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Accord 2003 Issues

2025 Views 12 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  NightFire, 
NightFire
Hello guys this is my first post here, I've recently acquired a 2003 Accord EX 2.4L, the car appears to not have been taken care of by its previous owner, I got it as part of a debt owed to me. The car appears to have a couple of issues and I'd love to hear your opinions on why they were done or what is causing these things.

1- The Electrical Fan is powered directly from the ignition, as soon as you turn the switch to II, the fan starts up and doesn't work as intended (temp controlled)

2- I took the car to a local service shop because it had the Check Engine on, where they hooked up the scanner and told me the car was throwing up: Thermostat range error (I wonder if this has anything to do with the fan problem) and he mentioned it was throwing a speed sensor in the ABS front left tire and Airbag module left front and passenger front. Also some kind of "seatbelt tensioner" error.

Here's the thing, the airbag light and side airbag on the dash board come up once the switch is in the II position, and they turn off a second or 2 after car is on. The ABS light does the same, which makes me wonder if the Scanner found airbag and Abs code shouldn't these lights light up?

I tried to disconnect the Yellow plug under the seat to the side airbag and the Side Airbag light did NOT stay on after the car was started.

I'm suspecting the lights have been tampered with in some way to make them not report an actual error. I popped the plastic under steering wheel and the 2 wire yellow plug used to get SRS codes was unplugged, not sure if this has any effect, I plugged it back in, no change in light behavior. I noticed two plugs which do not have any input but I read those are for fog light installation. I hope someone has any ideas for me.
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M
First thing I'd do is connect everything, clear all codes, and then write down the number for each code that pops up after that

An inexpensive scanner/code reader is a good tool for everyone to have
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R
My thought on the thermostat range error is that it could be a thermostat that is stuck open (car not getting warm enough) thus the rad fan doesn't kick on, so the jumped it to get it to stay on. Where is the cars temp gauge after it has been on for awhile? If the thermostat is good it could be the rad fan switch (37760-P00-003). This may be faulty and not working and the reason why the fan isnt turning on.

Not sure about the airbags. The modules themselves could be faulty and may need replacing. I would disconnect the battery for about 5 minutes, re-connect it and check again for any codes or errors.
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C
The fan WILL turn on if the ac button is pushed in with the key in the on position and with the car not running. See if the fan is one with or without the ac button on.
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Aviography
Airbag (SRS, supplemental restrain system) and ABS lights should come on for a couple of seconds after engine start and then turn off, this is a "bulb check", so the car owner and/or auto technician know that the fault indicator lights work, otherwise how do you know if the SRS and the ABS are actually fault free rather than their fault indication bulbs are burned out?

I would suggest taking the car to another shop for a second opinion.
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NightFire
CarlR33 said:
The fan WILL turn on if the ac button is pushed in with the key in the on position and with the car not running. See if the fan is one with or without the ac button on.
Click to expand...
The fan turns on regardless so im leaning on what Rizwan said.



About the warning lights, i understand the bulb checking part what i meant to say is if the scanner picked up warning codes for abs and airbag, shouldnt the lights stay on? Even disconnecting one side airbag did not cause side airbag light to stay on. Resetting codes and disconnected battery, same behavior..

Thanks for your responses do far. Want to get this car 100%.
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RickBlaine
You really need to read your owner's manual. If you don't have one, use the link on the 7th gen page to read it, or buy one on eBay.
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NightFire
RickBlaine said:
You really need to read your owner's manual. If you don't have one, use the link on the 7th gen page to read it, or buy one on eBay.
Click to expand...
Will do thanks for the input.
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NightFire
Update: Took the car to another shop, scanner picked up same thermostat range error, the car had the temp sensor switch wires for the fans spliced together and no thermostat, bought and installed temp switch properly in case old one was bad and ordered thermostat. Scanner picked up only seabelt sensor errors, not airbag error codes. Fan works as intended now, temp controlled.
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H
The driver side seatbelt buckle has a sensor in it that will get worn out with age and use of the seat belt. Honda will replace the seat belt buckle for free since the seat belt system has a lifetime warranty. Typical indicator would be the airbag light coming on intermittently as you drive, or always on. That may be your seatbelt sensor error.
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C
Accord2003EX said:
Update: Took the car to another shop, scanner picked up same thermostat range error, the car had the temp sensor switch wires for the fans spliced together and no thermostat, .
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I wonder why someone would take out the thermostat and splice the wires?
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NightFire
In my opinion previous owner probably had head gasket problems since engine appears to have been worked on, and they did that crap job to keep the car cooler.
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NightFire
Update: I decided to remove the CD storage bin to check out the airbag module and found this nice little chip attached to the plug going into the module. Apparently its a simple chip with a capacitor designed to turn off the Airbag light in the dash after a couple of secs...


They had spliced the black and yellow wires into two wires in the plug and the red wire went into a wire on the harness leading to the car (the airbag light wire im assuming) that was CUT altogether.... Removed spliced wires and reconnected the cut cable (they cut it so short I had to use a piece of cable to complete it..) Airbag light now turns off and comes back on as it should after ignition. I assume until I fix the seatbelts.

hillstones said:
The driver side seatbelt buckle has a sensor in it that will get worn out with age and use of the seat belt. Honda will replace the seat belt buckle for free since the seat belt system has a lifetime warranty. Typical indicator would be the airbag light coming on intermittently as you drive, or always on. That may be your seatbelt sensor error.
Click to expand...
It appears you are correct, which is why my airbag light is permanently on with seatbelt codes, going to check that out

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