Since my previous car was dying of old age (primarily rust in inappropriate places) I ended up buying a replacement car. After a bunch of searching around, it appears that almost everything (not brand new) less than 10 years old available second hand (car dealers, Turners, even things like Trademe) is (a) an ex-Japanese import and (b) automatic (either traditional automatic, or in newer ones CVT) -- so that's what I ended up buying too. (I bought another Honda Civic, since my previous one was pretty well suited to what I wanted. I've gone from a 4th generation one to a 6th generation one. ETA: Or possibly a 7th generation one, since it seems to be an EU1 model which Wikipedia groups as 7th generation. Fuel Saver NZ suggests a rating of 4.5 stars, for an average cost of NZ$1630/year, for the EU1 range. Automative Guide review of 7th generation models in US; Insideline Article on 2001 model in USA; 2001 EU1 type G specification cf 1991 Honda Civic LX specification (approx); also 2001 EU1 type G specification including factory colours and at Cars Directory; engine is a Honda D15B 1.5 l SOHC VTEC engine, although other models in the range had DOHC VTEC K-series engines.)
In New Zealand ex-Japanese cars have the advantage of being generally well cared for, often relatively low milage for the age, and relatively inexpensive -- as well as being designed for driving on the left side of the road (something which makes used imports from most other countries unsuitable). But they have the disadvantage that the documentation, if any, is in Japanese. And relatively few people in New Zealand speak, or read, Japanese. So it appears that the cars are generally supplied without any manuals at all, presumably because it's difficult to keep track of them, and most buyers wouldn't be able to make use of them (although as I said to the dealer, I'm pretty good at interpreting diagrams even if I can't read the text). Mine was one that came with no documentation -- just the vehicle, key, and remote.
As a result, one gets a complex machine with no documentation. And gets to reverse engineer how to use it, and how it works. Since this is something that I've been doing in my day job -- and as a hobby -- for 25 years or more, it's not that much of an unexpected challenge. (There are manuals available on the Internet for, eg, the USA editions of the car, but they are noticably different from the ex-Japanese cars such that not all the features in the car are explained in the USA manual.)
I'm planning on using this entry to collect random tips on setting/doing this with my car that I might otherwise forget between when I first use them and when I next need them.
Setting the clock on Gathers WX-202M CD/MD Combo player
The clock in my Honda Civic is a Gathers WX-202M (GA-II) combined CD and MD player, with clock and radio functions built in (the radio portion is [limited to the Japanese broadcast frequencies, and needs a "band expander" to use in New Zealand -- for instance from edl.co.nz (based in Auckland), who have some useful tecnicial specifications; see also their FAQ). (I'm not sure if I'll bother with the band expander, as I mostly avoid the radio when driving anyway; it may be more convenient just to replace the entire unit with an aftermarket car radio/CD/etc, if the unit is removable. A Gathers WX-212M was sold on TradeMe out of another Honda car earlier this year for $41 (with a wiring colour guide); which implies that it is removable and has some residual value. The auction noted "The dimesions are: 180mm x 155mm x 100mm (L x W x H). Note: the 155 width (depth) does not include the face plate which is 10mm." which I assume are identitical to my model; not sure what's different between the WX-202M and the WX-212M as the face plate looks basically identical. Another WX-212M sold for $17.)
Fortunately it has English labels, and the menus are set to English (unlike this poor soul who has the menus in Japanese). But various people have been searching for manuals or at least how to set the clock.
It turns out to be fairly simple.
Turn the unit on (so that it is in CD, MD, or Radio mode) with the power button at the left of the centre bottom
Hold down the Title/Conf button (next row above, to the right) for a couple of seconds until the display changes to a menu
Use the left and right buttons (on the direction cluster to the right) to select "Clock"
Press the Ent to go into the Clock settings
Press the 1/H button (left edge) to cycle through the hours
Press the 2/M button (left edge) to cycle through the minutes
Press the 3/Set button (left edge) to zero the minutes (ie, set to top of hour)
When done, press the Ent button to accept the setting
There is an AM setting, which I assume indicates that it is in a 12-hour clock format with AM/PM; I've not yet experimented enough to determine if there's a way to set it to 24-hour mode (which I'd prefer) or how to set PM times (perhaps just advance the hours sufficiently).
Tuning the radio
As noted above, the radio is designed for Japanese radio frequencies. Japanese FM Frequencies are 76.0-90.0 MHz (14 MHz); in constrast New Zealand FM Frequencies are 88.0-108.0 MHz (20MHz; following CCIR Bandplan). The overlap is 88.0-90.0 MHz, which leaves room for relatively few FM stations. The radio will tune in steps of 0.1 MHz (ie, 100 kHz), which is sufficient for New Zealand since unlike some countries New Zealand doesn't 0.05 MHz (ie, 50kHz) steps.
The AM Radio Frequencies appear to be similar in the two countries, covering most of the "Medium Wave" band between 520 kHz and 1610 kHz; the radio will tune between 522 kHz and 1629 kHz, in steps of 9 kHz, which appears to cover all of the New Zealand AM broadcast range.
Radio Stations in Wellington, by Frequency (on Wikipedia; linked from New Zealand Radio Stations. The two somewhat useful FM stations that the radio will receive are Radio Active (formerly VUW student radio, now indepdent; 89.0 MHz) and Classic Hits 90FM (80s/90s/today; 90.0 MHz). (It appears there is a new VUW Student Radio station, The VBC, broadcasting on 88.3 MHz which in theory I could also receive, but it doesn't seem to have sufficient power to reach as far as my house.) It's also possible to pick up The Breeze on its AM frequency, 891 kHz. And of course Radio NZ on its AM freqencies (Radio New Zealand AM/FM frequencies; 567 kHz for National Radio in Wellington).
The radio has what appears to be two sets of AM presets, and two sets of FM presets, with the same buttons (1,2,3 on left and 4,5,6 on right) being used in each case, so it is necessary to use the "Top Band" (centre bottom) button to cycle between A1/A2/F1/F2 before using the appropriate preset button to select the frequency (it'd have been more convenient if the preset buttons remembered all the necessary settings). (As far as I can tell A1 and A2 cover the same frequency range, and F1/F2 cover the same frequency range, so I'm unclear why the button is called "Top Band".)
Tuning the radio is thus:
Press the Top Band button to cycle amongst A1/A2 (AM, 522-1629 kHz) and F1/F2 (FM, 76.0-90.0 MHz) as appropriate
Use the left and right buttons (on the direction cluster to the right) to select the frequency required
Hold down the appropriate preset button for 3-5 seconds (until the radio beeps) to store the frequency
And choosing a preset station is:
Press the Top Band button to cycle amongst A1/A2 (AM, 522-1629 kHz) and F1/F2 (FM, 76.0-90.0 MHz) as appropriate
Press the appropriate preset button briefly
Given the relatively limited number of stations of interest in the AM band, and recievable in the FM band, I suspect I'll end up tuning the same frequencies as presets in both A1 and A2, and both F1 and F2.
Door remote
The battery in the door remote is a CR1616 3V Lithium button cell, approximately 15mm in diameter (Dick Smith: S3223 ($8) as a single and S3523 ($14) as a twin pack; no links for them because their website is actively hostile to links to anything other than the front page :-( ). The remote itself just press-fits together (a 10 cent coil is about the right size to pry it apart). It doesn't appear to work very far away from the vehicle (at least at present) even though the battery still reads 2.7V, so it's nearly as convenient just to use the key. I guess the main advantage of the remote is that it'd let someone get something out of the car without being granted the ability to drive it.
ETA: The door remote works much better with a new battery, so I guess 2.7V is close to dead for the 3V lithium cell as far as the transmitter is concerned. Seems to work at least 5 metres away now. And the advantage of a remote is that you can, eg, unlock a passenger door and get something out then lock it again without walking around to the driver's door. (The boot does have a (working) key entry for it that just unlocks the boot.)
ETA, 2010-10-03: The door remote stopped working again a couple of days ago, and when I measured the cell it still measured 3V. Taking the remote apart and cleaning it didn't change the symptoms (but was interesting in a "how does it work" kind of way), nor did it work again after changing the cell. Some searching of the Internet turned up a procedure for programing the remote and some notes in the service manual (page 23-219 in 2000 service manual), but it took several attempts to get it to work. The procedure that worked seem to be:
Repeat three times: turn key in ignitition to "on" and then press button on remote then turn key off (need to press the remote button soon after indicator lights on dashboard come in -- within 1-2 seconds -- so it is best done with the remote in the other hand from the hand turning the key).
On the fourth time: turn key in ignition to "on" and press button on remote, and you should hear the solenoid for the door locks engage (but at least in my case the locks do not lock). This indicates that it is in programming mode. Leave ignition turned on.
Press the button on the remote again to "lock the doors" (should hear the solenoid trigger, but in my case the locks did not move). Press the button on the remote again to "unlock the doors" (again should hear the solenoid trigger, but the locks did not move). Even if the door locks do not move using the remote three times to trigger the solenoid seems to be essential to the programming.
Turn off ignition and remove the key. Test if the remote will lock/unlock the doors.
If the solenoid doesn't engage in steps 3 or 4 then most likely the cell in the remote is too flat, or is not properly in contact with the circuit (it needs to be in large -- positive -- side down, and relies on the remote being pressed firmly together to get enough pressure between the cell and the cell contacts. Later remotes have a LED to indicator the transmitter triggered which makes it easier to tell if the cell is working (although in my experience the LED will usually trigger with less voltage than the transitter needs to be effective).
The service manual also observes a couple of things which I've noticed myself:
If any door is open then the remote will not work (but the central locking with the key in the driver's door will work); the easiest way to check for this cause is to turn the ignition "on" and look at the "door open" indicator -- or just confirm the doors are all properly closed.
If the remote is used to unlock the doors and a door isn't opened within 30 seconds then the doors will lock again. (This appears to be compensation for the fact that the remote has only a single button, so if you lose track of whether you locked the doors or not and press the button again, the doors will unlock when you thought you were locking them. It is actually possible to tell the lock action and the unlock action apart by sound if you listen closely.)
(In the process of experimenting with this I managed to engage the latch on the hatch with it open, so that the hatch wouldn't close. The fix to this is remarkably obvious in hindsight: ensure that the hatch is unlocked, then pull firmly on the hatch open bar to disengage the latch -- as if you were opening it from having been locked.)
Trip counter
There are two trip counters (A and B), each of which can be reset independently. The button on the display next to the odometer can be used to cycle the display through total milage, trip counter A and trip counter B. Holding the button down for a couple of seconds will reset the displayed trip counter to 0.0.
Tyres
Four main tyres are P185/70R14 87S, and should be inflated to 30 psi (== 210 kPa); compact spare should be inflated to 60 psi (420 kPa). (The compact spare is intended for limited use, at low speeds, only to get somewhere where the main tyre can be repaired.)
Paint Colour
The exterior paint colour is Honda NH-623M (Satin Silver Metallic,
abbreviated "SSM" on some chat forums), both from Sherwin Williams
model lookup,
and from finding it on the plate on the passenger side in the engine
bay. According to Express Paint's
guide
it appears that the full colour code is NH-623M-S, and this indicates
it was made in Japan in the Suzuka factory (although the VIN code
on my vehicle doesn't match the pattern that they suggest; the 11th
digit of the VIN isn't a letter, but the plate with the colour code
does end in "-S"). (Interestingly this seems to confirm the 2001
model year, since according to Sherwin Williams model
lookup
the 2000 model had a different paint code -- NH583M (Vogue
Silver Metallic).) Team 99's
Forum (a
Honda Civic '99 forum) has a list of paint codes from a Honda OEM
guide which also confirms "Satin Silver Metallic Clearcoat NH-623M
01-02" for a Honda Civic. Paint
Scratch stresses the
importance of the factory code on the Honda, and provides a visual
guide to the typical colour code information (mine seems to be laid
out in a different manner, on a single line).
Official touchup paint code seems to be 08703-NH623AH. (I also spotted a few NH-623M-S touch up paint items.)
Wing Mirrors
It appears that my wing mirrors are powered folding mirrors; the angle of the mirrors can be adjusted (with the car engine power on) by choosing left or right from the toggle switch, and then using the four way rocker to adjust the mirror. The left/right toggle switch can be left in the centre position to avoid accidental mirror adjustment.
There is also a "mirror fold" button next to the other wing mirror adjustments. In my car when it is held down the mirror will fold in, but as soon as it is released the mirrors will automatically fold out again (they also automatically fold out on power up). In theory it is a momentary press button which should send a pulse to the relay controlling the mirrors, and shouldn't need to be held down (full thread). But something seems to be different about my car. Other posts in that thread suggest that some people have other things (eg, vehicle alarm/imobilser) wired into that line which may override the button, so possibly my car had something like that and when it was removed someone replaced that wire with a connection to ground or +12VDC. (Another useful install guide to JDM power mirrors, but for a different Honda model. And a guide to hooking power folding mirrors up to central locking.)
For now the only way I can park with the mirrors folded is to hold the mirror fold button down until the mirrors fold in and then turn off the ignition to remove power from the mirrors so they do not unfold again straight away. Since both are on the same side of the steering wheel this takes a bit of juggling. And it's unfortunate since driving into my garage would be more easily done with the mirrors already folded.
(ETA, 2012-06-17: Actually after a couple of years experience with the car, it turned out the button is just very sensitive -- maybe the switch is worn inside -- and seems not to be properly debounced. If I press it rapidly it will auto-close the windows by itself. But if I press it slowly it normally closes/opens all in one not very helpful movement.)
Electric Window Reset Procedure
I had the car battery changed (due to the engine becoming increasingly sluggish to start -- it seemed to be the original battery still, and I know it got run down at the second car yard, a couple of years back, as they had to jump start it for me to do a test drive!). After that I found that I had to reset the clock radio (procedure above) which I'd expected, and also "recalibrate" the driver's side electric window before the "auto up" functionality would work (ie, pull briefly and it raises/lowers itself -- extremely handy when coming up to a parking building).
There are two reset procedures:
A simple one; and
A more complicated one (for which there is a electrical style timing diagram available)
The simple procedure (which turned out to work for me) is:
Open doors (I opened all four doors)
Hold down drivers side window down button for 10 seconds
Pull up drivers side up button for 10 seconds
Test if auto up/auto down works
I did it both with the power off (so there was no window movement) and then with the power on (so the window travelled the full distance, and the motor stayed active a bit longer beyond the end of travel -- the suggestion in the simple reset procedure is 2-3 seconds beyond full travel). After that the auto up/auto down worked again. (I'm assuming that the calibration that was lost was the positions for up/down -- possibly they were corrupted by power being removed/restored more than once during the battery change.)
If that doesn't work the more complicated procedure seems to be a full reset/recalibration of the electric window control computer, involving (basically) opening the window fully and opening the door then repeating four times "power on with window down switch held down then release down switch and power off" -- after which you do something like the simple procedure to recalibrate it. (I think if I ever need to do it, I'll be referring to one of the guides linked above.)
(This Honda MCU reset procedure may also come in handy later: power off, put wiper in middle position, power on. Programming without a programming interface is always fun :-) )
Fan Sites
Various fan sites for the Honda Civic (useful for various details about the car); I'm listing 2001 links since at this point I'm fairly convinced I've got a made-in-2000 2001-model-year car.
Although some of these details will refer to USA-new models which seem to be bigger engine capacity amongst other differences. Also:
has some relevant details (but note that 7th Generation Honda Accord starts in 2004, versus 2001 for the Honda Civic; it does overlap the model years for the 7th Generation Honda Civic though so may have some relevant information).