I have a strange problem with my 95 Accord ex

Yesterday, I was backing out of a driveway when my drivers side lower ball joint broke and dropped the car to the ground. The car was still running so i shifted into park (it made a grind noise) and turned it off. I was immobilized and had to get it towed to a local suspension shop.

The lower ball joint was replaced on both sides ...and the CV shafts were also done. According to the mechanic, the axel broke right into two pieces (where it enters the transmission). Everything was fixed, no damage to transmission and I began driving it home. It runs perfect, shifts perfect and there is no longer any suspension noise.

Here is where it gets strange (this was not a problem before this suspension repair):
I go to put the car in park and then turn the car off ....but the radio and vent fan continue to run. The car is in off but i can still turn on the radio (or fan). The recirculation lights on the temp control section stay on. Ive never had this problem occur. I called back up to the shop just before they closed. They were baffled since they didnt touch anything electronic. The transmission cable was fine (according to them). I am able to snap the steering column into locked position and the key comes out ....but there is still power going to my radio and heater controls.

I manually turned the radio and blower fan off (the recirculation light is still lit). ANyone have a clue why this is happening or what might cause this?

Im confused

 

Get ahold of one of our Honda Techs in here and tell them of this post of yours...
Look up Chiovnidca or look up Jim Blake or maybe even
deserthonda if you can get them..

 

Strange coincidence, but I can't imagine it being anything other than a coincidence.

First I'm gonna rant about the ball joint. That's one reason I do my own oil changes. (You think it's unrelated, huh?) When I change oil I also rotate tires. When I take each tire off, I look at all the balljoints & axle boots & brake hoses & all the little junk. So I hope stuff like that doesn't sneak up on me.

I think you were really lucky that balljoint didn't let go on the highway at 70mph.

OK, I'm done ranting. Sorry, nothing personal about that.......

They didn't touch anything electric, so unless you have any reason to doubt that, it can't be unrelated. The electric part of the ignition switch is known to get flaky in Hondas, & switching OFF that stuff is part of it's job.

The steering lock is a separate little mechanism from the electrical switch, so that doesn't really prove anything. You could try wiggling the key to make the fan & radio go on & off, that would PROVE it. But I bet the electric part of the switch is bad.

 

Jim

Yes ...i am very lucky. I was just on the highway (doing 70mph) just about 10 minutes earlier. I also had my twin 21 month infants in the car with me. That was the first thing that came to my mind. Im so lucky that this didnt break on me just a few minutes earlier. It could have lead to a terrible accident and possible harm to my children. It felt bad enough going out while slowly backing out of a driveway.

I'll look into the possibilty of the switch

Thanks

 

Followup

Ok ....how to i explain this. Well ...the problem disappeared.

I jump started the car, got it running, charged the battery ....and all is well. No more weird electrical problems (been driving for a few weeks now).

I think my car acts strange if you park it on an incline. I had trouble starting the car about 6 months ago after parking on an incline. A few hours it was fine.

The day i left the suspension shop, i went straight to an auto parts store. The parkinglot had a dip ....and i parked in it (nose was facing downward and towards the driverside -towards a sewer). When i turned off the car, thats when i noticed all the electrical issues (heater controls stayed on, etc).

The next morning i was unable to start the car because the power had drained out of the battery .... the recirculation/heater control lights were on ...and drew down the battery. Later that evening, i disconnected the battery, reconnected, jumped, let it run ....turned it off ...and everything was just fine. I've driven it everyday since ....with no problems.

Strange ...but it fixed itself

 

Wow...
Thanks for posting the update, anyway.

I really hate it when a problem magically goes away because I never know what caused it or when it's gonna come back.

Parking nose-downwards maybe related? How about a worn wire somewhere in the wiring harness making contact somewhere? Not shortingto ground, that would blow a fuse. Somehow making contact to supply those circuits with power even when switched off? That's really bizarre and it could be a real PITA to find it.