Helm - honda manuals

I received my Honda Civic Hybrid 2003 Service Manual from Helm today.
On the back cover, it says "Published by Honda Motor Co, Ltd."

This is the least informative Service Manual I have ever seen.
I buy service manuals for each of my cars, although lately I don't do any
of the work. Usually they are very informative about how things are
supposed to work. This one is not. It is a disassembly-reassembly manual,
with the only operational theory being the troubleshooting code analysis.

That and the "how cold should the A/C be?". It is a sliding scale based on
humidity, and it is inlet to outlet temperature related, roughly 35F
difference.

 

There seems to be a trend here. I just got the one for the 02 Pathfinder
(which is not distributed by Helm and costs 3 times more) and it is the same
- a lot of the things that you used expect in the "official" manual are
missing (like how the dash comes apart) and many complicated procedures are
abbreviated. I wonder if there is an plot to force us back to the dealers
by leaving out essential information.

 

Agree!!

Used to be useful, but my 98 Accord manual is almost useless.

 

---------------------------------------------

Clarence,

Because it seemed too expensive, and because I needed a manual right
away, instead of the Helms I got the Chilton's manual from my Honda
dealer (Canada) and it covers the original CRV (which we had) and the
Odyssey, which we eventually got. It's quite sufficient for most stuff,
and the thing I like best is the 'tricks' they tell you about, like: how
to build your own crankshaft pully tool, or how to use that long bolt
from the battery hold-down to preload the belt tension on the ________
whatever. You know, that kind of stuff. I think I payed about $30 CAN.

'Curly'

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you must remove them to reply directly . . . . . . Thanks.

Regarding stage performances: When everyone else has finished playing,
you should not play any notes you have left over. -

 

I've found Chilton's to be filled with handy tips, useful for actually
working on the car. But they are light on the technical workings, which is
why I always buy the shop manual. Odd that I am, I like reading about how
_my_ ABS works, not the generic stuff in the front of a Chilton's that is
the same for all cars.

The Dodge/Chrysler manuals are very informative. This new Honda manual is
not.

There was alos some question earlier in the group about whther the Helms
manual was the official Honda Manual. It certainly appears to be copyright
Honda, but I'd like to have more "stuff", especially about the IMA and VTEC
workings on my Hybrid.

I haven't seen a Chilton that covers the Hybrid yet.

 

Huh? I have the Accord 1998-2001 Service Manual and it's the best and most
comprehensive manual from Honda that I've seen - also the thickest. What
kind of info are you expecting? This is about maintaining and repairing
everything on the car and it's got it well covered IMO.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

I checked the 2003 Civic Manual, and it has four pages on changing the
timing chain. That looks like plenty of detail.

This book is a remove-and-replace guide.

What I was looking for was more of the "theory of operation". In the
entire book, the only mention of VTEC is the replacement of the oil control
solenoid. Nothing about what it does, or when it does it, or how to decide
that it needs to be replaced.

Whetever it is called, I would like to buy the other manual that talks
about how stuff is supposed to work.

 

I agree. The Helm for Hondas are very brief and concise with heavy emphasis in
clearly drawn pictures. They aid people who are good with three dementional
logical skills who want to get things done, done right, and fast.
Compared to electronic schematics, Helm contains a wealth of basic
theoretical information capable of doing complete repairs. They left nothing
out except diagram of circuit boards. They assume you can completely solve all
mechanical logic problem by using actual broken parts as aids. Another words,
they want you to dissect the car and put two and two together if you want to
know.
I've own four Helms SM, 2 Dodge Chrysler SM and three Electronic
Schematic for Sony TV, Yamahas Receivers etc. and none are comparables to
Helm/Honda in my opinion.
-W

 

You are seeing the difference between an OEM manual--which will have the
correct specs and the authorized procedures and probably a correct wiring
diagram and an aftermarket manual which will get lots of that stuff
ever-so-slightly wrong but will have lots more hand-holding and happy-talk.
But the aftermarket manual has to sell for less and make a profit--for this
reason, they envelope procedures, omit variants, and do no deal with low
volume variants like the hybrid. I have not seen the hybrid manual, but have
seen lots of other Honda manuals--have you seen other Honda manuals? This
one may be thinner than, say, the mainstream Civic manual for the same
reasons the aftermarket manuals will probably never treat the hybrid. Just
translating it to English is a huge cost.

I'm defeated what more you were expecting on the score of the A/C
performance specs. That's the design spec performance data. From that a
dealer can readily tell if the system is working as well as it was designed
to work under known conditions. It's a simple system. A given temperature of
air in with a given amount of humidity will be cooled a pretty precise
amount. That's all this table tries to communicate.

 

Not since the early ones, where they needed better English translations.
Some were silly, but I still like this warning: "when producing excessive
force on the fastener to loosen it, take note where your knuckles would
fall should the wrench slip".

The manual is fat. About two inches or so. The addendum for the SULEV
version is another $35. I didn't buy that one.

That was a good piece. Sorry my emphasis was lost. Usable detail in a
chart, with an indication of whether it was good or not.

There is nothing suggesting when the "auto" mode of the A/C selects
different speeds or different vents, or recirc verses fresh. No
explanations anywhere.