Category: 1989 Honda Accord SEi

1989 Honda Accord SEi dashboard brake light goes on

I had to have my car inspected for the registration renewal last week.  As is my usual practice, I put it off until the last minute.  I hoped to get to the DMV before 5:00pm on Friday.  I got everything done that I needed to do, and the car is good to go.

But, when I got into the car after leaving the inspection station, I noticed that the brake light was illuminated.  I didn’t leave myself any time to bother with it.  At first, I thought maybe the emergency brake just wasn’t fully disengaged.  It was, though.  I’m impatient, and I was in a huge hurry, so I drove to the DMV to get the registration taken care of.  I figured I’d deal with the brake light later on.

I checked the manual, and here’s what it said:   CAUTION: The arrow on the reservoir cap must be pointin (meant to be “pointing”) forward after the cap is installed. Make sure the brake warning switch wiring doesn’t get caught between the cap and top edge of the brake fluid reservoir.

 

1989 Honda Accord brake light on ArrowAtFront
1. Brake light on after inspection. 2. RTFM.
ArrowNotFront BrakeLightOFF
3. Point arrow in right direction,
making sure wires aren’t pinched.		 4. Brake light not on.
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My new project

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My friends gave me their not-so-new 1989 Honda Accord SEi a few months back.  It appeared to be in great condition for its age, and even compared to a car 10 years newer.  I decided to invest time, effort and money into getting it into tip top condition.

I started with the engine.  I think I’m pretty much done with that now, with a few exceptions.  The air conditioning simply doesn’t run cold after the conversion from R12.  I think there’s a leak.

I had the steering rack replaced, and I’m sure the mechanic messed it up.  The steering’s really “loose” now, and there’s a vibration when a turn is attempted at just about anything more than a dead stop. A friend looked at it for me, and says that a bushing is missing.  He said he can replace that fairly easily.

Once those things are fixed, I believe the car, with proper maintenance, will be good for a few more hundred thousand miles.

1989 Honda Accord

What’s new

  • Radiator
  • Exhaust
  • Distributor
  • Starter
  • Fuel injectors (all 4)
  • Tires (4)
  • Steering rack
  • Brakes

We started to work on the exterior.  It’s in very good condition.  There are no major dings, and no paint peeling or oxidation. The exception is the side view mirrors, which Matt repainted.  He showed me how to do everything, so I can work on the other plastic parts when I have time.

The interior is in good condition, aside from the leather upholstery, which is quite worn and has several tears.  I’ve found a local person who can either patch or replace the upholstery.  I’m considering just having the tears patched.  I tried a DIY kit, but they were just too large to cover.  As a temporary measure, I applied Liquid Stitch to the tears to keep them from further ripping.  That stuff gets brittle and eventually gives way, so it’s not a permanent solution.

I’ll post my progress.

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