mrskywalker

Ok i was driving my car(97 civic ex with D15) and it drove fine. parked it and when i got back from class, car had no power at all.

When i turn the ignition to the first position, it would beep with the door open and when you turn on the headlights the beep would stop and headlights dont come on. And when you turn the key to 2nd and 3rd position i get absolutely nothing, no dash, no fuel pump etc.

Ive disconnected all the accessories(radio, p/l windows, etc) to eliminate a possibility of a short. the batteries(2) have plenty of charge, im getting power to the under hood fuse box and all the fuses are still good(none burnt).
ive checked all the terminal and they all look good(no corrosion and secure). I also have power going to all the main fuses(battery, ignition,etc)

the weird thing is when i was pulling the fuses to the accessories i put the key in and tried it. The power came on for a minute, the headlights worked, the dash lights were on, etc. Then i went to crank it and i hear a pop from near the passenger side/under hood fuse box area and i was back where i started.

Any ideas?

Ive sorted issues like this on my older civic but this one has got me stumped

FrankHondatech

Hmm weird. If you can hear a pop from the passenger side this is the Computer relay clicking when you switch the key and absolutly normal.

Ok you checked battery and its around 12.4V right? CHeck the battery terminal for any corrosion between the terminal and battery. There might be enought Voltage going to the car 12+ but not enought amp due to Resistance.

mrskywalker

Ok, well after more diagnosis, heres what i have found, hopefully you guys can help me out.

When the key is in the 0 position, all the car seems to be pulling now power(no voltage drop, although none of the lights work at all). When you turn it to the I position(accessories) it does the same thing, but nothing comes on(i have disconnected all the accessories to help diagnose the problem) but there is still no voltage drop. here is the biggest thing is that as soon as you turn the key to the II or III position the voltage drops from 12.2v to 1.7v so it has a huge drain, but i have not been able to find out were. Ive checked a few of the obvious places like the computer, fuel pump, etc.

What would help is if you guys could tell me all the systems that turn on when the ignition comes on so i can find the short.

mrskywalker

yea, it all checked out fine when i was looking at the battery and terminal connections. The voltage was at 12.4, but after a few hrs of trying to figure it out, it has dropped to 12.2, but ive had civics start with 11.8 before.

ezone

Will it run with a jump start?

mrskywalker

no, it will not start with a jumpstart. The power came on once after i connected a charger to it, but then when i turned the ignition to start it wouldnt even try to crank and lost all the power again.

rr081709

Possibly a bad starter or alternator, (probably one or the other shorting out) but not sure, best to test it! Not sure how you do that, but if it's shorting out that could cause the loss in voltage and both of those would conceivably turn on in the staring or third position. I'm curious as to whether your voltage readings were from before putting it on a charger or after. If you had a good battery and low voltage before a charge, that would point me toward the alternator. Checking battery should be as easy as disconnecting from car and charging then letting it sit and see if it holds voltage, or the lazy mans way take it to autozone and let them do it for you... takes about 30 mins. I'm not a car expert by any means, but have worked on my own and this is where i would Start, but you may not be anywhere close to the end. Electrical issues can be difficult to track down!

mrskywalker

I checked the voltage before i connected the charger. After having the car sit for a few weeks and towing it home the voltage did drop.

I had considered the alternator and and starter, but when i disconnected them(to eliminate a drain), the power would still not come on so that was a dead end unless im missing something.

Im almost to the point ill just have someone fix it for me, but that will be the first time ive had an issue i couldnt solve in years so its a little upsetting that this one has me this stumped

rr081709

Before you go spend the money on a mechanic, you may try the ignition switch. They're are other people that have had problems with it and there was a recall on certain models from 95-00 it's around 115$ kinda expensive. Then again so are mechanic rates by the hour. Around here they range mainly between 50 and 75 per hour. I'm lucky I know a couple guys that do it on the side for 35. That's the only other thing i could think of that would prevent you from getting power unless it's blown a fuse or relay, but you've said you checked those so i'm not to hopeful about that. Maybe someone else on here can come up with another solution. Best of luck to you!

D Murphy

Do you have an alarm installed? Sometimes, when these malfunction they can cause these types of symptoms. Also I would check the ignition switch wiring and find out what that pop was in the fusebox.

mrskywalker

no, no alarm system installed.

Alright i did a little more diagnosis and i found that one of the plugs(backside of the underhood fuse box) shorts out when the ignition is on(position 2). So i checked the ground on the ignition switch wires, each time i move the key one position more wires are grounding out. For example when the key is on the 0 position 3/5 wires are grounded, position 1 4/5 are grounded and position 2 all 5 are grounded.
i think that may be the problem, it must be my ignition switch has a short right? i wanted to check with you guys before i go spend the cash on a new one.

juanmbenavente

I have a 1999 Honda Civic and to start the car I have to connect the positive pole of the battery to the white wire that comes out of the ignition swith. Where do I have the problem?

Colin42

All the fuses good in the engine bay?