ngrome

I had to get new a electrical harness, plugs, and rotor, etc. because my car wouldn't start. I confirmed the fuel pump was pumping fuel through the lines but a buddy of mine said I wasn't getting spark. So we took it to the shop and they did all that work, and of course I paid out the yin-yang. Before this happened, I haven't driven the car over three days and then I plugged in my portable DVD player into the 12V "cigarette lighter" socket on the front dashboard just to see if it could still play a movie and it worked fine, but I turned the ignition just enough for accessories to be powered on (I didn't fully crank on the engine). I only played the movie for not more than 1-3 minutes then I shut off the ignition. But the next morning, I tried to crank the engine and it went on for a very few seconds then died, then I couldn't start it after that, even though it was turning over (so the battery wasn't dead), it wouldn't ignite. You think plugging in that DVD player caused a fault in the electrical system? The DVD player was 9V-1.5A and the socket I plugged into stated it was 12V-10A, so I don't see why. Out of curiosity, I was tempted to try and plug in my portable DVD player again after I got the car back from repair, but I'm afraid to I'll make another costly mistake. (BTW, it's a 2000 Civic DX)

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

i dont see how it would cause any problem other than melting the socket wiring or blowing the fuse. its not really tied into any engine electronics. maybe you left it plugged in and it slowly drained the battery overnight.

ngrome

Thanks, but I didn't leave it plugged in at all. I only had it plugged in for a few minutes. Battery didn't seemed drained, all accessory and dash lights went on when I turned the ignition, just nothing fired. I dunno, just maybe an unfortunate circumstance and it was time to get it done at 155,000 miles. It was idling kinda low before that. Now both electrical and fuel systems have been revamped. Just hope the tranny holds up now.

jsmithe2010

If the starter fires up, and the starter takes lots of juice, ur battery is OK. Your ignition though, getting the sparks and all that maybe suspect.

DVD player... nah. Cosmic coincidence.

ngrome

Well, my **** retentive, obsessive compulsive self decided I need to know that my electrical problems were independent of pluggin in my portable DVD player, so after mulling over it after getting my car from the shop and hundreds of dollars later, I decided to plug it in again just like I did before the car stopped starting. Fortunately, the car did start up again, but I don't know if I'm imagining things, but the idling seemed to be a little lower after I plugged it in. Someone said these circuits (accessories versus ignition) are supposed to be independent of each other, but eventually they are tied together as whole aren't they, such as ground? But as long as it's starting again, that's all that matters.