ok so I just agot a 98 accord today. drove it around all day, no problems. I park it at home, and go to leave again, and cant get car out of park.

brake lights dont work, horn dosent work.

did some research and saw this is a common issue.

Check tail light bulbs, and saw one was burnt out. I replaced it.

Chekced tail light fuse, saw it was burnt. I replaced it, but new fuse blew IMMEDIATELY.

Remembered when i was driving around today earlier, i noticed an awful burning rubber type of smell. Didnt think it was the car then, but starting to think that it was afterall.

Checked the brake pedal switch, but it appears to be fine. Did notice that the wires coming out of the switch are losing their rubber, (you can see some of the copper) but they do NOT looked to be melted(theres no way what i smelled came from the tiny amount of rubber thats missing here...).

I read some people saying that you can bypass this saftey issue by putting your ignition key into console, by shifter. Well this honda does not seem to have a spot for the key there. I can not shift it out of park, regardless of where the key is in the ignition. Seat belts fastened, e brake on or off, I just cant move it out of park. So i cant even drive it to a garage. (very frustrating!)


I dont know what else to do at this point. ANy advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

On the 98+ cars, you have to lift up that little bezel around the gearshift lever. Underneath there you'll find the place to stick a key to unlock the shift lever.

Burned insulation is probably just caused by a short circuit somwhere else drawing too much current through those wires. OTOH, a tiny little bit of insulation can make a lot of smell...

 

I got the shift lock to release. What a relief!! Now it dosent have to be towed...

However, If anyone has an idea as to how i might fix it myslef and avoid the garage alltogether, id appreciate it.

 

Well, just know that you are driving without brake lights.......

Do you like chasing wires and have a volt meter? You say the fuse blew right away-so is this "as soon as you installed" or as soon as you hit the brakes.

Look in the DIY section for a manual you can download.

 

It blew the second I put it in.

I keep thinking about that burning rubber smell....After smelling that, it seems the probelm shouldnt be too hard to spot, if I only knew where to look....

 

ok, well i found out what it was the burned and gave off that smell. There was a clump of melted wire hanging down inside of the trunk. I found out that these wires use to go to the spoiler light. However, the spoiler has since been removed and the last owner just connected the loose wires together.

So, I un-clipped the whole cluster of melted wires and just plugged the other end of good wires directly into the third brake lamp thats inside the car, in front on the rear window. (I was wonderiing why this brake lamp didnt have anything plugged into it. Apparently they just leave it empty when they install the spoiler option...)

Anyways, I plugged it in, and replaced the fuse, and it still blows. It blows the second I put it in. Wiring looks good, the brake pedal switch is good, all light bulbs are good. Any ideas where else I should be looking???


Dont know if this might be related, but the fuse for the dome light also blows as soon as its put it....

 

They may or may not be related.

I would unplug the brake switch, replace the fuse, then see if the fuse blows.

If the fuse blows, then the short is between the fuse box and the brake switch connector.

You should consider getting a shop manual for your car. It will have accurate wiring diagrams to help with the electrical troubleshooting.

Also, do you have a multimeter?

 

Since it WAS shorted back there, maybe some insulation is burned off allowing the wires to touch ground... SOMEWHERE between the brake pedal and the rear light sockets. This might be a real pain to find if it's buried in the wiring harness somewhere.

 

I realize this thread is old, but in the event someone wants to try an easy fix, give this a shot.

My 98 V6 EX shifter would not budge. The release switch made zero difference. I was visiting friends and after failing to get it to work, my friend thought my battery terminals were a bit corroded, so he popped the cables and used a wire brush and some sandpaper to clean them up. IT SOLVED THE PROBLEM much to my dismay. Obviously, it was not getting enough current to that component, but someone else might be able to explain it better than me. Good luck.