98 Civic fuel economy: torque converter lockup?

Discussion in 'Civic' started by randyoo, Jun 9, 2007.

  1. randyoo

    randyoo Guest

    Hi guys,

    A few months ago I posted about my poor fuel economy, and how I
    suspected an electrical problem.

    Suddenly I'm getting mid to upper 30's MPG, and I think I know why:
    I'm pretty sure the torque converter wasn't locking up at highway
    speeds. I haven't the faintest idea where to even start
    troubleshooting something like this, or if it would even be worth the
    time and effort on a 10 year old vehicle with 150k miles.... But I
    *was* thinking of wiring up a manual override toggle switch, if it
    stops working again. Get on the highway, set the cruise, and flip the
    switch.

    Any thoughts?
     
    randyoo, Jun 9, 2007
    #1
  2. randyoo

    jim beam Guest

    you can hear whether the converter is locking - and see revs if you have
    a tacho. it's the "fifth gear" rev drop.

    if the solenoid is defective, it's relatively cheap and easily
    replaceable. you should also get a code on the ecu. if it's not
    working, but you get no code, check whether the ecu's giving signal to
    the solenoid. wire an led in parallel with the solenoid circuit and you
    can see it activate. or not. tegger has pics of the tool i made for
    this exact task this past winter.
     
    jim beam, Jun 9, 2007
    #2
  3. randyoo

    randyoo Guest

    Jim,

    Thanks for the reply!

    That makes perfect sense: find out if the ECU is telling it to lock or
    not, and then I'll know if it's the solenoid or the signal out of the
    ECU. I assumed it was the ECU not giving the signal to lockup, but now
    I've got an idea of where to start now, at least. Thanks!
     
    randyoo, Jun 11, 2007
    #3
  4. randyoo

    motsco_ Guest

    ====================================

    If your thermostat is opening too early, or your reservoir isn't full
    enough, (air in cooling system) the computer never generates the lock-up
    signal. Check both.

    'Curly'
     
    motsco_, Jun 20, 2007
    #4
Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments (here). After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.