Hi!

I'm also from NC, and am the owner of a 1989 Honda Accord SE-i, which was given to me by the original owners. It has about 108k miles on it, and is in what I would consider excellent shape. My mechanic said it's in remarkable condition for its age.

So far, I've had to get a new radiator and muffler. I had the alternator, oil pan and valve cover gasket replaced.

There are some other issues, which I will deal with over time. I've never had a car this old before, but am grateful to have it -- and not have car payments. I have no experience with an older car though, so I'm a little nervous about how to proceed with things. I don't know what stuff can be left for later and what things would be considered urgent to look into. I'm hoping to get some good advice here. These are some things I wonder about:

1) The Bose sound system had an amp that was shot, so I took the car to Best Buy and the guy there bypassed it, put in a new head unit and wired it to the original speakers. It sounds great! But, the power antenna is broken, so I can't listen to the radio, which drives me nuts. The motor works, but the antenna itself is broken off. Is that something I can get online and maybe even replace myself?

2) The check engine light comes on. The original owner told me that the local Honda dealer couldn't even figure it out, and it's been happening for at least a year and a half with no apparent consequences. He doesn't know if they replaced the sensor. He said they told him just to drive it and ignore the light. I find it annoying, and would love to see if anyone has suggestions about what I should be asking my mechanic to look for.

3) There's apparently a draw on the battery. Battery tests ok, and so does the alternator. If I don't drive the car for 3 or more days, I have to jump start it. I think I can leave this one for later, since I do drive the car every day.

That's about it for now! I'm sorry to have been so gabby! This is a really fun car to drive, and I'm really loving my new old Accord! I'll upload some pics when I can take some good ones.

Beth in NC

 

Welcome I am also from NC.

Sounds like a great car, and it is good it is in such good condition.

If you could find a junkyard with a 89 accord I'm sure they would practically give you the antenna. Check car-part.com to find junkyards near you with 89 accords. If not there are aftermarket antennas.

I'm not positive on how to check check engine light codes on 89s I'm sure someone else will chime in on that. But once you know what the code is for we can help you fix that.

 

Regarding the antenna. Just go to Ebay and type in 1989 Accord Antenna and several brands will come up. This one is the OEM antenna and it's kind of expensive at $45 but at least it's factory and fully functional.

1986 1989 Honda Accord Factory Power Antenna Mass Part 39158 SEO A11 | eBay

I'd get that battery draw looked at as soon as possible. It could get worse. In the meantime, if you do plan to not drive it for a few days, instead of relying on a jump start maybe unhook one of the cables so the battery can't be used. Kind of a pain as you would have to reset your clock though.

 

Oh. And welcome to the Forum!

 

Thanks for these two suggestions. I looked at both. Amazing that someone has a never used part like that. Too bad we don't have time travel... I think I'll get the ebay part.

 

Ah, another 3rd gen (86-89) Accord owner....welcome.

Getting codes is simple on these. Look under the drivers seat from the rear. On the floor you'll see a "plastic" cover/box. Towards the center of the car you'll see a tab/cover thing. Pull it from the top and it will open. Then turn the key to on/pos II. Then watch the red led light flash. Count those flashes, count them several times you get get the right number.....there is a ~2 sec pause between codes or the same code repeats.

The number of flashes is the "code". So if it flashes six times then you have a code 6.

This is a pic from one of my 3rd gen's showing the ECU....kind of hard to see as it is brown on brown....The red arrow is showing the "window" you have to open to see the led.

Replacing the antenna is a bit of a pain to replace but not that bad.

The aftermarket sound system has me a bit worried as the source of the "draw". If you have a volt meter and some time there are some tests you can do to see if there is one and then ways to identify where it might be coming from.

EDIT: What part of NC? I'm also in NC.

 

New to Accords, but have been a mechanic for quite some time due to military job and personal. Not sure how the computers, harnesses, etc are ran on that, but it may be possible that the draw is kicking in one of your sensors, which on most vehicles I have owned if a sensor is sending an odd signal, will automatically trigger CEL. I second everyone that agrees that draw needs to be checked out, as that can cause major issues (possibly) by ruining relays, etc, then you just made a whole mess of problems for yourself. If you need further help troubleshooting shoot me a message and I will get diagrams and walk you through testing.

 

And you can do that thru PM...