G. Man

It would be the cylinder. No, I think it could be that. You just don't have the exact symptoms mine had. Do you lose power when the key is turned on, or when you crank it to engage the starter? I think it could still be your problem. Worth checking out.

Cthulhuania

Or it could be what you speak of... so stressed out about it.. cant just afford a mechanic to fix it..

Cthulhuania

It doesn't lose power.. it has no power. Nothing to lose if it doesnt have it. And when the dome light was working (hasnt turned on in a few days) I'd go to try n start it and experience zero power, no starter anything..


I'll look in to the cylinder.. this sucks dude

G. Man

Well you said the dome light worked, so it had power. Then you turned the key and lost it right? Am I missing something here?

Zero power was exactly what was wrong with mine. No power to anything. No dash lights, no radio, nothing.

Hope you get it figured out.

Cthulhuania

But the thing is.. when I got it going that one time I had it going and it kept going until I slowed down enough under 5mph or so just shut down..... and I must say it is hard to stop with zero power.. geesh

81cord

And that lead me to think of a bad alternator/battery. You're basically running on the battery alone this whole time with the alternator barely putting out any juice. Slowing down = low alternator output. Combine that with a really low battery charge = dead car.

Thats what I thought anyway.

letank

The dome light is not associated with the ignition switch.... you can leave the dome light on, the keys out and find your battery dead a few hours later.

Have the alternator tested.... it can be a pain to remove.... sometimes they short.... so disconnect the alternator at the alternator plug and the main cable on top... recharge the battery... and see what happens.... do you get the dash battery and oil light, and for how long? if the battery is decent it should stay on for more than a few minutes, otherwise you have a bad short somewhere else. When my alternator died... it was brutal... I could not even push start the car, no dash lite....

Cthulhuania

Gonna pull the alternator and take it to autozone.. seems like a good idea as the new one is only $26 with a good $20 core..

letank

Never got any luck with autozone products... alternators or starters.... oreillys, napa... seem to last a lot longer, the lifetime warranty does not cut it when a family member is stuck hours from home, I can deal with a breakdown, but a son or daughter....

Cthulhuania

There is an Oreillys and Napa out here but I boycott Napa's crap service out here.. both times I have been there to buy stuff the parts were damaged or missing pieces.. The guy that sold me those parts was a total downy and I just could not talk to him about working on my car.

Autozone is awesome out here. I took my Alt in to get it checked and it was OK, my starter failed the first pass, and passed barely the second pass.. but I think it is ok..


Not sure what to check next, I suppose I can attempt the Ignition cylinder like I said I would but that is a long shot.

81cord

If the alternator checks out okay, it could be bad regulator. Its external and located just under the main fuse.

Cthulhuania

Is it this large plug like device with wires bulging out of it? Has a big old wire condom over it too... I checked all plugs like this today to see if there was any burn outs, corrosion.. this one was the cleanest surprisingly.

Cthulhuania

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...mString=search THIS? or one of these expensive f***ers http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...mString=search ?

81cord

Yes, but sadly it could be failing internally.

But I still don't get why you're not getting any power at all even to your dome light. It has to be the main connection from the battery somewhere. Have you checked the fat white cable under the dash and see if its getting any power yet? Or tested your battery with your multimeter and see if its actually putting out any voltage at all?

Cthulhuania

Battery has been tested and topped off the charge at Oreillys, they said its fine, multimeter has been saying around 12.66v when I test it.

I looked for the fat white cable and couldn't find it.. thought I had found it a big white wire and it lead behind my stereo (keep in mind I got this car 2 months ago from a sh*tty previous owner) and it was spliced to two other wires and not plugged in to anything. Followed the other end to the back of the car near my subwoofer and it was spliced in to speaker wire not plugged in to anything, so I just ripped it all out.. pointless wiring.


Couldn't find any other big white wires around fuse box/under dash steering column area... I could try clipping the zip ties and unraveling the orgy of wires..

I still don't know how to use the multimeter yet (innova 3320) I've figured out how to test the battery switch it to battery 12v mode, and I know about continuity testing to see if the current is passing through things properly with a simple beep.. but the DC-V test mode is wonky, it starts shooting out random number spikes like 50, 80, 150, 127, 69, 9, (random random) and flatlines at 0 when I THINK I made a proper connection (lets say both battery posts). The other DC mode is DC-MA (Milliamps?).

Tried to check my fuses by doing the DC-V and got random numbers all over the place (black prong grounded to door frame, red prong pressed on top of fuse plugged in) so I've no idea how to test this white wire when I do find it..

letank

Time to find the electrical schematics and see where the missing link is!

2ndGenGuy

All you need is the 12v battery mode that you were talking about to get voltage. You just wanna see where you are actually getting 12v. That's how you know you have power. I dunno what that test mode is, but it seems kinda unnecessary.

If I were you, I would wait until you're in that situation where the dome light isn't working, then don't touch anything! Test your battery (check the voltage), and follow the power wire to your fuse that you replaced, check for voltage on both sides of it. Follow that wire all the way to where it connects at the other end (it should go to the fuse panel), check for 12v there. Then check for 12v on both sides of your fuses.

The other thing with these cars, is that the glass fuses in the fuse panel tend to be crap. They will look fine, but actually have shitty or no connection at all. You might have a culprit in there. You can test the fuses by checking continuity across both sides. But I would recommend replacing all of them at some point. I had to replace every last one in my car before all my electrical problems finally went away. They're cheap, and it's good insurance anyways.

Cthulhuania

Just hook up my Meter to 12v battery mode and red prong top of fuse, black on the bottom of the fuse? Not sure if thats how it works but I can try.. got a few extra fuses I just bought and replaced, didn't fix my problems, and dome light hasn't worked in about a week. Only replaced the one that had no continuity.

Cthulhuania

I couldn't figure it out... this is sad..

Wire bungle



The only fat white cable I could find. Seems to be pretty short and goes straight up into oblivion (different wire bungle).

Cthulhuania

The only fat white cable I could find. Seems to be pretty short and goes straight up into oblivion (different wire bungle).

letank

You need to remove that panel under the steering wheel, so you can have access to oblivion....

I am sure that there is a schematic somewhere on the web, otherwise get one on dabay, they have the real service manual from Honda, IIRC 73-80 are the same....

Cthulhuania

I'll try and figure out how to get the panel off.. think I am in the market for a new ignition cause I ended up bending the last original key trying to unlock the damn car... no worries though because my driver door wont lock so I can get in still...


Grr....

2ndGenGuy

If your ignition switch is toast, that would explain a lot. Mine did all SORTS of crazy **** when the switch went bad.

And you'll want to get a manual specific to your car, many small changes from 79 to 80. And the Accords only started in 76. 76 and 77 were pretty much the same, 78 was different from them , and 79 had changes as well. The early years of the Accord had so many variations. Wiring is all probably very close, but I've tried using so many parts from earlier Accords because they look the same, but they never quite fit right. 80 and 81 are pretty much the only cars that mostly interchange.

Cthulhuania

I've had a bit of luck from parts 79 and 81, can't find any 80s at the junkyard though..

I guess it is time for a new ignition.. Had the original BORKEY. So sad...

Cthulhuania

Can you do me a solid and pull it up on Autozone/napa/oreillys?

Holy jesus this ignition whats so special

I mean one of you guys knocked on autozone, but napa doesnt have any sort of key in ignition type dealies, oreillys has that $450 ignition, and Autozone has a $35 assembly that i gotta order.




Edit: Since I can't find an ignition at all, how would I go about removing the ignition cylinder and installing a toggle switch start? Multiple toggle switches like half key turn? "Ready, set, engage"?

Would love to add this feature to my car, or have an electronic contact type push start like the Prius has. Hold the electronic keys in your hand/against your body/pocket, sends a current through you to start the car.