Honda and Acura OBD1 "Check Engine Light" Trouble Codes (1992-1995)

In every car's life, there comes a time when the dreaded "check engine" light appears. Not to fear. There are many resources you can use to check and diagnose these DTCs (diagnostic trouble codes).

For 1992-1995 (OBD1) vehicles you can check these yourself by using the method shown in the picture below.

In OBD1 Hondas and Acuras there is a diagnostic port and a two-pin connector located under the passenger-side dashboard. When checking the DTCs you will need to insert a jumper wire from one pin to the other in the two-pin connector. If you don't have a piece of wire around, it is also common to see people using paperclips to "jump" the two sides of the connector.

Once you have "jumped" the two-pin connector, you now need to insert the key and turn on the vehicle. Your check engine light will then start to flash. Every long flash is a digit in the "tens" place in the code, and a short flash is a digit in the "ones" place. So, if you see two long flashes and five short flashes, you have a Code 25. There will be a long pause between codes. Read all the codes until they start to repeat themselves. Then refer to the table below to get the meaning of each code.

For 1996 and Newer Vehicles

For 1996 and newer (OBD2) vehicles, you can visit a local auto parts supplier, such as Advance Auto Parts, that offers free vehicle diagnostics. Most of these free services are restricted to OBD2 vehicles and will give you an immediate explanation of what the code is. As always, it's a good idea to write these codes down and do a little search online to see what other owners have run into when receiving the same codes.