Hi everyone- nice to be on the forum.

I have a friend with a 1992-1996 civic that seems to have an issue with the O2 sensor. After going to two different independent garages, both mechanics claimed that their OBD scanners were not able to read deep enough into the codes to find the source of the issue. I'll say, at this point, people seem to agree it's a fault in the wiring harness.

Here's what I found strange: These mechanics both claimed that Honda dealerships have special factory scanners that can fully read the OBD codes. A trip to a dealership confirmed the issue and provided a quote of $3000 to fix said issue. As $3000 for pretty much anything on a 15 year old car seems a bit much, I thought it would be good to get some quotes elsewhere.

I should also say I personally am a lifelong VW owner, and to my knowledge NOTHING like this exists in the VW repair world.

Can anyone shed a little light on this? If there is a magical factory scanner, does it have a name? Is there a secret handshake for garages equipped with the magic scanner? This car is about to fail inspection, so any input at this point would really be a huge help.

Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for the help! Ric

 

I do know that the honda scanners can do more than a OBD scanner. Their software is alot better and can dig deeper. I worked at honda for about 2 years. I have a snap-on scanner that was $2500. And it cant touch what the honda scanner can do. So i would say that the mechanics are telling the truth.

 

What is a 92-96 Civic? The Honda scanners simply make gathering information a little easier. You can collect the same information with a basic ($10-$25) digital multimeter if you know what you are doing.

 

Yes like Ron asked, how is this "1992-1996 Civic" built up? A 1996 engine in a 1992 car or the other way around? Is the ECU an OBDII (1996) or OBD1 (1992).

The 1996 model has a common problem where the sensor wires short out behind the engine, often blowing fuse #15. That cuts power to the O2 sensors and causes sensor codes even though the sensor itself is OK. See the link in Ron's signature about fuse 15.

 

i bought one of the obd scanners, worked like a charm for me, ive scanned friends vehicles too. not even sure if this is what the OP is interested in.

 

Are you saying that you can pull all the same info with a $10-$25 digital multimeter as you can with a scan tool? I just dont see that happening if thats what you mean..

 

For the most part, yes. The mechanics stated that their scanners "were not able to read deep enough." My point is that I am able to troubleshoot any problem that the prohibitively expense Honda scan tool can using my $150 Actron scan tool (reads live data) in combination with my $15 digital multimeter. And for the vast majority of troubleshooting, I wouldn't even need the Actron scan tool, except to pull the OBDII CEL codes. So I call total BS on the two mechanics who could not diagnose the problem without a Honda scan tool. They need to learn how to use a multimeter.

Please give an example of a 92-00 Civic problem that must be diagnosed with a Honda scan tool and that cannot be done with another inexpensive tool.

 

RonJ - I'm learning to diagnose with a multimeter myself (thanks to your inspiration) and I think the simple thing here is laziness.

If you have one of the fancy high-end Honda scanners, you plug it in, press a few buttons and BOOM you have a diagnosis. Maybe 10 minutes diagnosis time.

With a multimeter you have to know where to start, and spend the time checking methodically through a specific system (cooling, emsssions, etc) to diagnose the problem.

 

I agree. But with a general understanding of the systems, the multimeter method really doesn't take too much longer (especially if you are as knowledgeable as someone like mk378).

 

Hi guys- this was a great response- thanks for reading! So let me make a couple clarifications:

1. 92-96 meaning 1992-1996, which actually should have been 1992-1995. Fifth gen, right? Again, I'm a VW guy, sorry! The car belongs to a friend and is of that 5th generation. I read somewhere that the 5th gen was where they made the jump from OBD-I to OBD-II. Do you guys know which model year that occurred? I'll try to get the car's exact year from the owner.

2. Car is BONE stock. No mods. Just home maintenance.

3. One oil change (see above) had been done without replacing the oil cap, leaving oil splashing all over the inside of the engine bay. The O2 sensor had been damaged, and was then replaced. Shortly thereafter, there was another CEL and an O2 related code- there seems to be an untraceable (as of now) fault in the wiring harness somewhere. That's the concurrent theory, anyway. The techs seemed at a loss and recommended the dealer visit, which led to a $3000 quote to fix (new wiring harness?) which really seems a bit much. However, an inspection sticker is on the table here, so I need to help the owner get this sorted ASAP.

The big question on my mind- which seems answered, is if the Honda diag tool holds any exclusivity regarding this type of troubleshooting, or can a capable independent mechanic handle pinpointing this kind of fault? Is there some secret handshake you guys can show me to see if the next mechanic knows what he's talking about?

And on that note, does anybody know a good guy in the Boston area?

Once again, thanks for all the feedback- this was a great help!
Ric