ok so i swap out my VSS and axle and go to start car and it doesn't start, just a tapping noise from the starter. i continue to try and then something under the dash starts smoking. i bypass and directly connect the starter to the battery and get the car running.


main relay or ignition switch??????

- also just replaced ignition switch 1month ago w crummy cheap a

 

Your first step when something is smoking is NOOOOTTTT to start hotwiring stuff. I advise you to stop driving the car until you get under your dash and find what melted.

Usually smoking is caused from wires that are being shorted to voltage or shorted to ground. You likely have melted bare wires/components under your dash that are dangerous because they can ground out and possibly burn your car to the ground.

If you can't find melted wires/components, have a fire extinguisher ready and turn the key to "on". LISTEN for sizzling and watch/smell for smoke.

If all is safe, then proceed to test your electronics: headlights, turnsignals, dashlights, radio, windows, etc...but always be listening/watching/smelling for trouble. When those wires get juiced, it can be bad. If you find something that isn't working, it probably has a blown fuse because the wires shorted. Inspect those wires before putting in a new fuse (if it was blown).

--TJ

 

And if you are only getting a "click" out of the starter, then you need to thoroughly inspect grounds and power wires under the hood that go to the starter. Also check for corrosion that is keeping wires/terminals from making a solid connection. i.e., on my wifes car yesterday, I had to clean the rust off the wires on the POS+ battery terminal before it would start instead of "click".

 

ok well bypassing my ignition and getting the car running tells me the failure is on the ignition system. when i do not bypass and try to start my car normally a small amount of smoke forms. do you think it is a short, main relay solders, or ignition switch????

 

I am not there and cannot troubleshoot shorted components with what you have told me. I have already told you how to try to narrow it down by turning the key to the on position and testing your electronics,.....etc etc (see steps above)

I have already told you that loose/corroded connections will cause a no-start. If you are using jumper cables you are bypassing possible loose/corroded connections. Jumper cables = start" does not mean that your problem is in the ignition system (if you are referring to wiring between the key switch and the starter).

The only thing I can tell you for sure is: If it ONLY smokes when the key is fully turned to the "crank" position, then your fault is very much narrowed down BUT....you still need to get under there and start inspecting for melted/bare/shorted wires or components.

Please take the time to follow all the steps I listed earlier and post your detailed results so I will have information to help narrow it down.

 

[QUOTE=jdm_rb20;47049758]

The only thing I can tell you for sure is: If it ONLY smokes when the key is fully turned to the "crank" position, then your fault is very much narrowed down

yes, read please, i said twice it only smokes when i go to crank

 

Dude, just do what he said. His troubleshooting techniques are bang-on.

It seems like you are the one who needs to read.

 

Thanks. I do what I can but I have limited info on my end.

 

damn i love asking for help on forums cause not matter what i always get talked down to...

 

Why ask for help when you are clearly not willing (or not capable?) to perform the troubleshooting?

 

Sorry if you are offended. I always hate when people tell me "search" after I have already searched. However, it is extremely important for you to find the source of the smoking before your car burns up.

Then I need your results for other electronic systems so I will know what to "assume" is a good systems. I want to rule out any wiring I can, because they all usually come together at your ign switch and/or fuse boxes.

Btw, where exactly do you see the smoke coming out of? (steering column, center-behind-the-radio, kickpanel by driver's left foot, left of dash, etc etc??...please try to pinpoint?

 

and they say Canadians are the nicest people,hrm...and how do you know im not performing these troubleshooting tasks, in the nude,wearing just my tool belt, and im just not posting about it, because im scared of what youll think.

im not offended by anyone, sorry its ****n monday, and i work in "paradise", i was slightly panicked as i am now inconveniencing my family without my DD and i wanted a direct answer to my problem. only i can find that answer, and you can only aid me. i do not mean to offend any ht member either, except ANDO, ha!, jk.

ANYWAYS i will try your steps. i can eliminate bad/loose battery cables because that has occurred to me on two hondas before and i can recognize it just by the sound. checked all fuses and starter wires and other wires in the engine bay i worked near.

but first i am going to swap in a new ignition switch and try it one more time because Saturday the day before the no start, i was hitting vtec and it started to do this lagging, jerking motion . same thing that happened that last time my ignition switch went out. so im really hoping its this **** aftermarket one and everything else is ok.

yesterday i climbed under and was staring straight up at my main relay and started to crank her. smoke came from further back and above. couldnt really pinpoint but it looked like above the pedals, almost coming from behind this foam crap, like from where the pedals connect, maybe from the kick panel, smoke just appeared in that general area

 

You may have already said, (i am too tired to re-read everything), but how long ago was it that you replaced your ignition switch? With what you just said in the last post, I can picture this series of events:

1) Something shorts/grounds out (on a wire leading from the ign switch wiring)
2) You notice the lagging, which is actually your engine trying to turn off several times. (however, a 5sp that is moving AND in gear automatically "roll-starts" it automatically)
3) Your switch finishes burning out.
4) The original short/ground is still causing smoke and burning out your ign wiring/switch

I'm sleepy...just a theory...Look for those melted wire(s) when you are replacing that switch. if you are familiar with wiring, you can make your car a push-button start with 12ft of 10ga wire and a push-button, just make sure you are familiar with 12v electronics, the signals that the start is supposed to get, and remember that you work at your own risk. It's the same as using those jumper cables to bypass your problem...just wiring from fuse-box >>>> push-button >>>> starter (assuming the starter gets a 12v switched signal....if it is supposed to get a GROUND- switched signal, then wire from GROUND- >>>> push-button >>>>> starter....

I'm half asleep already....work at your own risk, but it should be simple...just make sure you know what you are doing. The only downfall is that your original problem may still be shorting out and it is possibly still a fire hazard

--TJ

 

oops..too sleepy...I am getting threads mixed up..you didn't use jumper cables to start. That was another person. same thing though, but you used a wire straight to the battery...guess that means you know what switched signal to give it if you are going to put in a push button start switch..

 

holyyy S my engine is turning off and roll starting itself at like 6300rpm. dnt even know that was possible. engines are cool.

yes i was ignoring that thought in the back of my head, that maybe my problem was not the ignition switch that i replaced two months ago tops, but rather sum other ground or shorted wires that were causing the ignitions switches to die out. awesome. im not that electrically savvey but rite now i would guess that those shorted/ground wires are after where the ignition switch plugs into, one being in the kick panel, idk where the wires go to next. my wiring setup is a bloody mess, the previous owner must have been color blind and must have used his feet when doing the wiring. when i took off the ignition switch off a 2months ago it was hacked up with this stupid kill switch i removed it but not the alarm...**** i just realized.. the rest of my alarm, is it hooked up to the ignition switch? or control any of the engines power source?? could this whole thing just be revenge of the ghetto alarm that was wired in a 3rd world fashion??

damnit if not my ig switch, this mite be expensive, as i do not have patience to jump in and teach myself electrical wiring on a setup that is wired wrong to begin with. id be willing to pay just to get all my wiring back to stock. this is too much for one day.

 

I have had a little more sleep now..got about 4hours last light, but that's enough for me to think a little for clearly.

1. As long as you are sure that it ONLY smokes when the key is turned to the springloaded "crank" position, then you can assume there is NO voltage to the affected wiring/components when the key isn't in "crank".....sooo....

2. The same way you jumped 12v to the starter, you can run a wire from the fuse box (inside car) to a push button switch, and then run the switched 12v wire to the starter....

just be sure to unhook the original factory starter wire. After all, you don't want your new 12v wire to provide voltage in a reverse path back TO the affected wiring components...that will make for more smoke..

If your wiring is all jacked up, it might be easier to go to a junkyard and, starting at the ign switch, start uninstalling as much harness as possible. At the very least, you will have a chance to check out proper factory wiring so you will know what your wiring should look like.

And yeah, this could be the result of flawed alarm wiring. Most alarms kinda function like a remote-controlled-switch (like the proposed push button)....They receive a factory 12v signal wire, but they only let it out to the ign switch if the alarm is turned off properly (or the remote start is pressed...this will also allow 12v to be released from the alarm and applied to the starter wire.