I just bought this legend a few weeks ago, its very sluggish. It has 180,000 miles on it. Yesterday when I was going to lunch the check engine light came on, then when I was going home the check engine light came on and the S3 light on the dash started blinking. I have no clue when it comes to cars. Can anyone help me out here.
89 legend cel and s3 flashing
roshelley5
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I just bought this legend a few weeks ago, its very sluggish. It has 180,000 miles on it. Yesterday when I was going to lunch the check engine light came on, then when I was going home the check engine light came on and the S3 light on the dash started blinking. I have no clue when it comes to cars. Can anyone help me out here.
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ok, first, is it a coupe or sedan? this matters for where to start the diagnosis.
if its a coupe, the ECU is located under the passenger footwell (pull back the top of the carpet). the sedan, the ECU is located under the passenger chair (read from front) the ECU will give you a code for that CEL. turn the key to II but don't start the car, and watch the sight glass on the ECU, it'll blink a code, count the blinks and report back.
the TCU in a coupe is located under the passenger chair, in a Sedan its under the driver's seat. the TCU is storing the code for the blinking S3 light. again, turn the key to II but not start. there is a little window flap on the back you will flip up and it'll expose a blinking light. count those blinks and report back.
congrats on the acquisition, you'll love the car when its back up to perfect.
if its a coupe, the ECU is located under the passenger footwell (pull back the top of the carpet). the sedan, the ECU is located under the passenger chair (read from front) the ECU will give you a code for that CEL. turn the key to II but don't start the car, and watch the sight glass on the ECU, it'll blink a code, count the blinks and report back.
the TCU in a coupe is located under the passenger chair, in a Sedan its under the driver's seat. the TCU is storing the code for the blinking S3 light. again, turn the key to II but not start. there is a little window flap on the back you will flip up and it'll expose a blinking light. count those blinks and report back.
congrats on the acquisition, you'll love the car when its back up to perfect.
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its a sedan
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ok thanks i will check that when i get off work and let you know
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On a sedan, the Engine control unit (ECU) is read from under the front of the passenger seat, and the Tranny control unit (TCU) is read from the back of the driver's seat. It helps to slide the driver's seat all the way up to count the TCU blinks.
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the blinks are easy to read once you've got the patterns down.. sometimes it can hold more than one code, but usually it's just one.
it'll have long blinks to signify 10's and short blinks to signify 1's...
so one long blink and two short blinks would mean code 12.
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Sorry, but this is just not right. There's no such thing as a long blink=10. You just have to straight up count the blinks. My TCU put out a code 14 in the past and it was just 14 single blinks. Same for the ECU.
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you're totally right... i was thinking of nissans... recently checked my uncle's Frontier and it was still in my head. lol my bad. sorry bout that RoShelly
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OK, you are not exactly wrong dblanehopr! I'm confused but now enlightened (again). In the 1989 Sedan manual, the ECU page looks almost like your coupe page which says to count single blinks. My 1989 Sedan manual confirms that for the ECU of that year. Here is the twist! This page is from my 1990 Sedan manual that I have on CDROM: --->
![Image]()
They apparently changed the ECU in 1990. Good to know, since I have a 1990!
I've been refering to my paper 1989 manual a bit too much.
They apparently changed the ECU in 1990. Good to know, since I have a 1990!
I've been refering to my paper 1989 manual a bit too much.
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As to the original problem....
The Check Engine Light indicates a Code on the ECU.
The blinking S3 light indicates a Code on the TCU.
One problem can cause both, but not exclusively.
The first thing I'd ask, without knowing what Codes are displayed, is does the Speedometer work?
The Check Engine Light indicates a Code on the ECU.
The blinking S3 light indicates a Code on the TCU.
One problem can cause both, but not exclusively.
The first thing I'd ask, without knowing what Codes are displayed, is does the Speedometer work?
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yes the speedometer is working
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i dont see any lights on the tcu tho i put the seat all the way up and dont see any thing lit up theres no display from the back of the drivers seat, and i looked to see if it was on the front of the drivers seat but thats not it either....
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First, turn your ignition key to the ON position (engine OFF) so the dash lights all light up, then make sure you're looking at the little cutout in the plastic cover through to the TCU at the back of the driver's seat. The code will repeat itself, so there's no hurry.
If you're S3 light is blinking, there should be a code on the TCU
If you're S3 light is blinking, there should be a code on the TCU
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i dont even see a display where there could be blinking lights
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i see the little tab but i was afraid to mess with it ok... i will try that
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ok I got it, thanks so much everyone for the help. on the ecu its a 6 and the tcu its a 10
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