1998 Accord EX. This has happened 3 of 4 times now, today being the latest. The engine will crank, but won't turn over. And the shift interlock won't let me shift out of park. When I first got the car, this fuse was blown, and the previous owner had something stuck in the shift interlock bypass. But at that time, the car would start, even with that fuse blown.

So today, I got gas. When I went to drive off, it happened. First thing I checked was the fuse, and it's fine. I bypassed the interlock and shifted into gear and back to park. Tried again, no start. Shifted to neutral, still no start.

I suspected the brake pedal switch could be an issue. So I went and tapped it with a hammer, and the car started fine. Bad brake switch explains the shift interlock, but it does not explain why the car won't start. Afterwards, I had to check and confirmed that the car does indeed start without pressing brake down.

Anyone else encounter the same/similar issue? Could something else be causing it, other than the brake switch?

 

Which fuse?

Want to make sure what you are describing. Is this a crank/no-start where the starter motor spins the engine, but the engine won't run on its own (when you normally release the key)?

 

The fuse is in the box under the hood. I believe it is labeled "STOP."

It will crank, but not start.

It hasn't happened again since yesterday. Also, my cruise control just started working today and that has never worked. So I assume the cruise issue was also related to the brake pedal switch.

 

Had to do some digging and the fuse is #47 20 amp and protects a bunch of different items. The shop manual doesn't have the simplified labels, so the fuse box cover usally has the fuse numbers that helps us figure out items quicker.

A bad brake pedal switch/gear position switch would only disable the starter and would be a no-crank/no-start. You have an intermittent crank/no-start, so your problem is likely lack of spark or lack of fuel. You'll need to troubleshoot further.

As for the blown fuse, you don't have a dead short to ground, or the fuse would blow immediately. Keep the cruise control light on, because I think the CC light would turn off when the fuse blows. Keep an eye on the CC light and see if something would cause the fuse to blow. The horn is on that circuit, so try the horn to see if the fuse blows. This will be a process of elimination as there are other items protected by the fuse that could short out when activated. The key interlock solenoid is also on that circuit. A quick check for the brake pedal switch is to verify the brake lights turn on when you press the brake pedal.

 

I don't have the shop manual, but the fuse box shows this fuse labeled as STOP. There's no number on it. That is the correct one, though. It's a 20A and the circuit contains the brake lights, horn, and possibly more.

I didn't figure this one out exactly, but I still believe it's an electrical issue.

The STOP fuse was blown when I got the car. I tracked that down to the horn because it blew every time the horn was honked. Once I replaced the horn (only $8), the fuse has not blown again.

Cruise control never worked, until I tapped the brake light switch with a hammer. Even when the problem occurred, the CC light did not go out.

The problem did escalate, to the point of stalling when I was on the highway, and then not starting again. That's when I started to realize jiggling wires and kicking the steering column would get it to work again. Another symptom I noticed is, when the problem is occuring, the D4 light on the dash will not light up. That's the shifter indicator. However, D3 and all the other shifter lights lit up fine.

I happened to get stuck at AutoZone. The car wouldn't start. So I went ahead and replaced the brake light switch in the parking lot. It ran fine for about a week, so I thought for sure that was the issue. But then it started happening again.

I was only able to check the brake lights twice when this happened, and they were working. The shift interlock is inconsistent. Sometimes it won't shift out of park, and other times it's fine.

The problem has to be near the steering column because jiggling things around there seems to affect the issue. I took the covers off and inspected the wiring but I couldn't find any shorted wires or anything obvious. But it's been running fine since I did that :\