2000 Acura Integra engine

Changin
g a Fla t Tire , I f You r Engin e Won' t Star t
15.Remove the wheel cover or center
cap.

Place the flat tire face down in the
spare tire well.
16.Remove the spacer cone from the
wing bolt, turn it over, and put it back on the bolt.

17.Secure the flat tire by screwing

the wing bolt back into its hole.
18.Store the jack in its holder with
the end bracket facing to the right.
Turn the jack's end bracket to lock i t in place. Store the tool kit.

19.Store the wheel cover or center
cap in the cargo area. Make sure it
will not get scratched or damaged. I
f You r Engin e Won' t Star t

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 almostnothing. The engine's starter

motor does not operate at all, or

operates very slowly.
You can hear the starter motor

operating normally, or the starter

motor sounds like it is spinning

faster than normal, but the engine

does not start up and run.

Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d

Loose items can fly around the
interior in a crash and could
seriously injure the occupants.
Store the wheel, jack and tools
securely before driving.

WIN
G BOL T

SPACER

CON E

I
f You r Engin e Won' t Star t
Nothin g Happen s o r th e Starte r
Moto r Operate s Ver y Slowl y
When you turn the ignition switch to START (III), you do not hear the
normal noise of the engine trying tostart. You may hear a clicking sound
or series of clicks, or nothing at all.Check these things: Your car has the Immobilizer
System. You should use a
properly-coded master or valet key
to start the engine (see page 72 ).
A key that is not properly coded will cause the immobilizer systemindicator in the dash panel to blink
rapidly. Check the transmission interlock.
If you have a manual transmission,
the clutch pedal must be pushed all the way to the floor or thestarter 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 headlightsare very dim or don't light at all,
the battery is discharged. See
Jum p Startin g on page 231. 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 proba-
bly something wrong with the electrical circuit for the ignition
switch or starter motor. You will
need a qualified technician to determine the problem. (See
Emergenc y Towin g on page 245.)
If the headlights dim noticeably or
go out when you try to start the
engine, either the battery is dis-
charged or the connections are
corroded. Check the condition of
the battery and terminal connec-
tions (see page 189). You can
then try jump starting the car from a booster battery (see page
231).
Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d

I
f You r Engin e Won' t Start , Jum p Startin g
Th e Starte r Operate s Normall y
In this case, the starter motor's speed sounds normal, or even faster
than 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 Startin g th e
Engin e on page 137. Do you have fuel? Turn the
ignition switch to ON (II) for a
minute and watch the fuel gauge.
The low fuel level warning light may not be working, so you were
not reminded to fill the tank. There may be an electrical
problem, such as no power to the
fuel pump. Check all the fuses (see page 240).
If you find nothing wrong, you will
need a qualified technician to find
the problem. See Emergenc y
Towin g on page 245 . Jum
p Startin g
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,
you should take several precautions.
You cannot start an Acura with an automatic transmission by pushing
or pulling it. To jump start your car, follow these
directions closely:
1. Open the hood and check the
physical condition of the battery(see page 189). 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.

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.

CONTINUED

Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d

NOTIC
E
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.

Jum
p Startin g
3. Connect one jumper cable to the
positive (+) terminal on the
booster battery. Connect the other end to the positive (+) terminalon your Acura's battery.

4. Connect the second jumper cable

to the negative (—) terminal on
the booster battery. Connect theother end to the grounding strap
as shown. Do not connect this
jumper cable to any other part of the engine.

5. If the booster battery is in another

vehicle, have an assistant start
that vehicle and run it at a fast idle.

6. Start your car. If the starter motor

still operates slowly, check the jumper cable connections to make
sure they have good metal-to-
metal contact.

7. Once your car is running, discon-

nect the negative cable from your
car, then from the booster battery.
Disconnect the positive cable from
your car, then the booster battery.

Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d
BOOSTE
R BATTER Y

I
f You r Engin e Overheat s
The pointer of your car's tempera- ture gauge should stay in the mid-
range under most conditions. It may
go higher if you are driving up a longsteep hill on a very hot day. If it
climbs to the red mark, you should determine the reason.
Driving with the temperature gauge
pointer at the red mark can cause serious damage to your engine. Your car can overheat for several
reasons, such as lack of coolant or a
mechanical problem. The only indication may be the temperature
gauge climbing to or above the red
mark. Or you may see steam or spray coming from under the hood.
In either case, you should take
immediate action.
1. Safely pull to the side of the road.
Put the transmission in Neutral or
Park and set the parking brake.
Turn off the heating and cooling system and all other accessories.
Turn on the hazard warning indicators.

2. If you see steam and/or spray
coming from under the hood, turn
off the engine.
3. If you do not see steam or spray,

leave the engine running and
watch the temperature gauge. If the high heat is due to overloading (climbing a long, steep hill on a
hot day with the A/C running, for example), the engine should start
to cool down almost immediately. If it does, wait until the tempera-
ture gauge comes down to the mid-
point then continue driving.

4. If the temperature gauge stays at

the red mark, turn off the engine.

5. Wait until you see no more signs

of steam or spray, then open the
hood.

CONTINUED

Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d

NOTIC
E

Steam and spray from an

overheated engine can

seriously scald you.

Do not open the hood if steam

is coming out.

I
f You r Engin e Overheat s

6. Look for any obvious coolant leaks,
such as a split radiator hose.
Everything is still extremely hot, so use caution. If you find a leak, it
must be repaired before you continue driving (see Emergenc y
Towin g on page 245).

7. If you don't find an obvious leak,

check the coolant level in the
radiator reserve tank (see page 124). If the level is below the
MIN mark, add coolant to halfway
between the MIN and MAX marks.

8. If there was no coolant in the

reserve tank, you may also have to add coolant to the radiator. Let the
engine cool down until the pointer
reaches the middle of the tempera-
ture gauge, or lower, before check- ing the radiator.

9. Using gloves or a large heavy

cloth, turn the radiator cap

counterclockwise, without pushing

down, to the first stop. This
releases any remaining pressure in
the cooling system. After the
pressure releases, push down on

the cap and turn it until it comes
off.
10.Start the engine and set the

temperature control lever to
maximum. Add coolant to the
radiator up to the base of the filler
neck. If you do not have the
proper coolant mixture available,
you can add plain water. Remember to have the cooling
system drained and refilled with
the proper mixture as soon as you
can.

11.Put the radiator cap back on

lightly. Run the engine and watch
the temperature gauge. If it goes
back to the red mark, the engine needs repair. (See Emergenc y
Towin g on page 245.)

12.If the temperature stays normal,

check the coolant level in the
radiator reserve tank. If it has
gone down, add coolant to the MAX mark. Put the cap back on
tightly.
Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d
Removing the radiator cap
while the engine is hot can
cause the coolant to spray out, seriously scalding you.
Always let the engine and radiator cool down before
removing the radiator cap.

Lo
w Oi l Pressur e Indicato r
This indicator should light when the ignition switch is ON (II), and go out
after the engine starts. It should
never come on when the engine is
running. If it starts flashing, it indicates that the oil pressuredropped very low for a moment, then
recovered. If the indicator stays on
with the engine running, it shows that the engine has lost oil pressureand serious engine damage is
possible. In either case, you should
take immediate action.
Running the engine with low oil
pressure can cause serious mechanical damage almost immediately. Turn offthe engine as soon as you can safely get
the car stopped.

1. Safely pull off the road and shut
off the engine. Turn on the hazard
warning indicators.

2. Let the car sit for a minute. Open

the hood and check the oil level (see page 127). 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. If necessary, add oil to bring the

level back to the full mark on the
dipstick (see page 171).

4. Start the engine and watch the oil

pressure indicator. If the lightdoes 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 Emergenc y
Towin g on page 245.)

Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d
NOTIC
E

LO W OI L PRESSUR E INDICATO R

Chargin
g Syste m Indicato r

This indicator should come on when the ignition switch is ON (II), and goout after the engine starts. If it
comes on brightly when the engine
is running, it indicates that the charging system has stopped
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 (kilometers)
before the battery is too discharged
to keep the engine running. Drive to a service station or garage where
you can get technical assistance.
Takin g Car e o f th e Unexpecte d
CHARGIN
G SYSTE M INDICATO R