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Is this reasonable advice?

http://eddiecarrara.hubpages.com/hub...-Light-Problem

Just wondering whether to attempt driving to garage or not

My light is on solid not driven more than a few hundred meters (just turned around when I saw it)

 
Rep Power: 518

Does the engine run bad? If it runs normally and the light is not flashing, I'd drive it.

If it has a serious lack of power or the engine light is flashing, then maybe think about a tow.

MANY things can turn the light on. Not all will cause running problems. Some things have nothing to do with how the engine runs, but almost everything connected to the engine computer still uses the same warning light.

Did you leave the fuel cap loose?

 
Rep Power: 155

That's a lot to read. hahaha. I'd look at the 2 bonus questions of if the car is driving normally and if the CEL is flashing.

If the CEL is flashing then that means your engine is misfiring and needs to get off the road pretty quick to avoid any potential serious damage.

It's also super important to watch the temperature gauge to make sure it's not over heating. If the car overheats you run the risk of blowing the head gasket and worse warping the head. So don't let it over heat.

If those 2 are not your issue then it's probably safe enough to drive to autozone and have them pull a code to see what it is. Some sensors can trigger once and keep the CEL on until you clear it. Others will go away after a period of time.

For example, I had a code for an intermittent camshaft sensor reading. The code tripped the CEL and cause the car to loose power. But once you turned the car off and back on the car ran fine but the CEL was still on and would stay on until you cleared it.

Another example, when I'm low on oil the CEL for a v-tec malfunction. I can top off the oil and then about 20-30 miles later the CEL will turn off.

 
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Hey thanks for the replies

I drove a few hundred meters it dropped power momentarily but did a u-turn and returned home nothing untoward

Took the cap off and reapplied it for several clicks, removed battery terminal and restarted light is back on

I take it removing the negative doesn't reset all codes then ? The light stays on before turning over. Is it meaningful to repeat disconnect the battery procedure whilst trying different things?

Have a road behind me I could test drive on but it's single lane and my neighbours would get pissed if I broke down and blocked the road..

(edit : reading the comments under that link I posted I notice the guy says he spent 25 years at a Honda Dealership)

 
Rep Power: 518

Erasing codes is not fixing the problem. Your car apparently has a hard fault.

Not unless you actually fixed the cause of the light being on..

You need to figure out what the fault code(s) are first. Anything else is guessing.

It should be pretty obvious right away if the car is going to be scary to drive. IMO it would have to run really bad to die on you and be stranded in the driveway.

 
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Cool, I'll see if I can get to the garage for the codes

Will take a good look under the bonnet first though

I'm in rural UK it's damp atm and loads of critters about

Thought I heard something the other night ...

Wouldn't put it past them to be having a nibble !

 
Rep Power: 518

Oh! Rodents LOVE wires!!
I see lots of mouse damage where I'm at.

A salesman opened the hood of a car the other day, showing it to a customer, and found a live rabbit happily munching on injector wiring.

 
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Rabbits you say !

It just so happens I took a photograph of some of the critters the other day...



That is a baby one, as you can against the leaves it's about 3"

Maybe putting fresh carrots around the engine would deter the rabbits from going near the wires

 
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No no no, it does not work that way! That would be called bait!

 
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I'm thinking snax ! I would never hurt ma bunnies..

Well light went out this time after disconnecting battery..

Got a guy on the way to read any codes...

Can't help but feel it had something to do with the crazy fog.. but certainly the petrol cap was pressurized today when released today, it wasn't yesterday when the light went out and I first removed it..

We'll see..

 
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No codes or faults could be found..

Mech reckons using high octane may have caused blip in sensor..

Dunno but been out for a ride and so far OK

Time will tell

Thx for responding I know these type forums can be a magnet for desperate clueless folk like me to post question after question you've heard before and that must be grating..

But now I'm here I can maybe contribute something too

Had this Civic for 1 yr now previous cars were Golf Mk3 and before that Polo Mk2.. The Golf sills rotted at 18 years as many do. This one is apparently "mint" underneath, I think the MOT tester was exaggerating a bit but could have had underbody treatment as it was a tester... Like the car overall but what about those squeaky clutches eh...

 
Rep Power: 518

You erased all pertinent data when you disconnected the battery long enough to make the light stay off.

If the problem has not resurfaced (CEL comes on again), no useful info can be gleaned from the computer.

Couple different things I used to see here (USA), one is the over-center spring on the pedal needing lubed,

and two, check this bulletin (PDF)
www.driveaccord.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=488&d=1082485959

NOTE I have no way of knowing of this applies to your car, this bulletin is for USA. Plus this version I found is out of date.