So I went to start the car today and it wouldn't turn over. Fuel pump wasn't priming and accessories weren't working either. All lights and door locks did work though. Checked battery and it tested good. Ended up finding that the Ignition Switch 40a fuse under the hood was blown. I replaced it with a new one and as soon as I turned the key it blew again. Didn't even have the chance to turn over or attempt to turn over. Just what my next move should be. I'm thinking that I should replace the switch. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

car is a 2000 civic se with stock engine

 

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Does the fuse blow when the key is turned to ON(I) or ON(II)?

 

make sure there are no loose wires coming in contact with anything..

 

if you have an alarm sometimes the wires off the back of the ignition are spliced dirty status and could be grounding out

 

Sorry about the missing info. I added that in the original post. I will check for any loose wires when I return from work. With regards to when the fuse is blowing, I believe it blows when in the crank position. I will double check this when I get a few extra fuses tonight.

 

Knowing which position [ON(I), ON(II), ON(III)] of the ignition switch causes the fuse to blow will help pinpoint the short.

If it only blows in ON(III), then check whether the starter motor has the short.

 

okay, thanks for the replies so far. i just went out installed a breaker to test when the circuit is breaking. It seems to be blowing the circuit when in the cranking position. All accessories are working on ON II. I pulled the starter terminal and tried it again but the circuit blew again. where do i go from here?

 

okay so I jumped the starter and it started the car. i went to move the car up the driveway to a better spot and noticed when putting the car in gear, it shifts really hard (the engine jumps when putting it in gear. Automatic trans). can this be related? im thinking that it may be the ignition switch causing the fuse to blow. is there a way to test it?

 

your starter wire (signal wire) is probably touching the starter housing and shorting

 

that is definitely not happening because I was able to jump that wire perfectly fine and start the car.

 

I just remembered that before I started working on the car I had to move it back but the I couldn't move the shifter due to the blown fuse. I ended up using the interlock bypass to shift into neutral and roll it back. Any ideas if this could have effected the way it is shifting now? I find it extremely weird that it is clunking into gear now, when it was perfectly fine the last time I drove it. Or maybe does it have something to do with jump starting the starter to get the car running. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

happened to me in my crx. turned out i had removed my electronic oil pressure gauge and just tucked the wires behind my dash. one ended up grounding out. since i had the backlight hooked up to my ignition column, the wire grounded out and kept blowing my fuse.

if you really wanna know why it keeps blowing, unplug your distributor and the problem will become apparent real soon.

 

Not sure I follow you on that. What does unplugging the distributor have to do with it? I've been checking for shorted wires but haven't found any.

 

You may want to read these links which may help you find the short:

http://techauto.awardspace.com/ignitionswitch.html

http://hondaaccordforum.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=26261

 

Those are some great links. Thanks!

 

It may or may not be the ignition switch; but, adding the information of the two links together gives helpful information (e.g., diagrams, descriptions, etc.) on the wiring and circuitry to try to narrow down where the short may be, e.g., ignition wire harness, wiring, what to test, etc. Good luck on finding the problem.

 

Remove the front console and then unplug the 14P connector from the A/T gear position switch. Does this prevent 40A fuse 42 from blowing?

 

I disconnected the gear position switch and the circuit still blew. I'm going to attempt to test the ignition switch. Any other suggestions?

 

okay so I tested the ignition switch as indicated in the manual using the 5P and 3P connectors. In position 1 there was no continuity between the WHT/BLK (5P) and YEL (5P) wire. Everything was okay in position 2. In position 3 there was no continuity between YEL (5P) and BLK/YEL (5P), as well as YEL (5P) and BLK/WHT (3P). Does it make sense that this could cause the fuse to blow? I only ask this because most threads that I have read regarding ignition issues, usually didn't blow a fuse.

 

misread the chart. went out and retested the switch and everything checks out okay.

 

Note that your tests of the ignition switch would not detect a short, which is the problem you are having.

Based on your tests, there is a short in either the ignition switch or the Blk/Wht wire that runs from the ignition switch to the A/T gear position switch. Disconnect the ignition switch connectors and test the Blk/Wht wire for continuity to body ground. If there is contnuity to body ground, then the short is in the Blk/Wht wire. If not, replace the ignition switch.

 

Actually I was able to find out that the aftermarket alarm/remote starter was the issue. I yanked it out and the car starts up good now. The only issue I'm having now is that the car clunks into gear really bad. Also seems to not move very much when giving it gas. Haven't really taken it for a drive because I'm worried that the transmission is going to blow up. I find it really odd that this problem occurred at the same time as the starting issue. Is there any way that this isn't just a coincidence? I checked the fluid level and it looks good. The only thing that I can think of that I touched was the emergency transmission release thing (the slot that you put your key into, so that you can shift the transmission without having power). Is it possible that is related to the issue?

 

The alarm system must have tapped into the Blk/Wht wire running between the ignition switch and A/T gear position switch.

 

But the transmission is still very harsh when I shift into drive or reverse. Where do you suggest I look to fix this. I really do appreciate all your replies. They have been very helpful

 

Is the idle abnormally high?

Is the ATF level low or old?

Any CEL codes?