91 Civic 3door hatch Si-brake dash light-starter

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Own a 91 Honda Civic 3door Hatchback Si (1.6)

This morning, while driving to work, the brake dash light on my civic turned on and off intermittently.
I noticed that bumps on the road also seemed to affect the brake light.

I got to work and did not worry much because I knew that my brakes were working fine.
Before I left work I checked the brake fluid level and everything else looked fine

Got on the freeway and the brake light began to flicker on and off again.

I finally got off the freeway and drove into a store parking lot.
I turned off my car and walked into the store to get some water and a few non perishable food items.

Got into my car, put the key in the ignition and turned the key.
All the dash lights lit up but the cars engine would not turn over.

I immediately said to myself that my starter was shot.
I got a store customer to help me push start my car and car started without a problem

The Engine light came on and I said to myself "engine light is for emissions, what the hail".

I also noticed the the flickering brake light did not turn on again.
Drove home without a worry and just made sure that arriving to my house was going to be the last stop

-I am driving with the original starter.

-I have 491,000 miles on the same engine

-In the last 6 months I have notice hard starts in the morning, got a little better after a cap and rotor change.
-Clutch pedal needs to be depressed firmly all the way to the floor or the car will NOT start

-My temperature control gauge is not working and thats due to me washing it down with electrical cleaner and first not removing the neg battery cable. The wire is kind of exposed so maybe its just a matter of checking the connection. I might have broken or loosened a wire when I removed the distributor. Who knows, maybe it was the cleaner, maybe it was my hands jamming a wire next to the sensor which controls the gauge.

I am mostly questioning the flickering brake light (dash) and the Check Engine Light.

Why would this be happening? A short?

Is a short the cause for my starter to go out?

Where should I start?

Advise greatly appreciated
 
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Any connection between the check engine light and the brake light flickering?
Like mentioned before, once the Engine Light came on the brake light turned off..
 
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Update:

Discovered a disconnected wire to the starter.
Reconnected the wire to the starter.
Car started and check engine light gone.

Will have to drive the car later to see if the flickering light had anything to do with the starter wire being loose then later finally disconnecting perhaps due to vibration.

I also discovered a broken wire that goes to the coolant temperature sending unit.
This is for sure whats causing my temp gauge not to work
Problem is that its broken right at the tip which makes it very hard to solder.

Is there a website where I can just get new wiring for this area only?
 
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Originally Posted By: Gito
Update:

Discovered a disconnected wire to the starter.
Reconnected the wire to the starter.
Car started and check engine light gone.

Will have to drive the car later to see if the flickering light had anything to do with the starter wire being loose then later finally disconnecting perhaps due to vibration.

I also discovered a broken wire that goes to the coolant temperature sending unit.
This is for sure whats causing my temp gauge not to work
Problem is that its broken right at the tip which makes it very hard to solder.

Is there a website where I can just get new wiring for this area only?


Looks like the sensor number from NAPA is ECH TS5553. If you bring them that number (or have them look it up to double check), they should be able to tell you what connector fits it. I thought I could look it up on their shop site, but can't find it.

For O'Reilly, it's Borg Warner WT5009- they should be able to tell you what the connector pig tail is too.

Also in my searching I found some on e-bay too, if that's the route you want to go.
 
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I never knew that NAPA or O'Reilly sold specific connectors for such sensors.
I know that the sensors can be replaced but the connectors are part of the engine wire harness.

I will visit O'Reilly to see what they got

thanks
 
There's no guarantee that they will have it/have access to it, but if there is an aftermarket replacement, they should be able to tell you.
 
If your brake warning light flickers when you go over bumps, it may mean the brake fluid level sensor is failing. In many Hondas, the sensor is attached to the reservoir cap, so remove the reservoir cap, and move the sensor around. Have someone look at the dash while you do this. It could also mean that some connector is corroded.
 
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