Try a 3rd cluster if you have easy access to one (someone has the same car) to see what happens. Also, check the code with the new cluster and see if you engine's throwing one.

Does the CEL light on the old cluster come on when the car is first strated. It should come on for about 5 seconds then go off just to check that the light works. It's possible the lights been burned out and you've had a CEL all this time and didn't know (possible but unlikely but weirder things have happened). Seeya.

 

i know nothing about the code stuff and i know i can go to jdmfan.com and find out there. nah i dont have access to a 3rd cluster. and yes when i put the old one back in to check, the light did not come on at all. i think its the new cluster. i was hoping after a day or so it would go away. its bothering me!!

 

how do u reset it without having to go to the dealer?

 

you need to stop talking like your a honda mechanic.

 

check engine lights are SUPPOST to come on and then shut off, just like your ABS light if you have which you dont. but still.

 

So the light is ON all the time; it never goes out? You are very unclear ... the light will come on when you turn to ACC for a couple seconds

 

ok...when i turn the key back two times into accessories (car is not on) the check engine light is NOT on and doesnt ever come on. but when i turn the car on the check engine light then comes on and does not turn off til the car is turned off!

 

ok a friend of mine said that undoing the battery should make the CEL go away. before i try this is this true will it work?

 

you need to mind your own business... and i dont :fawk:

 

When a CEL (or Check Engine Light) come on, it's because the ECM (Engine Control Module, your car's computer) got a weird message from one of it's sensors (or no reading at all). Basically the computer in your car thinks something is wrong and stores a code (which you can check) about what it's reading that isn't right. The issue with your gauge cluster sounds like to me is that you do have one of these CEL's. However, your old clusters had a burnt out light and never let you know. The new cluster has a working light and is trying to tell you. A CEL don't mean your engine exploded (often it doesn't come on when it does), just a weird sensor reading. What year Civic do you have? '96+ OBD II cars are very sensitive and will throw CEL's more often for emissions related problems than actual engine one's.

When you first turn the key on in the car, some of the dash lights come on, CEL, ABS (if equiped), SRS (your airbag system), and a few others. They all blink out quickly just to let you know they work. Put your old cluster in and see if come on when you first turn the key on. If so, my theory's shot to hell and it may be that your new cluster could be defective. If not, find a website that explains how to check the codes and find out what it's trying to tell you.

Also, the ECM stores the codes in it's memory. By disconnecting the battery for a few minutes, you wipe out the computers memory and it goes back to all it's factory defaults (think of restarting a windows computer, it's still works, but you lost what you were doing before the restart). That will eliminate the code and CEL but if the CEL is coming from some problem that still persists, say a sensors failed or not hooked up, it will come back. Seeya.