Like the topic says, my Odyssey will occasionally not want to shift out of park. Flat surface, incline, doesn't matter. The 'P' light on the dash is lit and the brake lights do come on but the solenoid that releases the parking pawl does not activate when you put your foot on the brake. I'm leaning towards replacing the 'SWITCH ASSY., STOP & CRUISE' that's on the brake pedal, but I was wondering if anyone had any real world experience with this problem that could confirm my diagnosis or give me some tips on troubleshooting further.
TIA

 

Does your horn work?

In my 98 CRV, i pulled the fuse to the horn and this disabled my ability to shift out of park.

 

I'll check but the fact that it only happens occasionally makes me doubt that's the issue. But thanks for the reply

 

Check to make sure when u press the brake and the solenoid doesnt energize that your brake lights are off. If thats the case the you have an intermittent failure of the brake light switch (top of the brake pedal).

May have an incorrect tps voltage fooling the pcm into thinking you're adding gas and trying to shift into drive.

 

The brake lights come on when the problem occurs. Any idea what the TPS voltage should be at idle? Which wires should I probe?

Thanks!

 

TSB from honda on that

 

Could you arm me with the TSB number?

 

Switch replaced, trans hasn't had any more problems coming out of park but now the cruise doesn't work. The dash light won't even come on. Does anyone have any info on adjusting the switch. So far I've retested after backing the switch out 1/2 turn and I plan on taking some Rs readings across the two poles of the switch to see if that gives me an idea since it may be faster.

 

Are the brake lights on when the brake pedal isnt being depressed? Since the brake switch at the pedal cancels cruise operation an incorrectly adjusted brake switch can cause an inoperative cruise control.

 

Ohmed out the switch and it appears to be fine and there is no difference between depressing the switch a little vs all the way. Once one set of connections opens up, the other closes. Brake lights come on normal, parking pawl solenoid operates fine. I did notice that the LED on the dash CC switch is out, yet the CC worked for me when during testing. My wife tells me it doesn't work more often than it does. Besides shotgunning it with a new CC dash switch, what else can I test?

 

Re-check the brake light switch since youve been playing with it. Clearance is as follows:

0.3mm clearance b/w the threaded end and the pad.

Misadjusted brake switch will affect cruise operation.

 

0.3mm = 0.01in. If I understand you correctly, the switch is going to be pressed all the way in while driving down the road. Not much margin for error is there.

 

Well I need more info on the problem in order to point you in the right direction.

 

Trans parking pawl solenoid wouldn't activate to allow you to shift out of park intermittently but at an increasing rate. I never could catch the tail lights not working (wife had kids jump out to look when it failed when possible) but there is no guarantee that they did work 100% of the time. I replaced the brake/cruise switch on the brake pedal and the trans solenoid hasn't given my wife any more grief but the cruise started acting up the day afterwards. It's worked fine for me the two times I've taken it out. I ohmed out the different poles of the switch and found the connections that are made and broken depending on whether the switch is activated or not. I couldn't tell that there were any intermittent/noisy areas during the switch travel. It's either solid open or closed. Per your 0.3mm recommendation, I readjusted it again last night using a feeler gauge. The Mrs. is aware that I made the adjustment so she'll give me an update tonight. Thanks for all your (and everyone else's) help.