Hello, I am looking for some help fixing my 2001 Honda Accord. It failed smog and I am hoping to fix it up myself because I am interested in learning more about how to work on cars.
The check engine light gave me these codes when I scanned it:

1) P1164 A/F sensor 1 range/performance problem

2) P1167 A/F sensor 1 Heating system Malfunction

3) P0700 Automatic Transmission Fault

4) P1738 Problem in 2nd clutch pressure switch circuit

Any help with diagnosing the problems would be greatly appreciated

this is the vin number if that helps at all:

JHMCG66551CO15414

 

I'm going to move this to General Tech because you'll get more help over there. The "new user" area is mostly for welcome & introduction posts.

It always helps to identify your car completely, especially 4-cyl or V-6 engine because for Accords, that's a HUGE difference.

The first couple of those codes only apply to the 4-cyl ULEV engine. It may be a bad front A/F sensor (specialized O2 sensor) but first check for loose or flaky connections where the sensor plugs in, or other problems like damaged wires. That sensor is screwed into the exhaust manifold on the front of the engine (#9 in the picture).

I'll leave the transmission codes for others to chime in because I'm not really an automatic-trans guru (I like 3-pedal cars). But how have you been keeping up with ATF changes and have you used actual Honda ATF?

 

Hi Jim, thanks for the info, I checked the connection at the o2 sensor and the wires around it. Everything seems to be okay, but I did notice that the wires seem to be pretty short and it looks pretty tight. Do you think that may be a problem?

 

Looks like you have 4-cylinder accord from the picture.

Either you have an issue with the wiring to the sensor, or the sensor is bad. Do you have a test light or a volt meter to do some testing on the wire harness?

 

Yes, 4-cyl ULEV (F23A4) engine. (The exhaust manifold is distinctive and the A/F sensor error-codes are unique to that engine)

Is that plug just flying loose? I expected it to be in a bracket (#8) so it doesn't flap around while you're driving. That might cause intermittent issues, but I don't see obvious damage to the wires. We can give you some tests if you have a multi-meter.

Another thing is that sensor is not the same as a normal O2 sensor that would be in a non-ULEV engine. I've heard stories about parts stores having wrong information from their catalogs. Can you read any part numbers on that sensor?

 

Okay, so some updates.

I got a multimeter and tested the resistance on the old O2 sensor and the new one.

Old O2 sensor: 11.4 ohms of resistance
new O2 sensor: 9.1 ohms of resistance

the part number is 13071 Bosch o2 sensor

Im going to try and install new one to see if anything changes. Also, the new O2 sensor had a much longer tail so the male adapter will fit into its support properly.

 

So I just realized that they gave me the wrong part number. I think that the original o2 sensor was okay because it was showing a resistance of 11.4
I also checked the resistance at the male connector going to the PCM and it showed 975 ohms.
I really have no idea what the problem is. Everything seems to be functioning well. Maybe the PCM is bad?

 

A resistance test doesn't tell the whole story on the condition of an O2 sensor. A volt meter runs a small current through the circuit to determine the resistance. You can get a good resistance reading with low current and have a wiring issue when under load.

A good way to check the PCM/wiring side for the heater circuit is to use a test light on the connector to the O2 sensor. Make 100% sure you are connecting to the correct wires. Tell us the wire colors on the harness side of the connector to the O2 sensor, and we can tell you how to connect the test light.

Here is a video on doing this test as well.

 

The wire colors are blue, red, white, and black/white

 

Wouldn't a code scanner reading live data be of help here? You know reading what the O2 sensor is seeing? I would think the fuel trims would be in play here as well. Just a thought.