nomo4me

Hi,
I'm Mike from Salt Lake City. I hope someone can help me with problems I'm having with my Odyssey.
My Van:
2006 Odyssey (not Touring)
122k miles, 43k miles on Factory new engine, tranny and cat conv (punctured radiators on freeway fried everything)
Battery replaced 5k ago, hooked up solidly
Factory mtnce kept up with, new belt at 120k miles

Summary of problems experienced - in chronological order - all within the last two weeks.

1. Radio resets and demands code. Happens several times.

2. Drivers side window control acts erratically - moving past the click up or down sometimes fails to make the window go all the way up or down. Sometimes I'll push past the click and it will start in the correct direction then reverse and go a few inches the other way then stop. It's the only window control I use so can't say if all 4 buttons are malfunctioning.
3. Engine cuts out 2x while driving. Low speed, no bumps encountered. First time engine was warm, 2nd time I had just started out on a cold morning. In both cases I was able to pull over and put in Park and restart. No hiccuping that would indicate fuel issue - just suddenly no spark then effortless restart.
4. I take into my dealer where I purchased and have had all work done. They talk at length with Honda Reps who suggest a new fusebox installed at $450. I agree, understanding that solving these mystery issues often involve throwing crap at the wall to see what will stick (guessing on my dime).
5. Problem not solved. Car has now died while driving an additional 3x. Electrical hiccups with warning lights on dash flashing for 1/2 second or so. Radio has reset to CODE 3 x as well. These all happened yesterday.

I'm a Honda diehard. Everyting I own with an Engine is honda. I earn my living driving in this van and would much appreciate any help.

Thanks for reading. If any Honda Cert. wrenches hang out here I'd appreciate some help in working with my dealer to get the problem solved.

Ross 2.0

You definately have a power supply problem. I would double check the positive, negative and ground wires (from engine to frame, trans to frame, and negative battery post to frame). You should find the problem in there.

nomo4me

Thanks
Killed on me again today. If I am going 30+ mph it will die briefly, lurch slightly, then restart itself as it's still in gear.

I think you are spot on with your suggestion. If you are saying it doesn't sound like a computer issue I'll be releived.

postman

def. check over power and grounds. could be a major ground bolt is not completely tightened

Evs-One

I've even seen a loose positive cable on the battery terminal cause this too...or the positive cable to fuse box could not have a good connection.

nomo4me

Thanks for the replies.

Still dealing with the issue. I was supposed to leave the vehicle with them today but had an appointment I couldn't cancel. I'll leave it with them next week.

Travelling over bumps has no bearing on whether the power blips occur. Fact is they always seem to occur on glass smooth road surface.
Yesterday I drove it all day with no hiccups. Drove it constantly today with no problems then late in the day a multitude of radio power-offs and then 5 or so ignition cutoffs with quick restarts at speed. Only once has the ignition cut out while accelerating from a stop.

After the barrage of ignition outages/auto restarts late today I drove to my honda dealer, parked the van and my service writer (a buddy) got the master mech. (same one who installed the new fuse box) to go for a ride with me.
After restarting and leaving the lot the van ran perfectly during out 10 minute ride. Too bad, I wanted him to see the outages for himself.
Only once has the problem occured when the engine was running less than 1 minute. Seems like the problem is more likely to occur later in the day after quite a bit of driving.
Mech says my 2 month old Costco battery tested a bit on the weak side last week when he first had it. Says he's wondering about a relay in the alternator.

Thoughts?

Ross 2.0

The alternator will not cause this problem. Period.
If you jiggle your keys in the ignition when the van is running will it shut off then?
I'm also curious to see if the headlights work when this happens.

nomo4me

Tried jiggling/rotating/pushing/pulling key while driving today and no issue. Can't advise on headlights. I don't recall the headlights going off when it's blipped out - can't recall right now if it's ever blipped out at night so can't be certain on that.

I'm back in town now and will drop it off at my honda dealer this week.

Thanks for the replies.

Mike

Chuckintx

Hey there, don't know if I'll get a response on an almost 10 year old thread. Wondering if you ever resolved this issue? I'm having the exact same problem and I'd like to find out what's cashiering it. Thanks!

dbbyleo

I just wanted to add to this post in that my 2006 Odyssey started to do some weird electrical things. Symptoms included:
- When I turn the car off, it seems like the power to the whole car got momentarily shut off. Ie, the alarm would immediately arm itself so that when I opened the door to get out, the alarm would go off; the nav and radio would get reset and require code the next time I turned them on. This happened for a couple times, but I ignored it.
- While driving, again the power seemed like it would momentarily get cur off. Ie, the radio would cut out and then come back; the nav LCD would go out and come back and prompts for code; the instrument panel would flicker; This all happened on one day I was driving the car. The third time it happened (before I got home), it flickered again, and drew the Check Engine light to come on as well. I couldn't ignore it anymore.

After a quick search, saw a few post that suggest possibly a bad negative terminal connection or ground. And to my relief, thats all it was: my negative terminal connection was lose. I had recently replaced the battery and recall thinking the terminal post must be a little smaller than the previous battery and thought it was tight enough (but it could be a little tighter). Went for months without any issue, but when I checked again this weekend, it felt like whatever little bit that held it together must have rubbed off and the terminal was now lose.

Anyway, a $1.50 battery terminal shim seemed to have fixed all this issue. I should have known to do this from the beginning (I replaced the battery). It does confirm that a bad negative/ground will cause these types of "electrical gremlin" symptoms.