1995 Accord EX 4cyl 4dr
183K+ miles

Last night, out of the blue, the D4 (gear indicator) on my dash board starting flashing. I drove for several more miles with it doing this. Then, all of the sudden, my car died at about 45-50 mph. I coasted down, parked, and then started the car like nothing was the matter. The car sat for some time and then it cranked right up. On my trip back home, it did not do it again and I didn't seem to have any issues. However, a couple of idiot lights on the dash were faintly flickering.

I thought the D4 flashing would indicate tranny issues. However, with the lights flickering I thought maybe it could be electrical like the altenator going bad. It is the original alt. However, the dashboard lights themselves never dimmed or flickered and my headlights never died down any.

Is this a tranny warning or an electrical issue of some type?

Thanks in advance.

 

Do you know how to check engine codes? If you do, then act as if you were checking on a CEL and see if your D4 light blinks when you are doing it. If it does, write down the sequence. There should be a site somewhere (you can probably google it) that has a listing of Auto Tranny codes. But yeah, your D4 light can act as a CEL for tranny trouble, but I'm not sure that was what it was doing in your case.

 

usually is tranny or electrical problem with relays etc...

 

something with the tranny.

you if you're shifting fine, you could have had something that made it trigger just once. it's worth getting it looked into.

 

As it turns out, the issue was the Ignition Switch. They pulled the back cover off and it was melted/burned up. The Ignition Switch has 2 positions, start and run. As best I can figure it was burned and stuck in run mode. When I went to take the car to the dealer for this and the timing belt work, etc., the car would not start after several attempts. I pressed the gas pedal to the floor a couple of times, like choking an old carbed car, and it fired right up. This is why I say it seemed to maybe be stuck in its run mode.

Just so everyone knows... The "D4" can indicate tranny issues, PGM-FI issues, and evidently Ignition Switch issues as well.

This about about a $231-6 job including replacement parts and labor at the dealership.