Ok, today while I was waiting in line at the bank (drive-thru) I looked at the little compartment under the ashtray and noticed a panel at the back that looked removeable, and sure enough when I reached behiind it and gave it a tug it popped right out. Not only was there about three bucks in quarters and dimes but the was a black plastic connector, unlabeled. Since it it directly above the transmission I'm assuming it is for programming the EGC or similar device in the car, does anyone know for sure? Is there anythign we can do with it?

P.S.--If your wondering why your ash tray might not be operating as smoothly as when new, try looking behind this panel and removing some change, worked for me...

 

Yes, it's some kind of universal diagnostic plug. Go to the other board (-tl.com) and do a search on "connector" in the CL section and you will find a thread which went into this in gorey (sp?) detail. It even had pictures which you don't need cause you've seen it in person.



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MikeS 18 - '01 CL-S #22,299 Black/Parchment with Nav, Spoiler, door guards, wood trim kit, fender guards, PIAA 19169 & Platinum 9005, V1 w/remote, trunk tray, winter mats, Salt Coat Finish by Mass DOT, only 2 scratched rims

 

It's the plug for the "scanner", the OBD II compliant diagnostics thingy.

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South Jersey: 2001 Acura CL-s Gold with navi/spoiler/splashguards/V1/w/cdu
stock 1/4 mile 14.698sec@95.91mph
Atco Raceway 12/1/00

 

yup, it's the plug for the OBDII scan tool to check any engine faults etc with your car



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Astroboy out...
2001 Acura Cl Type S: Comptech: Headers, filter, sways, springs, koni shocks, goodridge braided brake lines, full kicker system
1996 Porsche 911 Twin Turbo: H&R Springs and sways, Bilstein shocks

 

Still not ready yet, but will eventually plug into the subject port...

http://www.autotap.com/presales_support.html

I have used this one on my GTP and other similar on my Typhoon. I find it to be the most valuable tool you can buy. No more running to the dealer when the engine light comes on. Could be a simple fuse. So by reading the currently set DTC and looking in the Helms manual, the problem could be resolved in minutes.

BTW, this is, IMO, an absolute must when running A'pexi A-VFC or similar; possibly better than tuning on the dyno. Just log data while making runs with a GTech (measuring acceleration G's over a repeatable RPM range and gear), look over the data and adjust. After a couple of hours you will definitely have the optimal tuning.