Alright.... I'll try my best to explain this.

98 SE-R manual trans

Brother drove the car noticed that for a second he lost all power ( not electrical ) as if you turned the key off while driving hitting the gas did nothing, then came back on. He stopped at his destination went to start and didn't start.


I went looked at it, turned the key to on postion, heard weird buzzing sound as if it as a relay turning on and off fast, it was I think a sensor that sits on the plenum of the intake mani, also, heard some other clicking behind the glove box, both of which eventually stopped after a few minutes. The check engine brake light and other warning lights that are usually illuminated in the run position with the car off weren't illuminated, starter didn't engage. Tried again and the lights were on but still no crank.

Noticed the tach jumped around a little as well druring crank but with not starter engaged. I didn't do that all the time either.

Another bizzare thing, truned the key off, pulled out of ignition tumbler, all warning lights stayed on for a few seconds.... THEN then they went out...

ICM? Ignition tumbler? Something else? Battery tested and good.

Thanks all!

:( :(

ignition switch back maybe?

get a volt meter
try to start the car by pushing it
and if the car stars check volt on the bat @ 14 15 with the car running
You can try this too to check the alter while car is running
disconnect positive cable of the bat and if the car
goes off or wants to go off it is possible alter is bad
O and the clickin noises is nomal when somthing is wrong
wiht the charging system or low voltage

well it's not the charging system.

I have a feeling it's the ignition switch, but still not sure.

ok update.... don't think it's the ignition switch. Did a test, put the key in turned to on, turned it off and took out the key. All the dash warning lights came on and stayed on. So I then decided to unplug the ignition harness behind the knee brace and they all stayed on... they didn't go off... plugged it back in and turned the key on and off a few times and the lights finally went off.... is there a relay or relay pack that I should be looking for?

hmmm.... still nothing.... phat20.net is down now so I can't get a FSM, old compy broke and haven't been ableto re-download it :(

ttt? Direction to look?

alright now every time I put the key in the ign and turn it to on and then take the key out all the dash lights stay on. All ign on functions work with the key OUT of the ign. Like the blinkers and windows. The only way to turn it "off" is to pull the ign relay out of the fuse box by the drivers kick pannel.

The oil light and battery light are very slightly illuminated as well during the ign on sequence. :/

help? Is it some body control? Ground? Relay?

well the buzzing is the ECU, or close if not.

www.car-part.com has one for under 50 shipped, I'll try it out I guess...

Check the main ground that comes off of the battery. I know when I relocated my battery, I didn't have a ground in the engine bay from the chassis to the spot above the thermostat housing. The car would not crank over or anything with a brand new battery. I would take out the key and notice my dummy oil light come on very faint. I cleaned up all the grounds in my car and it started right up. Check them all over.:biggthump

Well got the ECU, nothing different changed...

Bes I will definatly do a good ground check, someone else told me to check a specific one and that wasn't it. I think i'll do a good one two over the ground system, maybe add some as well :)

Well, nothing yet, can't find a bad ground under the hood. I have found out that when I take the key out of the ign and the dash light stay on, I can still roll down the windows and blinkers work, I CANNOT use the radio or HVAC, which tells me that the ign circuit is stuck or some sort of module and not the accessory system.... ? I don't want to rule out some sort of ground yet because it would make sence as well...

still need helpy :I

I can't say I've had too much experience troubshooting electrical gremlins, but I'd approach this by getting ahold of some wiring diagrams whether it be FSM, Haynes or Chiltons.

Study the circuit with the blinkers, dash lights and power windows. Figure out under what conditions these items will receive power. See if these items share a common relay/switch of some kind.

Compare that circuit to the circuit that your HVAC and radio are on.

Do both circuits receive power from the same relay/switch? If so you can assume your relay/switch is good and you have some type of wiring problem in the dash light circuit. If the circuit with the dash lights receives power from a different relay/switch than your radio+HVAC circuit, then try replacing that relay/switch.

I'd also have a look at the starter circuit. The starter will crank as long as it is has a ground and is being feed 12V. The ground is easy, as long as it is bolted to the block it should be good. You may want to verify a DVM though.

On the wiring diagrams trace the line that feeds the 12v to the starter back towards the battery, I'm guessing you will see only a fuse and the ignition switch on that path. One of those two is bad (either that or that or there is a short somewhere in that line, which would result in a blown fuse).

My guess is that your ignition tumbler went bad. Let us know what you find out though.

Thanks AngrySquid


Well... the only reason I'm ruling out the tumbler being the issue is because as the circuit stays on with the key out of the ignition, I physically disconnected the tubler wireharness from under the dash and the circuit still stays on.

SOOOOooooo, I do agree that there is some sort of relay or some sort of module somewhere that is gone awry. Just finding that is hard.

I do have a FSM in .pdf form but it's still not easy :(

Some vids....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm_1DW5DDMs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksrn3HwD5p8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P00Oak9jpNk

Check the main ground that comes off of the battery. I know when I relocated my battery, I didn't have a ground in the engine bay from the chassis to the spot above the thermostat housing. The car would not crank over or anything with a brand new battery. I would take out the key and notice my dummy oil light come on very faint. I cleaned up all the grounds in my car and it started right up. Check them all over.:biggthump

Recently improved my grounds at the location you mention and others, most noticeable difference is car starts immediately instead of after a few cranks even when cold, and accessories no longer dim lights with use.

http://www.sr20forum.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/1504

Thanks guys again, I'm going to keep searching.... *sigh*