2003 Accord 4 cyl, door-related problems.

I have two distinct door-related problems.

Imprimus, my car no longer knows when my door is open; this means that
the light doesn't come on, a key left in the ignition doesn't cause the
reminder sound, and there may be other possible repercussions I don't
know about. It's not the light, which works fine. Whatever the modern
equivalent of the little plunger that used to be in the door and opened
a circuit when not depressed has ceased to work.

What I seek is some idea about how/where to look for solutions. I have
a Helm's, but didn't find anything in an admittedly cursory perusal.


Secundus, the window in the same (driver's) door is becoming very
hesitant to go up. It works, albeit slowly, if the car is running, but
is resistant enough to stop altogether if the engine is not running. It
is not (directly) a battery problem; none of the other three windows
exhibit this behavior.


Thanks for reading.


RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen
--
"What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned
from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?
Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon
and pacify them." --Thomas Jefferson to William Stephens Smith, 1787. ME
6:373, Papers 12:356

 

Sounds like your door switch is not opening when the door is closed.
On my car, this also lights the little red "door" light on the dash if
that were
to occur. New switch time.. BTW, mine older model uses a sliding
switch
with a plastic "hook" that the door shuts against. It's not like the
usual
pushbutton type you see on most US cars. But I dunno about your
newer model. if you pull the switch loose, and unhook one of the leads
and the problem goes away, it's the switch not opening.

You need to grease up that bugger.. That's bad for the motor..
Probably the gear/regulator section getting dry. Also cold might make
it
worse. Also make sure it's not sticking on the window seals..Sometimes
spraying a light shot of something can help the window slide along the
seals better. IE: a small amount of silicone spray, or whatever..
My crank windows on my old 68 ford truck used to be real hard to
turn. Greased up the regulators, etc, and after getting it broke in, I
can
turn the handles with my index finger. It's lasted quite a while too,
as they
are still easy.
MK

 

You have names for your car AND your window?! ;-)

Pax,
Dan D
'07 Ody EX
Central NJ USA

 

take the switch off and clean up the contacts. apply dielectric grease
to prevent future corrosion. if bad, replace.

if the system is fouled up, the lower voltage of battery only may not
provide sufficient "oomph" to work it. need to take the mechanism out
and clean everything up. often however, something will be broken or
something like cable frayed. replacement is the easiest and most
reliable long term solution.

 

the key clue is "/two/ door-related problems" [my emphasis] - imprimus
translates to "in the first place". you can figure the rest out from there.

 

It must be terrible to go through life without a sense of humour. {;^)

 

Thanks, Jim and others.

I took my Odyssey in for 120K checkup, and mentioned this to the service
provider. She said that what they do with the window is silicone spray;
they would do something else if that didn't resolve the problem.

Life is hectic now, but I hope to get a few minutes soon to pull the
door switch and look at it.

Thanks again, folks.


RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen

 

silicone spray won't do much if it's an issue with the contacts - it
will protect once cleaned, but won't resolve the problem if dirty. and
a dealer won't clean, they'll just replace. the cheap and possibly most
satisfactory solution is the d.i.y. cleanup job.