i was stripping down some rear disks to go on my 4th gen the other day and went to go start my car with the intention of goin home, started ok only that was the problem, it wouldn't stop startin! the starter wouldn't disengage in the run position(i didn't actually need to click it to the start position, it started from: run). still turned off in accessory position. first i blamed the alarm, so i kicked it, no change. then i blamed the wiring that i've installed since owning the car years ago but soon realized that its now more complex under the dash than most spacecraft. so finally i blamed the ignition barrel. stripped away the column checked the terminals: all in order so i hit it with a hammer, hey presto, it worked fine again. i've since sprayed a load of electrical component cleaner in there and worked it around and it hasn't done it since(4 days). its done 110k miles and had 7 previous, ham fisted, owners.

So im wondering, do i change it or risk it happening again?
i dont fancy pricing a new one and a full set of locks up from honda, they charged me £30 just for a top hose for my radiator!
Has anyone else had this problem or similar? or was it just dirt in there?



proving the old adage that if it doesn't work, hit it, and if that doesn't work, GET A BIGGER HAMMER!

 

my ignition switch started smoking one time. scared the hell out of me, thought my car was on fire. i replaced it and never had a problem again.

 

any idea what price i might be lookin at?

 

I replaced mine as well, cost is around 40 bucks.

 

when my went bad, it would stall me while driving...

 

you wont need to get new locks or anything.
the switch and the lock cylinder and two completly different parts. I've replaced both of mine. my switch was because sometimes it wouldnt turn off all the way, and the lock cylinder because it was really hard to turn and sometimes didnt click into the right spot. everythings better now though.
my switch was around $40

 

The contacts inside the ignition switch tend to go bad. You can either sand the contacts and clean it or just replace it. Both worked for me but the ignition harness are a dime a dozen at the junkyard.

 

Yeah the harness's are cheap at a junkyard,but how many times do you want to replace the same part? People Honda's have always (as did others-not bashing here) with the Ignition harness. Just buy a new one(which will correct the problem they had with the old ones)from a Honda dealer and be done with it.

 

How do you get to it ?
Do you need to remove the sheer bolts that connect the lock cylinder to the steering collumn ?
Thanks

 

yea, good point, how do u remove it all? since we got this far we might as well go through the lot of it all...

 

First take the under part of the steering wheel cover off, 3 screws. Then take the 2 screws holding the ignition switch together, then there is another screw holding this other little white box on. Then unclip the harness and the ignition switch and old harness will come off.

 

Also make sure the switch you get is set to off. Mine was switched to ignition I and when I installed it the key would bot switch to START.

I had to remove it again and turn the switch to the correct position.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 90blackcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">First take the under part of the steering wheel cover off, 3 screws. Then take the 2 screws holding the ignition switch together, then there is another screw holding this other little white box on. Then unclip the harness and the ignition switch and old harness will come off.</TD></TR></TABLE>
yup, this is right. and the little white or black box is for the door chime. when the key is in the ignition, it gives power to the door switches, so when the doors open, the chime goes off.

trust me, i had a lot of trouble with this door chime thing

 

hmmm, thanks fow the advice but im not sure it applys to my car, being uk spec. cant see any miltiplug, or screws other than the ones that hold the wires on the back of the switch, is this how yours are?
cant see any white box either, i seem to remember that the door chime(tone) was incorporated into a sort of makeshift ecu on the back of the fuse-box, as my car didnt come with an ecu(and now im running a 145mph v-tec with remote start!).
i might just fit a push button starter without a key and let the clifford take care of all the security. any advice? im runnin an avantguard with 3 wire immobilisation. the ignition barrel isnt much of a security device anyway these days is it?