Brake Lamp,Handbrake lights stay on, lose 4WS

TDK · Post by **TDK** » Sat Jun 07, 2014 7:14 am

Hi there,glad I found this forum, I have a 93 4th gen Prelude Si and i absolutely love this car
He is fantastic to drive.
I did do a search for this issue, but couldn't see a thread, my apologies if my old eyes missed it

Recently my Brake warning lamp and handbrake lights have come on and will not go off, if I pull the handbrake, the light gets brighter, and as i drive my 4WS light comes on, but as soon as i turn him off and on again straight away, I have 4WS back for a while (I'm hoping this is him keeping me safe by locking my wheels forward because he thinks there is a brake issue)
Things I have done to try and correct the issue

1.Checked fluid level,including having it flushed and refilled (I have ordered a replacement lid, just in case the float is dicky, that should arrive this week)

2.Had sparky put complete sets of new bulbs in each side, and check every earth,fuse,switches under brake pedal and under handbrake lever, all ok

3.Brake pads are still good for about another 8000km

4.Put replacement housing units for the lights in the boot, including the brake fail sensors

So I am at a loss as to what to do next, any advice or help would be immensely appreciated

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sat Jun 07, 2014 9:16 am

The 2 issues may or may not be connected. The handbrake light fault could cause the 4ws to lock out (but not the other way round)

Have you pulled the fault code from the 4ws ECU? That's the starting point for your 4ws fault.

TDK · Post by **TDK** » Sat Jun 07, 2014 9:22 am

Hi, thanks for the response
I jumped the connector and my check engine light remained solid, no flashing, and when I removed the wire the light went out
So no error code to get, unless I did something wrong
I jumped the blue 2 pin connector behind my kick panel

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sat Jun 07, 2014 9:24 am

You should get your abs and 4ws lights on as well as the CEL.

What did you use to jump the connector? You need a good connection, if it has a poor connection (paperclip) then it's possible to only get the engine management ECU to go into fault read mode and not the ABS or 4ws ECU's.

TDK · Post by **TDK** » Sat Jun 07, 2014 10:13 am

it was done at the auto electrician, he used a thick piece of wire
I don't have ABS
when i spoke to a honda service guy he said the CEL was the only light I should have seen

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sat Jun 07, 2014 10:53 am

The Honda service guy is wrong - he should go and read his employers original Service Manuals...

No ABS? Ok, that's rare to have 4WS but no ABS but it does happen. So no ABS light then, but should still have 4WS with the CEL.

Does the 4WS light come on with ignition and then off after the engine is started?

TDK · Post by **TDK** » Sat Jun 07, 2014 11:01 am

Does the 4WS light come on with ignition and then off after the engine is started?

yes, all works as normal
I start the car,all normal start up lights come on, once engine is running the 2 lights stay lit, but the 4WS goes off as normal, after about 10 minutes it comes on, but if i turn the engine off and on the 4WS behaves properly again for a little while

I should also mention it has factory fitted spoiler and the brake light there was also checked and all good, frustrating thing is, i have brakes,brake and park lights when used, car is running beautifully, just this annoying issue

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sat Jun 07, 2014 11:11 am

Try to pull the 4WS codes again.

Hopefully it'll just give you code 74, that will tell you there's nothing wrong with the 4WS and it is only locking out because of the handbrake.

TDK · Post by **TDK** » Sat Jun 07, 2014 11:14 am

thanks for that
will give it another go in the morning

** edit
just checking, i put the jumper wire in,turn the key to pre start, so dashboard lights come on, and look for flashing 4WS and/or CEL and count the blinks ?
from memory, long blinks are 10 and short are 1 ?

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sat Jun 07, 2014 11:29 am

Yep, that's right.