97 Honda Accord. Fiance drove home from work Monday with no issues. Went outside today to go to work, car wouldnt start. I go out figuring a dead battery, but hook up the jumper cables and get nothing. And I mean NOTHING. Headlights wont come on, seat wont move, no interior light, etc. Further investigation reveals the hazard lights work, the brake lights work, and the horn works. Nothing else works, and the car wont shift out of park (which sucks because now I cant get it in the warm well lit shop to work on it). I am at a loss and brand spanking new to Hondas (or anything other than Mopars for that matter). Any help would be appreciated.

Duane

 

It can be a severely discharged battery; but, check the battery fuse. See images from owner's manual. If it is blown, disconnect negative battery cable first before attempting to remove and replace. Also only replace with the same amperage. If it is an 80A, replace with 80A. If 100A, replace with 100A.

 

Will check the battery fuse, no owners manual came with the car and I havnt had the chance to browse Ebay for one yet. Thanks for the info.

Duane

 

I would suggest removing all ends of both battery cables and clean any corrosion with a wire brush. Then tighten this stuff back down. Since the brakes, horn, and hazard lights work, this probably will not solve your problem, but it is good maintenance.

Do you have a volt meter and know how to test for voltage?

I would inspect the fuses in the engine bay fuse box. More specifically the big fuse(s) that are bolted in there. Edit the fuses should be labeled battery and ignition switch on top of the cover. You should also check all of the other fuses.

If you have a volt meter, both sides of the big fuses should have 12V to ground (I always use a valve cover bolt for my ground).

You can get the car to shift out of park by inserting the key into the slot by the gear changer. That will mechanically unlock the shifter. I don't think it will unlock the steering wheel, but I am not sure about that.

 

Checking and cleaning battery cables and terminals was my first action. Being a mopar guy Im not used to under hood fuses, and with no owners manual I didnt know to look for them. After redbulls post I went and found the fuse box and yes, the one labeled "battery" was blown. So off to the parts house to buy a replacement (and a spare) after dinner. Thanks for all the help, now off to the rest of the board to figure out how to mod this thing

Duane

 

That fuse takes a lot of amps to blow, so hopefully it was just a weak fuse.

Have you done any work done on your car recently? Any mods, etc?

 

Also... there should have been a little slot near the gearshift lever where you can push your key to un-latch the shift lever & shift into neutral. (to push it into the garage)