Accord Diesel Problem

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Sat 26 Jun 2004 17:56
Accord Diesel Problem - Robbie
I returned from France yesterday having covered about 2,000 miles in my Accord diesel. There were a couple of problems, and I wonder if anyone else has experienced these.

The fuse - 20 amps - which protects the horn and brake lights blew a couple of times. I don't know when this occurred as I only discovered it when I went to blow the horn and it failed to work. This happened twice, and it may have been due to having to use the brakes frequently when in traffic jams.

The second problem was with the glow plug warning light when on a number of occasions it started flashing. According to the handbook this indicates a problem with the engine emissions and the car should not be driven. The solution is to start the engine and then stop it and restart after thirty seconds. This should be done three times. If it fails to go out then the dealer must be contacted and the car can only be driven carefully for a short distance.

The weather was very hot - 31C+ - and this happened when the car was started after being parked in hot sunshine. It also happened on one occasion when I was driving.

Returning home from France neither of the problems have since happened. I'll be contacting the dealer on Monday, and I'd be interested to hear from anyone with similar problems.
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Sat 26 Jun 2004 18:50
Accord Diesel Problem - Altea Ego
Robbie,
cant answer your question directly, just offer that it makes no difference how often you operate the brake lights, they should not trouble a 20 amp fuse. It indicates an electrical fault.
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Sun 27 Jun 2004 17:01
Accord Diesel Problem - Leon on Derv
Robbie,

I dont own any honda diesels...

However, I have a seat leon and my other half has a Mk IV golf. Both cars have shown this warning indication. The only way to determine the nature of the fault exactly is using diagnostics. This showed that the fuel quantifier on the Golf was defective. Dealer said this could be due to dodgy fuel or excessive water in the fuel.

On my leon the fault was attributed to the switch which operated the rear brake lights being defective. The cure was to replace it with a new part.

your comments about excessive braking would encourge me to look in this direction first off all, as the recommended solution to the fuel quantifier replacement was replacement at a four figure amount.....

Good Luck
Leon
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Sun 27 Jun 2004 17:42
Accord Diesel Problem - Robbie
Leon,

Thanks for the reply. My car is the latest Accord diesel and is only three months old, so I'm a bit concermed in case there is an inherent fault in this new model.

Of course, it may be the diesel on sale in France which caused the problem with the warning light, as I am led to believe it is biodiesel. As for the blown fuse it may be related to constant braking in traffic jams, although I was held up on the A34 on the way home from Portsmouth, and the problem did not occur.

Cheers,

Robbie
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Sun 27 Jun 2004 19:04
Accord Diesel Problem - andymc {P}
French diesel contains up to 5% biodiesel. Being interested in using biodiesel myself, I contacted Honda recently to check whether or not the new Accord could take it. They confirmed that it is warranted for 5%. I can forward a copy of their email via the mods if you wish, although it's pretty short!
--
andymc
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Mon 28 Jun 2004 14:40
Accord Diesel Problem - IanJohnson
I have just broken 10,000 miles in mine, about 1200 of them in France on French diesel.

No problems in France but about three days after I got the car (first Sunday in March 150 miles from home) I had the warning light and went through the start/stop cycle. Visited dealer and they said there was a glow plug fault logged but nothing wrong. They had seen a few occurances. IMHO it could be caused down to not waiting for the glow plug light to go out before starting the engine. Since then no problems whatever.

Ian
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Mon 28 Jun 2004 15:47
Accord Diesel Problem - Robbie
Thanks Ian.

I spoke to the service manager this morning who suggested I monitor the car's progress, and then book it in if there is a recurrence of the problems.

I'm not sure if your theory holds good in my case as I always wait for the light to go out. It also started flashing in the middle of a journey. I think it has something to do with the high temperatures, as it always seemed to happen after the car had been left standing in hot sunshine.

Cheers,

Robbie
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Mon 28 Jun 2004 16:01
Accord Diesel Problem - Malcolm_L
Direct injection diesels don't need glow plugs if the ambient temperature is above about -5c.
Check the handbook but I'm sure the fault isn't related to
not getting the glowplug up to temp.

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Tue 29 Jun 2004 13:37
Accord Diesel Problem - IanJohnson
Malcolm

This is a lower compression ration engine to the norm and appears to use glowplugs even at 25-30 C ambient although light is only on for a couple of seconds.

This contrasts with the DI Vectra I had 5 years ago which did not need the plugs unless temperature was below freezing - but that engine would wake the dead when cold!
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Tue 29 Jun 2004 20:06
Accord Diesel Problem - Malcolm_L
Ian,
good point - I get mine next month. We'll compare notes!

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Thu 1 Jul 2004 16:42
Accord Diesel Problem - Robbie
Interestingly, I received a notice from Honda this morning identifying three potential problems on certain Honda Accord diesel models, viz.

1. A faulty glow plug control unit which may cause the engine management light to illuminate......

2. The turbocharger has an incorrect boost setting that may lead to failure....

3. The heater system does not heat the cabin as quickly as Honda's design specification.

Good to see they are on the ball about such matters. I've contacted the dealer, as requested, to make an appointment to complete the required work.
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Tue 4 Sep 2012 10:27
Accord Diesel Problem - kallekawasaki

I have had exactly the same problem.

The brake light fuse went out while i driving with a trailer, due to wire fracture in the trailer.

And after that i gott the glowlight flashing, and also the cruisecontroll did not work.

seems too have lacked of power also, while glow light flashing.

I change the fuse and the problem was gone.

I think it was because of the loss of brake signal to the cruisecontroll, and that again caused engine failure lamp.

Am I right or am I right???

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