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2001 Honda Civic: CEL on with P1362 - Car goes into Limp mode


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iyrrj
User

Jul 11, 2011, 9:44 AM

Post #1 of 7 (20948 views)
  post locked   2001 Honda Civic: CEL on with P1362 - Car goes into Limp mode  

Hi all

I have a 2001 honda civic ex 2-door Coupe with standard transmission. It has about 123 K miles on it. We brought it ~1.5 years ago.

Recently it has been giving some problems. It goes into what is referred to as "LIMP" mode. Basically, the car loses throttle and comes to a complete stop. Though it is hot here these days the temperature guage reads as always in the middle. If we immediately try to start the car, it doesn't. After about a min or 2, the car does start however, the idling rpm goes to 0. Then in nuetral the maximum engine rpm at full throttle is ~3000 rpm. After 5-6 min it becomes OK and we are able to go at higher rpms and the car drives normally, though after this I dont have the guts to test the car at higher speeds in traffic.

Could there be an issue with Cruise control ?
The first time this happened was 2 weeks ago when we had traveled on road for about 1000 miles (~250 miles each day for 4 days) . The back of the car was loaded with stuff, though I estimate that the car was carrying 60 % of the permitted weight. I was then following a car who was travelling @ 60-70 mph (the speed was oscillating sufficiently). I was using cruise control and using the cruise control option to accelerate and decelerate with the person ahead of me. I suspect this probably was due to overuse of cuise control ??? Any body have any thoughts on this.
The CEL light came up. We located a mechanic shop after the car came back. I remember the CEL code was related to ECM/PCM mal-function (though I dont remember the exact code). Later that day, the car drove perfectly fine and we managed to travel ~200 miles after that. The CEL was cleared by the mechanic and it never came back again that day.

The same thing happened the day after as well. Though as before we were able to dive it for 200 miles or so after it stalled ( though we had taken ample breaks ~ a break every 60 miles) . The CEL came up and got cleared after some time by itself.

The same thing happened again twice last week. The CEL comes up and automatically got cleared. We were able to read the code on only one occcasion and we got P1362- TDC Sensor No Signal.

However, I should also point out that I have used this car to drop my wife off daily and it takes about 15 min each way (speed limit of 40 mph). It drives perfectly fine then. One thing that was different between the times it goes into LIMP mode is that we were driving at higher speeds ( a.k.a. 55-70 mph) then.

My questions are

1) The TDC sensor could be faulty
2) I know that man cruise control systems have been installed after markt by Honda.Is there a possibility of cruise control is a suspect.
3) I have seen that this could mean a faulty catalytic converter. How is cat conv. related to this? Can I do a simple check to see if the cat. conv. is the root cause? And if it is the cause how much would that cost
4) I have seen posts online about having to change the whole distributor. Is this necessary ? How much would this cost ?
4) Any other possible thing that could cause this ??

I really like this car and would want to get it back to normal as soon as possible. So any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks
Raja



Removed links from other site.


(This post was edited by Hammer Time on Jul 11, 2011, 1:05 PM)


Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Discretesignals profile image

Jul 12, 2011, 6:43 PM

Post #2 of 7 (20926 views)
  post locked   Re: 2001 Honda Civic: CEL on with P1362 - Car goes into Limp mode  

P1362 means the PCM isn't getting a signal from the TDC sensor. The TDC sensor is actually the camshaft position sensor. It is a hall effect sensor and can be checked with a lab scope. It can also be checked for a signal with a DVOM, but a lab scope shows you a waveform which is important in troubleshooting intermittent camshaft position sensor signals.

The cam sensor is used by the PCM to synchronize the fuel injection and is used in the operation of the VVT system. Depending on how the controller software is written if the engine controller doesn't get the signal it may try to guess when number 1 is TDC. The engine may run bad or not at all if the engine controller doesn't receive the cam sensor signal.

Your mechanic should follow the diagnostic chart for P1362 to find out what is missing or faulty to cause a loss of that signal to the engine controller. The problem has to be happening during diagnosis to catch the fault.





Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.

(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Jul 12, 2011, 6:44 PM)


iyrrj
User

Jul 13, 2011, 12:03 PM

Post #3 of 7 (20899 views)
  post locked   Re: 2001 Honda Civic: CEL on with P1362 - Car goes into Limp mode  

Discretesignals

Given that I am going to need the car intermittently i am thinking to exploring this issue myself ( atleast to the extent possible)

Today while I was driving something unique happened. The car appeared to stall at lower speeds (was driving at 35 mph). For about 30 seconds or so the car stalled and as opposed to previous times no CEL came up. The car came back up immediately after I restarted the engine. I am now suspecting if the ECM needs to be replaced ?? Does this make sense.

Also, can I do it myself. I have seen posts regarding this saying that the a new ECM needs to be reprogrammed for the key to work. Is this true ?

There are a bunch of ECMs available form junk yards for 70-150 USD. Will these be reliable ?

Thanks
Raja


Mr.scotty
Enthusiast
Mr.scotty profile image

Jul 13, 2011, 1:09 PM

Post #4 of 7 (20892 views)
  post locked   Re: 2001 Honda Civic: CEL on with P1362 - Car goes into Limp mode  

All ECM's will need to be reprogrammed to your vehicle by a dealer.
--------------------------------------------------------

Your only as good as your tools!


Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Discretesignals profile image

Jul 13, 2011, 5:29 PM

Post #5 of 7 (20880 views)
  post locked   Re: 2001 Honda Civic: CEL on with P1362 - Car goes into Limp mode  

The last thing you want to do is replace the engine controller without doing a full diagnosis. Those engine controllers are very robust and very very rarely go bad. When diagnosing a problem such as yours, you eliminate every possibility before condemning the engine controller.

I wouldn't last to long in the repair business if I replaced controllers or other parts without proving using diagnostic techniques if those items are indeed faulty.

If that code keeps popping up, then you need to monitor the TDC sensor signal.

You can do some visual inspections of the TDC connector, wiring and sensor itself to start off. If nothing looks out of kilter, your going to have to get a tool that can view the signal from the sensor. The sensor's power supply, ground, and bias voltage on the signal circuit has to be checked if you find that the signal is being lost. There is a diagnostic trouble chart for that code which will guide you in the process of determining where the fault may be.





Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.

(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Jul 13, 2011, 5:32 PM)


iyrrj
User

Sep 18, 2011, 9:48 PM

Post #6 of 7 (20560 views)
  post locked   Re: 2001 Honda Civic: CEL on with P1362 - Car goes into Limp mode  

Hi

I know it has been a while that I have not replied to this. I just wanted to let you all know about the outcome. I eventually landed up taking the car to a mechanic who replaced the TDC sensor. Now it seems the car runs much smoother.( though there are still issues). I am going to pursue this as time goes.

THanks all
Raja


dinguino
New User

Jan 12, 2012, 10:51 PM

Post #7 of 7 (19933 views)
  post locked   Re: 2001 Honda Civic: CEL on with P1362 - Car goes into Limp mode  

I had the same problem. A year ago my car was over heating in the summer. Turned out I needed a head gasket it would over heat and aftr driving 20 min would go in limp mode. After the head gasket was fixed no over heating but would still go in limp mode. Drove me crazy. I replaced cat sensors cat, exhaust manifold. At my witts end. Took it to my mechanic and he replaced my computer. Still went in limp mode. Took it back and it turned out to be the TDC sensor. Top dead center sensor that goes out if your car ever gets hot. It isnt the easiest sensor to replace so i had him do the job for 150. Fixed!!! Hopefully this will help someone. It is one of the main reasons for limp mode.






 
 
 






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