I was driving home from work and then all of a sudden the rpms dropped, the temp gauge stopped working, no srs light, no check engine light (Which both were on from previously), and the D4 light stopped working. also I cant get it to shift from park with putting in the key to to release the shifter.

so just to re cap:

- no signal for rpms
- no srs light
- no check engine light
- no temp reading
- no shift indicator light
- unable to shift from park without put key to release the shifter

 

Helps to know what kind of car we are working with, but sounds like a problem with electricals. Did you check your fuses, relays, and how old is your battery? When was your last tune up?

 

But the car was still on/running?
Possibly an issue with the ignition switch.http://techauto.awardspace.com/ignitionswitch.html

 

sorry guys its a 95 honda accord LX and yes when the gauges stopped working the car was still running. also it seems that the battery gets drained pretty quickly. The other day I had the battery tested and charged just in case and it came back ok. when I put it in and started the car it started up just fine. I left the car on for while to see how the car wold act and after a while it seemed like all the power was getting drained. The engine got real weak and the headlight got really dim.

 

Sounds like you might have a bad alternator/ground. I had the same problem with my 97 accord. I replaced every ground wire under the hood and the battery terminals and no problems since.


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How many grounds are there under the hood? Is there a graph somewhere?

 

I would go to Autozone or somewhere similar and have the alternator tested

 

(I'm going off the top of my head here) 1. Battery to transaxle 2. Valve cover to drivers side engine mount 3. Drivers side engine mount to engine mount bracket (chassis) that's all i can remember.

It's been a while since i have been under the hood of my accord. Or driven it... Or thought about it... Poor car. I'm going to give her some attention tonight.


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Im guna take the alternator to get tested today

 

There is a bonding jumper on the left engine mount(timing belt), another which is part of the negative battery cable which bolts to the transmission, and a few ground wires from the harness are bolted to the thermostat housing.

 

Took the alt to get tested and it came back ok. So where should i look next...the grounds? what exactly should i be looking for when inspecting them?

 

Yes the grounds. You want to make sure they are clean, no corrosion, coating isn't to dried out and that the wire isn't exposed more than about 1/2 inch. Like mad mike said check your grounds on the thermostat housing as well. Replace your battery terminals and clean the posts.

Like i said before i had the same problem. I replaced all of the grounds and battery terminals and have had no problems since. Testing the alternator was a waste of time.


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yea but i just wanted to cover all my bases . I also have to buy a new battery cause mine came back bad

 

oh before I did tested the alt. I turned on the car and left car running for a while.after a while the engine got weaker and the headlights started to get dimmer. idk if this would point me in a different direction

 

Ground connections should be clean and tight....remove them, lightly sand them and re-install. I think the neg cable from the battery also contacts the body before it "ends at" the trans.

Do you have a volt meter? I'd want to test some voltage readings with the engine running but that is me.