[yeopazman]

I Need Help!

I bought a 2001 Honda Civic EP2 Hatchback from a guy in Rijeka, Croatia, who told me that there is no problems. I checked for rust and he allowed me to drive 5 km in it and only really noticed that the alignment was off. It started ok, and it was daylight. When I drove back to Zagreb at night, I realized the instrument cluster lights were off and one of the button bulbs were dead (not an issue). When I got back and replaced the lights, I realized that the warning lights do not work:

1. Check engine
2. Door open
3. Seatbelt
etc.

The battery and oil level light lights up when starting the car, so I didn't pay attention it in the beginning. The engine idled after driving 150 km at 1200 and won't go down. I cleaned the throttle body and tested the TPS. The only thing I can think is that the ECU is running at default settings. VTECH seems slow, so my friend who owns Hondas noticed the same.

Then the started died and I got stuck in a parking lot and couldn't push start it. After a few days of dealing with everything, I noticed the problems below. When I went for alignment, the mechanic told me that my bushings had no rubber, which I am angry at these liars. Do not trust this guy: Marin Sumonja in Rijeka. He's a civil engineer and if he's in charge of stability of buildings, I would not go into them.

Broken from the start:

Starter
Bushings and ball joint
Alignment
Fuel door cover (won't release)
Gear shift boot (torn)
Silencer (he took out the middle silencer to make it sounds like a 14 year old owns the car)

Electronics:

Instrument lights
ALL warning lights not working (ECU?)
Rear window heater button light
Tachometer at 1200 on idle
Speedometer and is 13.8% faster than real speed
Wiper INT setting not working - rear wiper turns on sometimes in INT setting
ALL door lock actuators not working?
Remote key lock won't work (not even signal the lights open and close)

Any help would be appreciated. It seems like someone screwed with the ECU and then sold me a lemon. If I can find the source of the problem, then I can have a great car, but I do not know where to start.

Quick access to me with suggestions (don't tell me to buy a new car or sell this one, I am not in that position!): yeopazman(at)gmail(dot)com

 

[yeopazman]

I just found that I could do an instrument cluster gauge test and it actually reads "error" and I cannot find why online anywhere! PLEASE HELP!

 

[yeopazman]

UPDATE:

1. Most of the switches or warning lights are not working (handbrake light, check engine light, door open light, seatbelt off light) or are not connected somewhere. I figured out how to do a cluster gauge test and the lights turn on and the brake lights turn on with the handbrake, but there is a gap in the connection between the handbrake and the instrument cluster light (see video link above).

2. The tachometer is around 1200 rpm at idle. I checked the TPS and cleaned the throttle body and adjusted the idle screw to see if that makes a difference, but it doesn't. This could be the ECU running at default and the engine running lean.

3. The speedometer is off by 13.8% (it shows 150 km/h and 130 km/h on GPS). I might think the previous owners MIGHT have changed the ECU, but did not clone it properly, so none of the features are really connected. I checked the online calculator on size difference and it should show only a 0.6% difference (195/60-R15 vs 205/50-R16 Tire Comparison - Tire Size Calculator | Tacoma World). I do not want to change tires and wheels.

4. All three door actuators are not functioning. This could also be a symptom of the ECU problem, because the alarm turns on when all the doors are locked individually, but the FOB won't do the same. So I'm not sure if it's the actuator or the central receiver or switch on the door (that doesn't work).

5. The seat needs new bushings, because it rocks back and forth. I'll try to tighten the four bolts to see if it rocks less and I'll be happy with that. If not, I'll just solder the joint.

6. My ELM 327 ODB II reader won't hook up to ECU. I recently read that I don't have the protocol for the EP2, but since the CEL (check engine light) won't turn on, I don't know if anything is in error.

There are mechanical errors that I can fix myself (I replaced the starter, bushings, ball joints, serviced the engine and did an alignment), so it drives well enough.

If people were more honest, I would not have bought this car, but now I have to bring it up to "good" enough shape. Can anybody explain what is going on?

 

[yeopazman]

How does this happen?