Not a mechanic, but I have Haynes and Chilton and dislike both. I am having a serious elec/ground issue. I've been reading for weeks, trying to figure out the problem as that is the cheapest solution. I have read countless forum posts, leading me to believe I have a ground issue.

Just bought and that weekend or 2nd, went into walmart, came back outside after half hour, and blinkers/dash gauges blow. Ok, fuse blown, replaced and it happens as soon as try to blink again. This was about a month ago. Since the reading I've heard it can be the hazard switch, the blinker control switch, headlight switch, other hondas had a dash wiring problem with similar results. Latest through reading was it was a ground issue. I also have no horn. I search grounds online, I read the manual, and I know where two grounds are batt, and eng to chassis. I understand there's lots of grounds. A couple things that were repeated involving my problem was either headlight switch or poor ground. I looked for these grounds. Online results tend to lead me to ground effect kits. I look at the diagram for elec in Haynes, etc and I fall asleep.

I heard there was a ground by the headlights, and I'd have to remove the bumper to access. I did so today. There's a loom of wires from the headlights leading to underhood fuse box on one side, and the other side, I'm not sure where it goes. It's a thick loom of wire on each side. Last time it blew my headlight when I tried to run (Or that was random coincidence) the lights and blinkers. I've looked at all fuses and self-power tested them all. So I'm still back to this ground issue. I didn't see a wire on either side that was just stuck into the body somewhere. Did I miss it? I feel more over-read and frustrated and I am looking forward to more repairs, as I pretty desperately need this car to make it a year or two more.

My paragraphs suck, I'm sorely tired (of the problem and other). I did a continuity test on batt ground, it reads a little greater than 0 resistance, but it goes from negative to the bottom part of the engine, with a midway stop at some point I can't identify. So it's grounding two things, and that adds resistance as it's an additional stop?

I did pull off the main engine ground, scraping paint off the metal (Though if it's threaded metal, does surface paint actually matter?) The other end goes to a valve cover? Little disk on top of the engine and has a rubber seal, with what appears to be a free-standing bolt, and oil within.

So, no blinkers, horn, or tach, temp, gas. No number of fuses ever brought the horn back to life. Blinkers seem to blow more so (or faster) with headlights on. I read elsewhere that this could mean they are ground through the headlight switch, or that that is the easier ground for them to get to. But with the headlights on it causes shorts. I'm sure this is fairly trivial, but I'm near clueless. Before this I never operated multimeter, soldering iron, etc. Never worked on a car, in 20yrs of driving. While I have 2 manuals, I find neither to be very thorough nor very inclusive. Where is this ground, in english. I've been looking this problem up for near bout a month, it's all great when others answer and say the problem is a short, or bad ground. Nobody bothers to say how or where to test and locate these mysterious grounds. Ground online brings up many possible pages as ground is such a common word, not to mention selling ground effect kits. The diagram is awesome, but doesn't seem to cover every single component requiring grounds, let alone in a way I can understand it. This is probably more words than I needed to say, just frustrated with a learning curve I'm not particularly gifted for.

I've read also the horn problem may be in the slip ring under the steering wheel, so if not a common or ground issue, next place I check. Done a ton of reading and don't feel better informed on the actual problem or solving it. Thanks for sitting through it all, and for the help, if you can.

 

Can you tell us which fuses are blowing out?

You also may want to look on ebay for the shop manual + electrical manual. It will show you exactly where the grounds are located on your car. It is $25 total and well worth the money.

I don't think that the online manuals thread in the DIY section has a shop manual that you can download for the 85 accord.

 

Sorry, I forgot to include that bit earlier. I constantly get #9 (Blinker fuse, if that number is wrong) And hazard fuse under hood fuse box. I did replace the relay already, previous one had almost caught fire and I hadn't known. Tonight I replaced both headlamps, one lost to this short issue (I think) The other to my carelessness with a live wire.

From the driver lowbeam lamp, there is a spliced in power line that leads to a yes, Mitsubishi part. This mitsubishi part is attached by a 'Y' air valve, to some black air canister lookin thing. Must be part of vacuum system. This is all on the driver side, the ground wire to the mistubishi part is into the side wall, and too long. There seems to be good continuity there, but I took off the power and ground lines to the sensor entirely, and everything seemed to run normally. I don't know if he was trying to power the mitsu part, or what else. No matter which way I plug the wires back to the mitsu part, it doesn't seem to influence the driver lamp turning on. What did make the lamp turn on was run the high beam switch to the lowbeam lamp. At least now I have low beams, and blinkers. But my underhood hazard fuse was still blown after all this was hooked up.

I dunno if this is meaningful, but continuity when probed at the lamp end of the switch's plug, I get continuity ~30 when the two side ports are probed. Probing the ground and one side is 0, and I believe both sides. So there's a ground, in that loom of wire perhaps is the cause?

Multiplex control unit a possibility? It was one other thing I came across during searches.

Also, I did replace the dimmer/rheo, after replacement, no change. And I don't know the voltage it should display when light system is on, but I do know some voltage is present, it was somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of 1v, if I'm doing it right.

Thanks for the tip, I'd seen a helms manual someone had here, I just hadn't the money at the time. I found the manuals you were talking about tonight for 20$ and bought em. So I'll have those in a week~ Thanks!

 

"No matter which way I plug the wires back to the mitsu part, it doesn't seem to influence the driver lamp turning on. What did make the lamp turn on was run the high beam switch to the lowbeam lamp."
Did you check the left/drivers low beam fuse, using my 86-89 as a ref. Is there continuity from the fuse to the low beam light.

 

No. I have not tested that at all. I was driving around a good 2hrs at night, with lots of turn signal useage. After a while I said forget it and replaced, the underhood hazard fuse. Nothing has blown yet. When I got home I pulled the flasher relay, it looked pristine. Well pristine, except I cut off the relay from the new style which is larger than the original relay, and place the board in to the partly melted, older style relay. It's been there a couple weeks, new flasher old housing. No changes.

So now I have hazards, and blinkers without blowing.

Here's a couple details I'd completely zoned out on. What I was guesstimated/told it to be was the fuel pump relay. It's ticking about every second. Opening and then closing. Also, My P-D1 lights on the dash light up until the headlamps go on. And when I said I ran my headlamp hibeam wires to lowbeam, I only meant I just switched the two connectors. Even turning on the high beams caused nothing to blow. So if it was a bad ground in the wiring for the headlamp...wouldn't it be near guaranteed to blow when hi beams turn on? I guess possible for different circuit size, etc. I only know my high beams only have two posts, and my low beam lamps had 3 terminal posts on the back.

Also last night, I replaced the - battery terminal, the nut stripped. That could have a small part to play. I was reading some more, like I'm obsessing, my friend says, and the alt diodes can go out, leaving the system low in power. I did do a multimeter test, but I had no one step on the brake, but it was fully loaded with radio n all I have turned on. And both batt/alt were very well pushing the usual rated limits, 13~ with load? Is the brake light part that crucial? Just for further knowledge. I will get to autozone to get a load test and really see, but was curious about that detail.

My cruise control lights up, on dash and switch. Now my seatbelt light/buzzer go off, my batt and oil lamps come on prior to start up. I'd like to say just the dash light bulb blew, except that the gear indicator lights go off when headlamps are turned on, which seems to indicate a ground, a ground that combines both components. I need to do a little twinking on the grounds I roughed up to expose bare metal, might help some.