engine light came on.

i finally went around to doing something about it.

it was my egr (emmissions gas recycler) that was a problem.

replaced that, now it's something having to do with my intake manifold. (the part that's connected to the egr).

gonna clean that when i get a chance.

will keep ya'll posted.

 

Engine light = emissions

 

cleaned intake manifold...

everything's working fine so far

 

I also had the check engine light (CEL) come on recently. The code reported was P0401 (EGR Flow Insufficient). I talked to one of my friends who works at Acura and he told me the way they handle it. They essentially spray carb cleaner down the EGR passageway, wait a few minutes, and then shoot high pressure air down the passageway to clear it. I tried it and it worked. It does take some time before the CEL actually turns off, but I imagine you could always just unhook the battery for a bit and then reconnect it for instant gratification.

Hope that helps someone,
Slagboy.

 

tried spraying air, vacuuming air;

now i have to take out whole intake manifold to clean it thoroghly.

let you know tomorrow how that werks out

 

where is the EGR passageway located at??

off the subject here but where houston are you 2 from?

 

As I understand it, the EGR passageway is #5 in the below diagram



If you stand in front of your car and peer into the engine bay, it is located directly behind the left side of the engine. As to where in H-town, I'm located, I'm in the Clear Lake area.

Peace,
Slagboy

 

taking it out and cleaning it worked, no more dreaded engine check light

north houston, willowbrook area

 

damn...one is in south side and the other is in north side. im in sw..

 

Hey WiGnTriP,

What piece in the diagram did you actually take out? Was it difficult? I've looked around in that area from the top and bottom and it seems like a pain to get to either way.

And to TLBaller... now we just need to find somebody on the east side of town hahahah

Lates!
Slagboy

 

the part (EGR) that 3 and 6 is connected, it is held down by two 12 mm screws. is not a pain to take out if you have the right tools.

had to take my car somewhere else cause i wasn't sure on how to clean the intake manifold. too many bolts and stuff.

took it to Japan Car Care on veterens-memorial.

took about a day and 200 dollars

 

Yeah, I was curious about the intake manifold. Glad to hear you got it all sorted out. I take my car to Japan Car Care as well. Phuong Le is a pretty good Honda/Acura mechanic. I'd recommend him to others as well.

Peace,
Slagboy.

 

Low EGR flow. I tried spraying through the EGR valve passages, did n ot work. Here's what I was told to do by a mechanic I trust--run your engine, pull up up on the diaphragm of your EGR valve (careful it can be quite hot!). If car dies or runs really rough when you pull on EGR, then bad valve(best price I found is $160 on internet!). When I pulled on valve, no difference. I took to mechanic. He thoroughly cleaned my EGR manifold, after which I no longer have the low EGR flow. Great!!

 

The check engine light is the achilles heal of our cars.

 

SW all the way!

 

Personally, I disagree with this statement. If you had worked on cars in the mid to late 80'3 (especially any VW) then you would/should appreciate the standardization of the MIL, OBD II and the fact that with adequate troubleshooting skill, a factory service manual, you can actually save a ton of time, parts, and money now adays.

Oops, did not notice how old this thread was. Was doing research on the 0401 code. Cleaned out the passageways today, will see how it works. EGR Valve seemed to work o.k. Pull a vacuum, and the engine stalls (after cleaning). Did not check it before cleaning...

 

How did you clean it ?

 

has anyone had to replace the old egr valve with a new one, or does cleaning always work?

 

It's the knock sensors, Legends had the same trouble... Or you may have to cycle your computer to get the light to go off... A lot of shops can do it for you. Basically a lot of the times even if you fix the problem the light will stay on... The computer has to be reset before it will go off. Try disconnecting the negative cable! Peace!

 

Cleaning the EGR valve is something you should do periodically whether you have a CEL on or not, it'll keep your gas mileage at its peak.

 

This appears to be an old thread brought back to life. If you have the P0401 code and have less than 150,000 miles there is a recall that will fix your problem (go to web page address listed below). I completed mine this week .

We need a way of getting everyone with the check engine light due to the EGR valve problem to have their dealer fix it free of charge!

http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Reference/tsb/98-031.htm

 

The only time my engine light came on was the result of a dimwit gas jockey who filled my empty tank with regular unleaded gas. Half an hour later the light came on.

I was in the middle of a massive road trip, and luckily I was only a few KM from a dealership. They read the code and it was LEAN FUEL MIXTURE.

Saved about two bucks by buying regular gas, paid 60 bucks to get the code reset.


grrrrr......

 

Damn...you got OWned by the stealership.

$60 to unhook and reconnect the battery! Wow!

 

Per the factory service manual - Remove the EGR Valve, and spray carb cleaner down the passage that feeds the crossover (the rearmost, square that turns round - the front one that is round is from the exhaust, feeding the EGR Valve). I sprayed a bunch, and then blew it with compressed air using a vacuum hose to go down into the hole and sort of seal it).

But, my MIL started coming back on again. I cleaned it again this weekend, and I think it must be really clogged, as the engine does not stall when opening the EGR valve anymore. As mentioned above, or elsewhere, one risk you have in cleaning it this way is losening up stuff, and clogging it more...

In doing research, I believe the best way is to remove the crossover like above, and clean it.

Now, thanks to the link from "Bluish" will investigate taking it back to the dealer, and let them fix it - Thanks for the link!

 

Remove the battery? Why do all that?

Just make sure you have your radio code handy, pop the fuse in the fuse block for the radio, and wham, in a matter of 5 seconds, your MIL is reset.

 

Take the five or 6 bolts and clean it with Carb cleaner.
When I had my CEL for egr issue, that's what I did to fix it. You have to reset the code also. Mine did not go away. I bought the scanner for $70.00 and it's worth every penny.


http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/2494/egr5td.jpg

 

which cleaning product do you recomend? Its is the same carb cleaner

 

I used the cheap carb cleaner spray that is about $3.00.
Once you take the plate off, there are 5 holes that I cleaned with carb spray and it took few try before the car cranked up.
I don't know if I should have changed the oil before starting the car or not, but it worked.

 

EGR manifold is not likely to be cleaned by throttle body cleaner and air pressure. I've only cleaned two Accords (90EX and 94EX), but the blockage was total and hard as a brick. I used a small drill bit to manually drill out the accumulations in 90EX. The 94EX had a separate split manifold that was quite easy to access the passages, but still took an hour of diligent cleaning to remove all the carbon buildup. The carbon deposits are tightly bonded to the metal and although throttle body cleaner loosens slightly, it does not remove. No short cuts here, remove and clean.

Check for TSB's on your car which may provide tips, instructions, and perhaps a part kit for the job.

good luck

 

Thanks a mil, Bluish. Dropped mine off the other day, and they had it fixed in a day. A friend of mine knew the tech, and the service writer set me up with a new TL for the day. Sure wish it would have taken like a week to do - They are really nice.