Looking at purchasing a 1992 Honda Prelude S, but has brake light on

Folks, what could the cause of this be? I checked the master
cylinder, and it looks as though it has enough brake fluid, and the
brakes seem to work well. Is this a common issue on this vehicle?
What else might I check?
By the way, this car has ~160,00 miles on it, and has already had two
timing belts put on it. What else goes out regularly on this car, and
is there anything that I should look out for, before biting the bullet
and purchasing it?
Thanks so much in advance!

 

I vaguely recall seeing some postings here over wiring
problems from the brake fluid reservoir. IIRC, it's remedied
easily.... still, you'll have to research this more.

Here is some counsel on "buying used" for Hondas:
http://home.earthlink.net/~honda.lioness/id18.html

How many miles are on this Prelude?

Without knowing more, I'd aim for inspecting the suspension
system very closely. Control arm bushings and ball joints
would tend to go out for a car this old in years.

 

Thanks, elle, for your response. This car has 159,500 miles on it.
Thanks for the link, I have printed it out and will read it today. I
do plan on taking it to a mechanic to have it inspected, prior to
making the decision to purchase it, and will be sure to ask him to
inspect the control arm bushings and other front end and suspension
parts.

 

Some hints on the brake light problem:
http://groups.google.com/groups/search?q=brake+light+reservoir+wiring+group%3Aalt.autos.honda&qt_s=Search+Groups

Other keyword searches of alt.autos.honda and
rec.autos.makers.honda may turn up more.

Depending on the price, how it checks out, and how long you
want to keep this Prelude, I would not rule it out yet based
on mileage.

 

Thanks again, so much, for all your help. I will see what the
mechanic says after he looks at the car,

Thanks again!

 

you can test the brake light situation yourself. simply unplug the
wires that connect the reservoir sensor. if the light goes out, you
know it's a problem with the reservoir float. it's a common problem
with aftermarket cylinders. if that is the culprit, either leave
unplugged or get a new [genuine honda] cap/float assembly from a junkyard.

 

Folks, I think we have the brake lamp light figured out - one of the
brake lights in the light in the back windshield is out, that is
probably why the brake lamp light is lit.
We took the car to a mechanic to get a pre-purchase evaluation
yesterday, and he came back with several things wrong with it.
First let me back track, the person who owns it is a good personal
friend of mine, and I don't believe he is lying to me. He tells me
that he has never had to add oil between oil changes.
I would like to bounce some things off of you to get your opinions as
I attempt to analyze what the mechanic told me:

I specifically asked the mechanic to let us know if something is
leaking and he said that there is a little leakage from the front
output crank pulley, valve cover, and possibly the cam seal. Is this
a big deal? The current owner has replaced the timing belt twice, the
last time at 130000 (the car currently has 160000 miles on it), so I
don't think it is time yet to replace the timing belt again.
The struts on the car look to be original - how much are we talking to
replace them, as I would imagine that we would need to pretty soon
with that amount of miles?
The big issue that I see with the car is that the mechanic told me
that both steering rack boots are torn, and that the right swaybar
connecting rod bushing is cracked.
Is this a major expense to repair?

The current owner is asking $2,000 for this car (1992 Honda Prelude S)
- What do you all think? Is that price too high, and how much are
these repairs going to cost?
Thanks so much in advance for your opinions!

 

These seals all are normally replaced when the timing belt
is replaced. Though the valve cover seal (gasket) may be
replaced without doing the timing belt at the same time.

They should be replaced but if the leakage is not bad, it's
not too big a deal. It just depends.

Figure around $400-$600 I'd say to do these seals. May as
well get a new timing belt, water pump, and tensioner while
the technician is deep in the "bowels" of the engine's
systems, too. (That may not make sense unless you know how
all these parts overlap... ) The TB, water pump, and
tensioner will add another $200 or so.

Most likely it's due 6 years or 90k miles,whichever comes
first.

The shock absorbers last and last. If they are not leaking,
I would not replace them.

I defer to others on this one. Haven't seen this much here,
which to me is a bad sign.

If you're talking about what I think you're talking about,
this is easy to fix and common.

See the resources (like Edmunds.com) for guidance on used
car pricing, mentioned at the "Buying Used" site I listed
earlier.

 

My experience with that is limited to my old Volvo. I didn't notice the torn
boot until symptoms appeared (hard shaking during light braking) and I
investigated. The boot keeps the inner tie rod ball clean and lubricated,
but the ball and socket on mine were worn about a mm. It felt a whole lot
worse than that!

Replacement is important to protect the tie rod and the rack. At each end
the tie rod has to be removed from the rack to get the boot on - not an easy
DIY job but probably not too bad for a pro with the right tools. The tie rod
is probably screwed on and staked, and an alignment is mandatory afterward.
You should be able to get an accurate estimate of the cost from your
mechanic.

Mike

 

Folks, does anyone know whether or not the 1992 Honda Prelude S has an
air bag or not? Thanks so much!

 

I think all Hondas got a driver's airbag (at the least) around '92.