Check transmission light

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Gasoline Fumes

Check transmission light in a manual car? I'm guessing the light is for the CVT HX.

What he says. My 1998 Civic DX manual trans car does not have such a light, I don't think. Isn't p1399 an ignition misfire code? That's what I see online. But checking two versions of the sixth gen Civic factory service manual that I have in PDF on my computer shows no such code.... the does not seem to be a P1399.

[Xist]

So, this is embarrassing. Bacon has a "Check Engine" light, but Chorizo has a light that shows the outline of an engine. Being stressed and rushed, I reasoned that since the check engine light says "Check Engine," the other one must be the transmission...

The vaguely rectangular thing with what looks like a pulley on the side? Totally the transmission! How would I have any idea how a bell housing looks?!

So embarrassing...

This happened during a three-day drill, immediately before two tests, so I really did not have time for it. My Xist-is-an-Idiot light came on thirty-six hours before my most recent three-day drill, so I just turned around, parked my car, and decided to focus on drill and my tests.

I started doing schoolwork that would be due during drill and then I decided to have a mechanic look at it while I was away, except, they shortly said: "Yeah. That is the check engine light. You have a 1399, a misfire. We cannot do anything else for a day or two, but the first things to do are to inspect the spark plugs and wires, which you can do by simply replacing them."

So, the guy who could not tell the engine from the transmission thought "I got this!" I had replaced the spark plugs and wires in Bacon, which required removing the battery, windshield washer reservoir, and intake. How difficult could it be on the Civic?

My girlfriend did just fine. However, it did not seem to fix anything. I do not think that I have ever seen her move that quickly. I removed the distributor rotor, and I, my roommates, and the guy at O'Reilly said "Well, it doesn't look good, I just cannot say that it is the problem. They were the only ones with the right spark plugs, but the nearest store with a distributor\rotor was in California, so we ordered it, and he suggested that I used SeaFoam engine treatment. After a couple of miles, everything smoothed out, so I drove home, stayed up until 02 doing my homework and preparing for drill, woke up at 04, and then went and drove a bus full of Soldiers!

Xist is my World of Warcraft character that uses a gun. I, however, am not deadly beyond licking distance. Tell me how to practice daily with an M-16 for $15 monthly I will totally start doing that instead.

[yoyoyoda]

For the misfiring:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...rth-28378.html

[cbaber]

P1399? No mention of that code anywhere in the factory service manual. The flashing CEL means a pretty critical misfire situation. Obviously the Ultragauge is giving you some weird codes, and the mechanic didn't pull the correct code either. (If it's not in the Honda manual I don't see how it's the correct code)

Go to any auto parts store and have them read the code to see if you get anything but 1399.

If you aren't noticing a rough idle, or studders while driving, it's probably ignition related since it is effecting all cylinders and not just one. Start with plugs, wires, cap/rotor. If you did that, I would try ignition module inside distributor (did you order a new distributor??? Expensive, but it will replace what I just mentioned). If that doesn't work I would borrow a fuel pressure gauge and test fuel pressure. Check the timing as well. If timing, fuel, and ignition all check out, you might be dealing with compression problems. Could be leaky values or piston rings. But start off simple and work your way through it system by system. You don't want to be throwing parts and money at it without checking the right things first.

Oh I almost forgot, like yoyo said check all your grounds before you start buying any parts.

[Xist]

I apologize, I forgot to mention that when the light came on, it drove rough, although that smoothed out a couple of miles after I put in the SeaFoam. I reset the CEL and it did not return. The car has run fine since.

My UltraGauge did show 1399, I just did not use it until after I changed the spark plugs and wires. According to Actron®, it is "Misfire Detected."

My Sergeant says that he earned his ASEs and then realized that he did not enjoy working on other people's cars. He says that SeaFoam is great, he uses it regularly on his truck to get better mileage, but I could have simply removed the injectors and blown them clean.