that needs to be repaired before
you can continue driving. (See
Towin g on

page 202 .
)

Taking Car e
of the Unexpected

LOW OIL PRESSURE LIGHT
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Charging System Indication

The charging system light should
go out after the engine starts. If it
comes on brightly with the engine
running, the alternator is no longer
charging the battery. Immediately turn off all electrical
accessories: radio, heater, A/C, rear
defogger, cruise control, etc. Try
not to use other electrically-
operated controls such as the
power windows. Keep the engine
running and take extra care not to
stall it. Starting the engine will discharge the battery rapidly. By eliminating as much of the

electrical load as possible, you can

drive several miles before the
battery is too discharged to keep
the engine running. Drive to a
service station or garage where you
can get technical assistance.

Taking Care of the Unexpected
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Check Engine Light
If the
check engine light comes on
while driving, there is a problem with your engine or its emissioncontrol systems. Even though you
may feel no difference in your car's
performance, it can reduce your
fuel economy and cause your car to put out excessive emissions.
Continued operation may cause
serious engine damage. If this light comes on, safely pull
off the road and turn off the engine.
Restart the engine and watch the
check engine light. If it stays on,
have your car checked by the dealer as soon as possible. You
should also have the dealer inspect
your car if the light comes on
frequently, even though it goes off
when you do the above procedure. If you keep driving with the check
engine light on, you can damage
your car's emission controls and
engine. Those repairs are not
covered by your car's warranties.

Taking Care of the Unexpected

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT

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Fuses

Checking and Replacing
Fuses
If something electrical in your car
stops working, the first thing you
should check for is a blown fuse.
Determine from the chart on the
fuse box cover or inside the fuse
box which fuse or fuses control
that component. Check those fuses
first, but check all the fuses before deciding that is not the cause.
Replace any blown fuses and check
the component's operation.
1. Turn the ignition switch to LOCK (0). Make sure the head-
lights and all other accessories
are
off.

2. Remove the cover from the fuse box. 3. Check each of the large fuses in
the underhood fuse box by
looking through the top at the
wire inside. Removing these
fuses requires a phillips-head
screwdriver. 4. Check the smaller fuses in the
underhood fuse box and all the
fuses in the interior fuse box bypulling out each fuse with the
fuse puller provided in the interior fuse box.

Taking Care of the Unexpected
BLOWN
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Anti-lock Brake System

The Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) is standard equipment on the
Prelude Si, Si 4WS sold in the U.S.
and SR, SR 4WS sold in Canada. It
is not available on any other models.
The ABS works by measuring how
fast the wheels are turning during
braking and comparing their speed.If any wheel is rotating much
slower than the others (on the
verge of locking up and skidding),
the system reduces hydraulicpressure to that wheel's brake
caliper. When that wheel's speed
matches the other wheels, the
system applies normal hydraulic pressure. This can take place
several times per second at each
wheel. You feel the ABS working as rapid pulsations in the brake

pedal.
Each wheel has a wheel speed
sensor assembly. As the wheel
rotates, the sensor sends electrical
pulses to the ABS control unit. The
pulse frequency varies with the
wheel speed.
The electrical output of the ABScontrol unit is connected to the
modulator/solenoid unit. During
braking, the ABS control unit monitors the pulse frequencies
from the four wheels. When the control unit detects a wheel locking
up, it energizes the appropriate
solenoid in the modulator/solenoid
unit. There are three solenoids: one
for each front wheel, and one for
the rear wheels. The energized solenoid reduces hydraulic pres-
sure to one side of a modulator
valve. This, in turn, reduces hydrau- lic pressure in the brake line going
to the affected wheel. When that
wheel speeds up because of the re- duced braking effort, the control unit de-energizes the solenoid. This
builds hydraulic pressure on the
modulator valve. The pressure in-
creases in the hydraulic line to the

wheel.

For the system to react quickly, the
modulator/solenoid unit must have
brake fluid under high pressure.
This is supplied by an accumulator
that is pressurized by an electric pump. A pressure-sensing switch
on the accumulator controls this
pump.
The control unit also contains error detection circuitry. It monitors the
operation of the wheel sensors, solenoids, pump, and electronics. If
the control unit detects any faults,
it shuts off power to the pump
motor and solenoids. The light on
the instrument panel comes on.
The brakes then work like a conventional system without anti-
lock capabilities.

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