When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
hey guys, i've researched this forum several times for various reasons. however today i need a thread of my own. i have a 94 accord coupe, 5 speed with the non vtec 2.2. i put a motor from a 97 in it when it through a valve through the piston. swapped dizzys and have been driving it for about 2 months.
intermittently i've had the speedo bounce or be "sluggish" then some days it works fine. that's no the issue SPECIFICALLY but it's a build up to what's happened today. on the way to work, 5am EST it's been raining so it's humid. drove the car approx 3 miles, get to a stop light and the gauges spike. car died and the battery and engine light stay on. on top of that the temp gauge stays on the H mark. NOTE it is not overheating. i push it over to a nearby driveway and proceed to trouble shoot... at 5 am. i do some electrical work and check battery. 12.71v DC. .02 ohm to ground. all grounds are tight around the intake and on the VC. now the kicker. i take the key out and the dash stays lit. battery and engine light plus the temp gauge stays maxed out. i pulled the sensor wire just to see if it was getting a signal or was stuck and sure enough. the temp gauge dropped off. i pulled the key bezel off to check the ignition switch and after a little checking. i pulled the pigtail to that and the lights on the dash are STILL on. temp gauge still tapped out. only way it goes off is if i pull the neg off the battery. no clock on the acc position either. any leads to where to look would be great. i appreciate all the advice in advance.
Tony
94 accord coupe. non vtec 2.2 5speed. stock. no sunroof.
update: went and looked at the car. put the battery terminal back on and it started first try. BUT the starter continued to run, even with the key out. pulled the cable again. pulled the switch wire and inspected it for grounding. nothing. put it back together. started normal. put it in first and it died after take off. started again. same situation HOWEVER keeping the rpms up and feathering the clutch seemed to keep it running. i made it back to the house. it cut off right in the driveway. saved me $60 for a tow and the cops were there like "who's F*%^ING car is this!?" i explained and they left. anyone think it's the ignition switch?
When the Speedo Bounces do you get hesitation with the engine? My first thought would be a bad ignitor or poor wiring to the Distributor.
The starter getting stuck on and lights in the dash staying on make me think its something else. First thought on this issue is the fact that this happened in the rain, maybe the connectors where the engine harness meet the firewall harness are loose or damaged and water is getting inside.
I guess its possible that you have some kind of damage inside the ignition switch that's causing it to make contact without the key, the replacement ignition switch isn't too expensive and an easy swap. Maybe the portion for the key and the actual ignition are no longer connected so you are turning the key and the ignition switch itself isn't turning.
no hesitation with the motor when the speedo bounces. it's just the sensor going bad i think. idles at 800-1k depending on temp. no missfires. starts on a half turn usually and runs like a top. this electrical gremlin is the biggest problem i've run into thus far. bought a new ignition since a few of the plastic clips broke off the old one when i removed it. didn't fix anything. i did find the ICU had one burnt and cracked diode. i swapped it with my girlfriends 95 one. and nothing changed. but now the fuel gauge is maxed out as well as the temp gauge. so something is overcharging the cluster? what feeds power there? i saw the diagram but it just says "under dash fuse box" hence where i found the burnt ICU
What an odd issue. You must have a wire crossed somewhere. Have you pulled out your cluster and looked behind to see if there is anything funny going on. I doubt you would find anything there. Guess you will need to find a wiring diagram and start sorting thru wires. sounds like a pain.
I may be wrong about this but the cluster wire connector is on the driver side engine bay near the resistor box/clutch master. You may want to check that for any damage/wetness. Pull it apart and look at the connectors.
There are more then a few ground points in your car, cluster grounds can generally be found high on the A pillar and behind the cluster, but start with your main grounds and see if that solves the problem. 94
i moved the battery ground from the bottom of the trans to the top. just to make sure and it didn't change anything. ohm reading on bother was .02 and there's a .01 reference on my meter. so it's actually .01ohm. i'm going to add one to the chassis on the other side and see if it changes anything inside. issue i was having after i sorted a couple things was pressing the brake would cause those gauges to go "up" and letting off they'd all reset and the lights would go off. if it does it again i'll take a video. but i got a little bit figured out yesterday. hopefully after work i get some more done.
so did some trouble shooting and the erratic electrical issue and stalling SEEMS to be coming from something in the brake switch. i can use my bypass and start the car. it will idle fine and run but once i hit the brakes it stalls and the gauges spike. that aside, the issue i'm trying to figure out is that when i turn the key only the relay clicks. the relay i hear/feel is behind the radio and on the right. it clicks but the voltage isn't making it to the starter solenoid. also is there any reason the brake light switch cause a short? i jumped the brake light harness at the switch and got the lights on while it was running and it didn't die. so it's ONLY when the switch is plugged in that it causes issues.
UPDATE: i've been digging into wiring diagrams and fsm's for the past 3 days. and with it being my girlfriends birthday weekend. busy is an understatement. but onto the info. all grounds were clear and clean. solid connections with base ohms. (just what my meter registers between leads. + about .02) so the issue i've discovered in the sweltering carolina sun is there is NO voltage at #8,9,10,11 of the under dash fuses. i can bypass the WHT/RED wire from behind the fuse block with the battery voltage AT the ignition switch with a jumper wire and the starter will fire right off. my biggest concern is A. how would i go about tracing a short circuit in that area. B. has anyone had any issues with the actual fuse block going bad? i'm tempted to remove it but honestly i've got no clue as to what i'd be testing for at this rate. there is voltage coming into the switch and back into the box from the WHT as well as the BLK/WHT wires. but after it get's plugged in. it's not getting to the WHT/RED wire which feeds a starter cut relay that pulls the solenoid.
Can you take a close picture of the wire harness connector near the injector resistor box? In the last picture it looks a little funny.
Sounds like you are getting close to the issue. I would somewhat doubt the fusebox itself is going bad, maybe a loose or damaged wire. Most of the wires under the dash are ACC powered so you would need to find the few that are always on and trace them back. I would have to double check but break lights still work without the key don't they? I believe that's true, if the little rubber nub breaks on top of the break pedal your brake lights stay on key or not.
Sorry not too much help, its one of those things that just needs to be eyed and traced.
so i finally figured it out, with MUCH coaching from everyone on this site. lol things just weren't adding up and i was pulling fuse pannels and chasing wires to the starter and voltage drop testing everything... i realize the ICU was probably the INITIAL bug since the diode in it was burnt and cracked... but putting the ignition harness in backwards was the biggest screw in my machine. lol i got so caught up in figuring this thing out. i didn't take the time to look at the simple stuff. in my fervor i turned the ignition harness around and have been testing it as such. i am man enough to admit, i goofed... bad! but i just wanted to thank everyone for being patient and giving me some SOLID advice. now to make up for lost time i'm going to boost this bitch. lol
94 accord electrical no start.
94
