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Hey guys,

My 01 Civic was broken in to last night and cleaned out. The steering column was stripped and a couple of things were disconnected/cut. I'm pretty broke at the moment, so I can't afford to actually repair the vehicle yet, so I was wondering if there's still a way that I can hotwire/start the vehicle so I can at least get from place to place.

Here are a few pics of the damage. How ****ed am I? =/







Also, the headlights still work, as do the signals (if you turn on the emergency blinkers)...if that makes any difference?

Thanks for the help guys!

 
Rep Power: 353

thats pretty tuff. this one is way out of my jurisdiction.

maybe you can find some center/steering consoles on ebay or something?

 
Rep Power: 285

I agree with sl33py, I could be wrong, but I wouldn't expect anyone to be able to give much help. That wiring is a mess..

Best suggestion, pick up a wiring manual from a parts store and start sorting through that tangled mess, although I think the immobilizer might be a big issue with a hot wire/temp patch type approach..

 
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Since I still have the key, shouldn't I be able to hotwire the car myself? I'm not entirely sure how the immobilizer/engine shutoff systems work, but I was thinking that there has to be a way to get the car started since I have the key.

 
Rep Power: 812

wow what kind of idiot would try and steal a car that way. esp an 01+ civic which is near impossible to hotwire. do you have all the parts there like the ignition lock cylinder? a key by itself will not do much good. if you have the other part that was cut off, you can try to match the wires back up. its really hard to get a good solder on such thick wires tho.... when i took my alarm off i had to reconnect one of those beefy ignition wires and it wasnt easy. so much for them listening when i said do not cut any ignition wires lol.

 
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That does not look like much fun... Sorry some dumb *** did that to you!

 
Rep Power: 235

I think as long as the immobilizer (that little circuit board in the first 2 pics) itself is intact and it'll rest against the cylinder AND you can put the key in the cylinder then it should start. Of, course the ignition wires have to be spliced back together also. There should be just enough slack to solder them back together.

***Also, looks like they cut your airbag wire (the big yellow one). If you try to solder that wire together with the battery connected you may make the airbag go off. Dis-connect the battery negative cable an wait AT LEAST 3 minutes before working on the SRS system.***

That sucks, sorry man. Merry F'ing Christmas!

 
Rep Power: 518

Pfffft...Amateurs.

Gonna need:
-- a diagram for wire colors and their positions in the connector (or another identical car to look at)
-- mad soldering skillz to put the connector back together to the harness (or cut off a harness from a junkyard....actaully the ignition wires run directly to the fusebox so you could strip a harness from a junk car, but you would have to separate the 5 wires for the switch to get it.)
--an ignition switch (just the electrical portion) New or used won't matter as long as it works.


Try to reassemble the immobi ring and the other plastic stuff and reinstall them to the lock housing. It looks like the important part is intact, just missing the plastic shell.

See if it will crank up and run without the engine dying and the green key light flashing angrily.

 
Rep Power: 235

Yeah, I would find a harness and chop that connector and a length of wire off so it'll be easier to solder. Soldering it right at the connector will probably melt the connector. Usually a whole harness will cost ya about $100 but, the pull-your-own places will usually let you chop the harness. If you're close enough these guys are the cheapest around: http://www.picknpull.com/check_inventory.aspx Natinwide salvage: http://www.car-part.com/ Sometimes you can get lucky on craigslist too.

FYI: If you can't get the immobilizer to work, just to replace and reprogram is major money at the dealer. That's not including any other damage.

 
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Damn dude I hope that mother gets what he deserves if I ever caught someone breakin into my car or any one elses theyd catch a sick beaten..good luck and stay positive atleaste the cars still there

 
Rep Power: 257

wtf it looks like some old time car thief came out of retirement and tried to steal your ****.

 
Rep Power: 518

Someone watched half an episode of McGuyver.


Pros use tow trucks.

 
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If I were you, I would call the po po and get them to put that powder crap everywhere in your car for fingerprints then find out who it is so you can do the same to their car. Just sayin

 
Rep Power: 353

yea. call the cops and have them file a report.

i dont know if they will be doing any CSI work on ur car but, hey, give it a try

 
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Sorry for the delayed update guys, finally got enough money together to get some parts and whatnot. A few more questions...hopefully this will help me get it up and running again.

I replaced the ignition switch, and I'm waiting on a new connector (The wires were too short to splice/solder together). When I connect the wires and turn on the keys to the on position, should all of the lights in the car work? I imagine the immobilizer will prevent the car from starting until I get a temporary unlock code, but I'm wondering if I should still be able to see the lights on my dash?

Also...forgive me for not knowing the name of the parts, but there are two parts that go around the key hole...one is small and actually clips on to the area and contains a computer chip, the other fits directly over the first little part. They're connected to two small harnesses that (on my car) are green. The larger piece was stabbed with a screwdriver, so I switched that out as well. Will that cause any problems with the immobilizer system?

Hopefully tomorrow I will get the harness, solder it together, get a temporary code to unlock the engine shutoff, and we'll be good. Again, the biggest concern is whether or not I should be getting lights in my dash when I temporarily just twist the wires together.

 
Rep Power: 518

Nothing can work if the wire harness hasn't been fixed and connected. And powered up. See below.

Green connectors: One is the immobilizer, one is the key beeper switch. IIRC.

When the wiring was chopped, it probably blew a large fuse in the engine compartment fusebox. Fuse 20, 40 amp runs the ignition switch.

 
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Awesome! Thank you for the help. One more question...If I switch out the immobilizer, will I have to take the vehicle to a dealership to have it reprogrammed?

 
Rep Power: 518

I think so. Best you can do is try it and see if it will run. If not, then it has to be reprogrammed.

Once it is ready to run, PM me for more cheating info so you don't have to tow it.

Your 40amp fuse will look similar to this, maybe a different color. Look thru the little window on top and see inside it.


HTH

 
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Great news!

After working with the amazing ezone for a little while, we were able to get the vehicle up and running! The car doesn't even need to be taken to the dealership for the immobilizer device to be reprogrammed!

Thanks, ezone, for all of your help. Couldn't have done it without you!

 
Rep Power: 518

YW, glad to help.