torontob

Hi Everyone,

As I was driving on Highway today, I got the engine light come up and flashing D. OBDII reads P0843. I see that has to do with Transmission. Can you please help me with the following questions:

1- What to do to pin-point the the issue?
2- Am I safe to drive the car? looks like it's not changing into higher gears as it has lost it's power but it drives.
3- I am after 3 years and 100k. Would this be under the 5 year warranty?

***Also funny that I am just getting A13 for which 3 is transmission fluid but I changed the fluid few months back so I don't think that's the issue and the car doesn't really have a sensor for fluid but it just comes up around 120k.

Thanks,

ezone

I'll bite.

P0843: Open in Transmission Fluid Pressure Switch A (2nd Clutch) Circuit, or Transmission Fluid Pressure Switch A (2nd Clutch) Stuck OFF


It has been common over the years to see these pressure switches stick OFF intermittently.

It has also been common to see rodents chew off the wiring (usually right at the connector), which the computer interprets as a switch stuck OFF also, (If the wire is broke, the switch can't turn the circuit on!)



I clear the code, then drive it while watching the transmission data on my laptop (HDS scanner).

If the switch changes states, I know it was a bad switch, it was stuck one time and set the code.

If it doesn't change, then I have to open the hood and locate the switch and ground the wire while watching the datalist. If it changes state on the screen, that means the wiring is good, switch is bad.
If that doesn't make the data show a change, then it is a wiring problem.



Actually, if you clear the code, drive it for several minutes and it does not reset the code right away, then I'd assume the switch is the culprit.

If it turns on the CEL again after it shifts past 2nd gear, then I'd have to actually troubleshoot it.


Switch has one wire, blue/yellow. Top of trans. Look straight down from the brake reservoir to the top of the trans.

Part #11 here, plus you want the seal #14 with it.

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/...y5=AT+SOLENOID




Car is safe to drive after it is fixed, it should shift ok after you fix the switch (or the wire, whichever is at fault). Clear the code, it should shift ok until it detects the problem again. Then it defaults.



OUT of warranty. It was 5 year/60,000 miles, whichever came first. You are waay past that. Warranty doesn't cover rodent damage either. Rodent damage is not considered to be a defect.

A-1-3 maintenance minder: those are suggested based on mileage and a couple other factors... It has no clue what has actually been done to the car. All it knows is mileage and loads and when the last reset was done.
If someone changed trans fluid, it does not know that. It is up to you to keep track of what has been done (and when it is due next) if you don't follow the minder system.

I personally like to see the ATF changed far more often that what the minder wants. I see far too many issues (torque converter shudder) that could possibly have been helped/prolonged/avoided by changing the fluid more often. JMHO.

HTH

torontob

ezone, thanks a lot for the details. Reading your post I have the following questions:

1- This switch & seal that you mentioned look like a nut and bolt to me from the picture. Is that what it is or is like an ON/OFF switch? (sorry rookie here)

2- I only have an OBD II reader. So, If I clear the error code and drive around with OBD II attached and if the error comes up again then I have to open the hood right? but if it doesn't come up again then things are most likely good and it was a one time thing? (It most likely isn't a temporary thing as I turned the car on and off and it stayed and I feel it not going into high power)

3- Can you please clarify this part:
How can I ground it and by datalist I assume you mean state change that I will see on OBD II?

4- If switch is the issue, is it something I can find in local Canadian Tire shop or my dealer would have it in stock? I don't want to over-drive the car. I have busted a dodge van engine few years back which had a tranny issue and over-heated after I over-drove it on the highway.

I have changed the transmission fluid 3 or 4 times so far. So, I have been careful with that and didn't wait for "3" to come up.

Thanks again for all the good feedback.

ezone

I guess it could look like that, now that you mention it. Click the bar above that parts catalog pic to enlarge it.

It will look similar to this


or this


Note yours will only be similar in configuration, maybe not actual shape or color of the plastic connector part.

I'm lazy. I want to do as much as possible from the comfort of the drivers seat.

Clear the code.
Drive it.
You would only need to drive the car through 3rd gear, or up to maybe 30 MPH.
If the switch works during this check, the CEL will stay off (and this verified the wire is intact too), and I then assume this is the commonly seen failure mode (intermittent) of the switch itself.
If the PCM thinks the switch did not activate within 2 seconds while the trans was in 2nd gear, the CEL will come on right away (not sure about the flashing D). Now you have to dig deeper to see why, open the hood and start looking/testing.

The most common failure I see regularly is intermittent sticking of the switch contacts, meaning the switch only quits part of the time. Most still work by the time they get to me, but a one time failure is still a failure and it gets replaced.


Next most common is rodents with a taste for wires.
Seriously.

Jumper wire with alligator clips,
thin paper clip,
chassis ground or battery ground terminal.

Kinda worthless to you if you don't have the equipment needed to read data though at this point, but could be handy to verify the wire is good: Connect the switch wire to ground, then drive the car through 3rd gear. If the code is now P0842 (definition: 2nd gear switch shorted to ground or switch stuck on), the wire is deemed to be good.

If you only have a code reader, you probably don't get a datalist of any real value for this. That is a display of PCM sensor data inputs, PCM outputs and more, shown in real-time.

Doubt it, and I wouldn't bother trying unless I was really stuck.
AFAIK, these pressure switches are not made in the aftermarket, too little demand to make profit (not enough cars use them, it's like a Honda-only thing). If you could find them in the aftermarket, they are very likely OEM reboxed in the sellers packages. Also too many possible chances for error. There are 2 of these on the trans, and they are not identical.

Dealer please.
Phone first.

I would skip telling them what your car is and all that, just ask for the part numbers in the parts diagram (click the link, find the list) in the above post. (I say this because the parts people usually have no idea what I'm after, I have to point out exactly what I want. Therefore, I can't trust anyone else to pick out exactly what I need.)

I hope Canadian cars use the same part number system we do in the US. I think you do.

I know we don't keep them in stock where I work, but a high volume dealership might keep them on hand.

This isn't a Mopar product. Your car is 10X what a Caliber or a Compass is, even if it only has 1/3 of the miles you have.

The chances of this being an actual internal trans problem is rather remote. This code is normally an electrical problem, switch or wire.

The minder does not know, nor does it care. Just keep track of what you do to the car.

YW

torontob

Awesome ezone. I just cleared and at ~35km/hour the CEL and Flashing D comes on again. I also feel the jump in gear. My concern earlier about driving the car was that if the switch is not good should I be okay to drive the car at 100km/hr on highway until I get the parts? or would I be driving the car at 100km/hr and it would be stuck at gear 2 or 3 instead of 4 or 5?

Also trying to locate this troubled part - do I need to jack up the car?
- http://tinypic.com/r/2vaz0nq/6

Zoomed in picture of above picture - what I think might be it - please confirm:
- http://tinypic.com/r/2itiovq/6


Or is it somewhere out of easy reach? If it is there what do I need to open first to get to the switch?:
- http://tinypic.com/r/tz9js/6

TorontoHonda parts shows same items at $65 and $6 so it's a bit more expensive here.

If I am not wrong none of my pictures above shows it right now that I removed the battery and look at it. I think Part 11 is exactly the opposite side of part of #10 which is closest to driver than front of the hood. I have no clue how to reach it

While we are at it let me also get the theory right:
1- What does the switch really do?
2- If this is an issue with gear 2 or 3 then if the car is driving at 80km/hr or 100km/hr it should be fine or is that not fine because gear 2 or 3 wasn't put through and it jumped to gear 4 or 5?

Last thing, what kind of a tool would open the switch?

Thanks

ezone

I only have a minute......





At the top of this pic, look a little bit farther back than the brake reservoir, between it and the air filter housing. Top of trans as it starts to curve downward at the rear.


I don't think you can even think about seeing it from under the car.

You will probably have to pull the air filter box completely out of the engine bay to find the switch.

The hex on the switch should be 7/8" wrench size.

I don't have a similar car in the shop at the moment to look at. Maybe later, IDK.

Your 2nd pic shows one of the shift solenoids. That's not what you want.

torontob

Thanks again ezone. As I don't have the time to do the job - heading to a wedding party tomorrow and thought it might be a bit work I took it into a tranny shop who ordered the part to come tomorrow morning. He took out the switch by jacking the car up and then it was accessible by hand without taking any shrouds off. When I saw that I was like damn I could have jacked the car up and reached :-) well, no, no. It wasn't that easy. Still kinda hard to reach.

I made sure the guy knows that I know all in and out of this issue from the knowledge I learned here (thanks to you) so he doesn't con me.

I agreed to pay him $85 bucks 1 hour labour ; really that is 15 minute job but it's a business with all other costs so I appreciate and understand it.

I checked the switch and it wasn't bitten or anything. I guess it just died. I asked the guy to do a connectivity test or some check on it and he said there is no way he check as there is a coil inside etc...I think he was bsing but I could be wrong. I just wanted to make sure that was the part that was bad.

Edit: Just saw this video which makes sense about coil inside melting. Maybe things heated up in my case and it wasn't rodents as there is no chewing. Thanks again

ezone

My only checks are to make sure the PCM can "see" what is going on at the end of the wire. If the trans will shift to 2nd gear and the computer can see what I do at the end of the wire, then the switch must be bad.
(Same deal to check it if it had the 3rd gear switch bad, but yours is the switch for the 2nd gear.)

There is no coil inside it, it is not a solenoid, this is only a pressure switch. Very similar to the switch that controls the red oil pressure light for the engine oil on the dash.

The shift solenoids you had circled in the second pic operate similarly to what that video describes.

Didn't have an 8th gen Civic come in the shop in time to actually take a look to see if you can reach that switch. Sorry.


Ask to see your old part before you leave the shop?

torontob

Thanks for the info. I will do ask for the part to take pics and post here. It was a brown switch.

I will be there when they change it so will make sure everything is as it should be.

torontob

Took the car to mechanic in the morning. He hoisted it up and switch was replaced within 5 minutes. Switch came with a washer apparently.

Drove with the mechanic on high way for 5 minutes car runs like a stallion - well smoother.

I forgot to grab the old part but there was nothing wrong with it when looking at it but it was surely the problem as car is all fine now.

Thanks a lot again ezone. You should be in jail for providing so much good info :-)

***He cut me a slack and got $80 for the 10 minute job - I think it was well deserved though.

ezone

Good to hear, thanks.

glider

28600-RCI 003 SWICH where is exacly located on transmition on 2009 crv

ezone

Not a valid part number in my US catalog.

How did you get that part number?

glider

Took the car to mechanic in the morning. He hoisted it up and switch was replaced within 5 minutes. that what I read on this nice post
1. that means this swich is located on front buttom on transs.I have find one there which looking like new one i got.Am I right or no?

glider

i ment 28600-RCL-013 toronto HONDA parts saller said it the same 28600-RCL-003

ezone

Item #9 here, follow the line by it to the location on the trans.....and your part number was misread, it's RCL not RCI.

Pressure switch for one of the clutches.

It's a somewhat common failure, the switch intermittently sticks on or off.

HTH

ezone

Wow....Those prices are double the US prices.

glider

Thank for help but looking at diagram posted early on this forum it is rather 10

ezone

Sir, this forum is for CIVIC. The earlier transmission parts pic you found near the beginning of this thread was for a CIVIC.

You asked about a CRV so I went to torontohondaparts.com and grabbed a pic of the 09 CRV trans parts from their online catalog and posted it just for you.
YOUR switch is item #9 in this image.

Have a nice day.

jaharmon

Alright guys. New here but used this post to help repair my 2007 Honda Civic LX...sorta. Got the pressure switch, replaced it and noticed some corrosion in the plug. Cleaned it out. Put it back. Everything seemed fine. At first. Car shifts much better between first and second but can never get out of 3rd. Going 70, rpms/mph is 4000/70 and the drive indicator is blinking again. I have looked high and low for the plug but there is no part number and have been told Honda doesn't even sell them. I would have to buy a whole new transmission housing or have my mom and pop dealership attempt to repair the old one. Any thoughts on how to get this done? Was going to maybe use some conductive glue to see if that helps.

ezone

At work we save all wiring harnesses just because the individual connectors and pins are so dang hard to get.


Salvage yard/you-pull, cut one off of a harness and splice it to yours?


Did you replace the correct pressure switch? There are at least two to choose from. P0843 deals with the 2nd clutch pressure switch, which is the one that's on top, under the air filter box.... NOT the one down low on the front of the trans.

jaharmon

Correct. I had to take the air filter box off to get to the switch. Both were the same color as well. I'm pretty sure it's the wiring harness. I'm waiting for my shop to give me a quote in the morning on a "repair". Is it possible to work on this from the bottom of the car by chance? Thanks for the quick response .

ezone

I'd expect to be doing wire repairs from above in the engine compartment if it were me.

meanmech

My question is do these pressure switches cause bumping, too?
Here's my story:
Rats! My 08 civic LX started doing this yesterday @281k miles. Love this car; 1st issue I've EVER had with it.
While driving down the road, I looked down and noticed the engine light on and the green D light flashing at a rate of 2 blinks per second. I stopped and turned the car off and then restarted it. No more flashing D but the engine light is still on.
I stopped at a parts store and had the code read and they came up with a "transmission fluid pressure sensor" is defective. The fluid level was fine and was actually changed a couple of months beforehand. The car was running great so I finished my errands and went home.
>>>>>>NOW THE DISTURBING PART<<<<<<<<
Today I left the house and behold, no more engine light. A couple of hours later, while sitting at a stop light I felt a bump from the car. It felt like someone had tapped me in the rear. So when I left the stop light the problem was evident. The car made a large bump shifting for 1st to 2nd. Other than that it was fine. Tried it a couple of times and got the same bump. Stopped and restarted the car and now it runs fine.
A couple of hours later the bumping came back and so did the engine light with the flashing D. I also have problems at the high speed level. I'm turning 2500rpm while running 65mph. It usually does 2500 at about 75 - 80.


Once again I stop the car and when restarted the flashing D is gone and the car is running as smooth as silk again. Still have the engine light for the next few stops but now, the light has gone off again, too.

ezone

Sounds like you have an intermittent pressure switch also. Once in a while it doesn't switch to ON (or off) like it should, most other times it works fine.

I don't think I've ever been driving one while a pressure switch problem crops up, I sure don't remember it and don't know first hand how they act when it happens.
I always see them after a code has set, and they usually are intermittently not working....meaning they work again by the time I get it in my bay.

meanmech

Okay. I'm going for the switch. But I see to switch is on top of the transmission. Is it the 1 nearest the firewall or the 1 nearest the front of the car? The code is P0847 sensor switch had a low reading third clutch circuit.
28600-rpc-003 or 28600-rpc-004

ezone

The pressure switch for 2nd gear is up on top of the trans.
the pressure switch for 3rd gear is down low on the front of the trans. You can find this one from underneath the front of the car.

See the pictures in this post: https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...ml#post4647917

meanmech

Oh wow! Thanks for the link. I must have been looking at the shift solenoids instead of the switches.
The 3rd gear switch is the 28600-rpc-004 right?

ezone

004 is the one for 2nd gear, on top.


I came up with 28600-RPC-013 for the 3rd gear switch
plus 90471-PW7-A00 for the gasket

Check the magical Parts Catalog Linkyclick: http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/auto/SOLENOID


#9 and #13

cindyciv

The engine light and flashing D light came on last night on my way home. Noticed nothing else - she drives fine, gears up fine.

From this thread I am guessing it is transmission related.

This morning when I started the car the engine light was on - no flashing D light. If I bring her to the garage to get the code and fix the problem will the right code come up when scanned since the flashing D isn't happening anymore.

Also wondered if it could be related to the transmission fluid change I had done 3 days ago.

This is the first time I've had a issue with cindy the civ she is a 2010 and 135000kms.

Any advice would be appreciated!