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I’m driving all my friends insane talking about this everyday, figured i’d give this site a whirl because i’ve seen a few videos, Eric’s not dumb by any means. I have a 1998 Honda Accord Ex 4-cylinder 2.3L engine, and i had a check engine light pop on at around 170-190,000 miles, and im now around 210,000 miles and i keep researching possible fixes, all to no avail. My code is a P1259, and the reason HONDA HAS ME SO HEATED is because when you go to auto zone and get the code read, they give you a print out of possible “probable causes”. I’m no genius by any means, but i am very smart and cannot to this point understand why the check engine light code cant be MORE SPECIFIC. The Code is for VTEC system malfunction, and the 4 probable causes are A-Open or short circuit condition, B-VTEC solenoid valve fault, C-VTEC pressure switch fault (im guessing thats the oil pressure switch), or a D- Blocked oil passage. Through my research, starting with Eric’s video on cleaning the egr valve ports. I thought he did my exact same model and engine but once i got under all that fuel rail and fuel injectors there wasnt a plate to remove on the intake exhaust manifold thing. So i figured hey, WHATS MONEY? Bought a new egr valve like an idiot, old one looked rusty anyway. Cleaned to best of my ability all ports nearby i could access and changed the gasket which i covered with gasket sealer. Check engine light wont go away, comes back on when reset. So im like bummer, then noticed my pcv valve looked worn and rubber tube connected to it was split from heat i guess. Fixed that one as well as several other hoses just to be safe with a strong hosing called transmission line hosing, strong rubber with a string like material molded inside rubber. Still no fix. I decided to buy a brand new vtec solenoid spool valve, cause someone online said they replaced that and it fixed their code, didnt fix mine !!! Heard oil levels being low can trip the light, but oils been changed many times even from myself with no avail. Today i noticed the air intake boot (the big black rubber hose that connects to engine intake had a big crack in it where a hose from engine connects to it, fixed it with a strong 5-hour rubber epoxy from auto zone, didnt fix problem. I researched Sea Foam online and followed their official video on you tube how to clean air intake manifold, didnt fix a thing. Slightly increased my “getty up n go” but still check engine light wont go away and i feel there is lack in overall performance as far as when i hit gas and when it actually starts to go. Tomorrow i was considering blowing even more money on a new oil pressure switch and just swapping it out hoping the code goes away, but after i keep spending all this money repairing all the stuff im doing not knowing this much about car engines in the end i could’ve paid 500 to the dealership and saved all the hassle and sweat and frustration and spent the same amount of money as i spent repairing unnecessary repairs lol. Any suggestions? I drive this car very frequently, highway and city to go to work as well as to pick up my daughter for every other weekend visits, so 8 hour drives on every other weekend. I got to fix and maintain this car.
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see if this helps with troubleshooting.
http://www.justanswer.com/honda/23ll8-getting-error-code-p1259-98-honda-accord-i-changed.html
That’s how codes go. Some codes are easy, some are the start of a journey. Some of the repairs you made were needed, even if it wasn’t part of the code, so that was a good thing. Hang in there.
[quote=”Flintiron” post=167298]That’s how codes go. Some codes are easy, some are the start of a journey. Some of the repairs you made were needed, even if it wasn’t part of the code, so that was a good thing. Hang in there.[/quote]I want to add, just taking it to a shop doesn’t always fixes it either. I had an obvious problem with my Expedition, no codes at first. A shop plugged in their expensive computer, only to tell me I needed a $1,800 repair that turned out to be false. Another shop couldn’t find the problem because the truck ran nice for them. A code finally popped up, and I took it to a third shop that didn’t want to fix it because they didn’t like doing exhaust, because the code was for catalytic converters. Since the best place to do cats is the first shop, I replaced them myself. The problem was still there, so I took it back to the second shop because they were willing to work on it, and were being honest with me. It was when I took it home that second time the misfire code finally popped up. Since I had this before, I knew I can handle it, but I was tired of it and replaced all 8 ignition coils to end it.
Shops can be your friend, but not always. Don’t give up.
Clear the code, and start the engine. Generally if the code comes on at idle or under 4000rpms it electrical, either the Vtec pressure sensor is bad, it has a bad connection, or a damaged wire. If the code doesn’t come back until the engine runs at or over 4000rpms its usually oil pressure related, meaning you have a low oil level, clogged screen, or the Vtec solenoid has gone bad, etc.
Hope this gives you a direction to look in.
Thanks all, i thought to myself maybe since i fixed the hole in the rubber boot for exhaust intake it fixed the problem, but maybe i would need to reset code manually instead of it going away automatically once problem is fixed. That i learned today did not work, still got light coming back on, at under 4,000rpm so being its quite possibly the oil pressure switch, i today located it and it seems like oil is leaking a bit in that area and the oil pressure switch and plastic electric connector are heavily covered in what looks like oil/carbon/road sludge. Instead of experimenting on ways to clean it, im just gonna replace it in case old one is bad…HERE WE GO AGAIN lol. Not too expensive or a bad idea. I’ll report back if it fixed or not. Again much appreciation !!!
I have replaced a few of those over the past few years. Let me share with you my experiences with replacements from places like Auto Zone, Advance Auto, etc. I have had one that worked for a week, then turned on the low oil pressure light. I have had one that worked for a few days, then leaked, I have had one that leaked from day one, and had one that lasted for about a year, and then turned on the low oil pressure light. Good luck with the inexpensive replacements!
Being you replaced the oil pressure switch so many times, im thinking its possible you got a blocked oil passage (last probable cause i hope i dont hafta diagnose). My guess is an oil blockage would prevent oil from going through somewhere so more oil goes thru somewhere else, shows how much i know about engines, causing it to send more oil through the new oil pressure switch. Eric needs to be the first one to invent the electric car, fuck corporations and all their financial greed selling gas n oil, we got sun power. I know i shouldn’t be proposing this hastily without much innovative help towards the cause but gosh dam its not rocket appliances to those who are super smart lol, electricity and sun power to add charge powered by sun, electrical plug in if you need to charge it but no sun.
[quote=”HondaHasMeHeated” post=167351]Thanks all, i thought to myself maybe since i fixed the hole in the rubber boot for exhaust intake it fixed the problem, but maybe i would need to reset code manually instead of it going away automatically once problem is fixed. That i learned today did not work, still got light coming back on, at under 4,000rpm so being its quite possibly the oil pressure switch, i today located it and it seems like oil is leaking a bit in that area and the oil pressure switch and plastic electric connector are heavily covered in what looks like oil/carbon/road sludge. Instead of experimenting on ways to clean it, im just gonna replace it in case old one is bad…HERE WE GO AGAIN lol. Not too expensive or a bad idea. I’ll report back if it fixed or not. Again much appreciation !!![/quote]
Nope not the oil pressure switch-the VTEC pressure switch (there are two of them). The VTEC one has a square-ish connector and the oil pressure switch has a cylindrical connector. I fixed this code for my best friends little sister who has a 99 Accord 4 cyl VTEC by spraying the hell out of the caked connector and surrounding area with penetrant and brake cleaner to get the surface crud off. Then unplugged the connector wiped it out with clean rags as best I could and sprayed a large amount of electrical contact cleaner on both connector”ends” i.e. where you can see the metal tabs. Once that was done I had (previously) determined the valve cover gasket was pissing oil all over it and then replaced it with a new gasket. Problem solved. Also the VTEC pressure switch itself can leak oil and break itself.
So try looking for oil leaks, get some cheap brake clean ($2 a can for the WalMart brand) spray it liberally to clean up the oil, crud and such and get the requisite gaskets to plug them-both valve (head) cover gaskets, as well as the VTEC pressure/plunger assembly can be gotten from any Honda/Acura dealer and are quite common leaks on those engines causing the exact issue you describe. Shouldn’t run you more than about $25-30 USD at most. You can get the valve cover gasket from Advance Auto for about $15 and just pay the dealer markup for the VTEC pressure assembly. Good luck.
EDIT: Here is a step by step on how to replace the VTEC gasket with pictures.
http://honda-tech.com/honda-accord-1990-2002-2/diy-vtec-solenoid-distributor-o-rings-3126298/Also here’s a link to a cheap code reader that will read manufacturer specific codes -unlike the pieces of junk at Advance Auto.
http://www.dhgate.com/product/maxscan-ms509-obd2-eobd-scanner-motor-vehicle/68539679.html#s11-3-1b;searl|670221828
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