Odd problem on 1995 Honda Accord

Hello all, just wondering if anyone can shed some light on a problem.

My niece lives in another state and she is only 19. Her 1995 Honda
Accord is acting up and there is nobody there to help her except an
old neighbor man that knows nothing about cars.

Her situation is that her car would not start. The neighbor checked
the fuses and found a blown fuse under the hood. He replace it and
the car started. It happened a second time so he replaced it again
and then they took it to a mechanic shop. The mechanic said the
electronic module was bad so they had it replaced. The next day the
car would not start again. The neighbor replaced the same fuse and
they took it back to the mechanic. Now they say it is a transmission
fuse that is blowing and it will cost $500 to fix.

I am over 1000 miles away and don't know that I could figure this out
if I were there. So, I come to you people to ask for input. Anyone
ever heard of a transmission fuse? The neighbor does not know what
the fuse operates that he keeps finding blown.

I am afraid the shop is trying to take advantage of her because she
immediately told them "I know nothing about cars." We will talk about
that statement later but for now we need to get her driving instead of
walking to college.

thanks for any help anyone can provide.

Bob

 

I think it's a ripoff. If they replaced the ECU and it's still happening
then it is a charging system problem. Could be the alternator/voltage
regulator the gives off too much current thus blowing the fuse. I don't have
much expertise in this area so I might be wrong in this. Let's wait for
others' input.

--Viktor

 

Depends on what fuse they're referring to. Here are the possibilities:

Fuse 5, 50A ignition
Fuse 10, 7.5A radio backup, clock, ECM, trans control mod
Fuse 13, 15A PGM FI main relay

Without knowing which fuse is going, it's hard to make a call on where to
look next.

 

Thanks for the possibilities.

I just e-mailed your possibilities to her and asked her to have the
neighbor help her determine which fuse it is. Probably be this
evening or tomorrow morning for a reply.

Thanks for helping.

Bob

 

Fuse 10, 7.5A radio backup, clock, ECM, trans control mod

One thought in that regard: The factory stereo gets constant voltage
through the 7.5A fuse mentioned above and this voltage is used only for
keeping alive the memory (for radio presets etc.) in the radio. It draws
miiliamps (or even microamps) only through this fuse. Power to actually
run the stereo comes from a different circuit, switched by the ignition.

After-market stereos also have two power leads, one switched and one
constant, except the power to run the unit comes from the constant
circuit. The ignition switched wire is only used to sense that ignition
is on.

The way have have seen stereo installers work, they simply plug an
adapter cable between the factory stereo harness and the new
after-market stereo. Now you are suddenly pulling power to run the
stereo through the 7.5A ECU-backup fuse. (Stereos typically have a 10 A
fuse on the back). If you have a fairly powerful after-market stereo
hooked up this way, that could easily blow the ECU fuse.

That said, I am not convinced that a blown ECU fuse would leave you
stranded.

 

Have her take a picture if she can. Get it digital and send it to the
newsgroup.

 

I can try for a picture, hopefully she has a camera or can borrow one.

What should she take a picture of? The fuse box and pointing to the
fuse in question?

Bob

 

That would be an excellent start. If she brings it in again, you should
have her call you before she has anything else "fixed".

--John

 

Bob,
I am sorry that you are having this problem. I don't believe there is any
fuse in any Honda car that cost $500.00. I believe the mechanic may be
trying to rip you or your niece off. I don't usually encourage people to
go to Honda dealerships for service since they charge more than local
mechanics for the same work. However, if you don't know the reputation of
any local mechanics like in this case--the best thing to do is to go to a
Honda dealership. Therefore, I suggest that you tell your niece to take
the car to the local Honda dealership and have them figure out what is
wrong with the car. You may want to have your neice call you after they
come up with an estimate. Please tell us what the Honda mechanics have to
say once you find out.

 

She is trying to come up with a camera to take a picture of the fuse
panel showing the bad fuse.

I had her check the Honda dealer for an estimate of repair. My Ford
dealer will troubleshoot any problem for $35 and tell you exactly what
it will take to fix it. then you can decide whether to have them do
it or order the parts and do it yourself. Unfortunately they will not
tell her what it is unless they get the repair job.

The mechanic shop she talked to said that it was a transmission fuse.
I never heard of that before but know nothing about foreign cars (or
too much about american/canada/mexico made US cars).

She is now saying that the fuse blew and the neighbor replaced it, she
drove for a couple of weeks and it blew again. Replaced it again and
drove less time before it blew. Now the car won't even start.

Getting information out of her is hard because she omits things that
SHE thinks are unimportant.

Thanks for the help so far, I will keep adding to this until it is
fixed.

Bob