The car: 2000 Accord SE Automatic

The problem: Won't start...but wait, there's more:

Symptoms:

When first trying to start the car:
Headlights work without the key in the ignition cylinder
With key in the I position, horn and radio work
With key in the II position, the dash lights come one, the fuel pump whirs, and the CEL goes off after a couple of seconds
When the key is turned to the III position, the dash lights turn off and the car does not start.

FURTHER...

Once the key has been turned to III in an attempt to start the car, no electrical devices will work for a while. Even the headlights will not turn on and the dash lights do not light up when the key is turned to the II position.

I'm not sure how long it takes before the electrical devices will work again as this is my daughter's car and it's in the city and I'm not. Initially I had suspected the battery but it tested at 100% charge. When my son reinstalled the battery, the car behaved as described above. I walked my daughter through the start-up procedure again today to confirm the details before posting here.

Has anyone ever encountered anything like this before? Any ideas what might be behind this odd behavior?

Thanks.

 

This sounds like a problem with the electrical part of the ignition switch.

There was a recall on these switches, so you may want to have her call a dealership to see if the switch was replaced on her car due to the recall.

 

Was the battery tested on a load? If your son simply used a voltmeter, then the battery might not really be OK. How was it tested?

 

@PAhonda, the ignition switch certainly seems like it could be the problem. I am really puzzled by the way that the car behaves differently after the switch is turned to Start once and then eventually works properly in the I and II positions on the switch.

@JimBlake, we took the battery to Autozone to be tested. I don't know of any reason to doubt the validity of their finding.

 

Flaky ignition switch sounds like a good suspicion.

Even if it was replaced, especially if it was done some time ago; they just put in a new switch - not changed, redesigned, not improved. The new one can still fail.

 

Double check the ground cable, might as well check the positive while there (both ends of each).

 

Quick update:

Today we replaced the ignition switch but could not start the car. I'm suspicious of the battery because when I first turned the key after installing the new switch, the dash lights did not come on. I heard one click of a relay and that was all. It's possible that we screwed up and left the headlights on when we were last working on the car a few days ago. Since I didn't have tools with me to remove the battery, I'll do that tomorrow and make sure that it is fully charged before trying again.

I'll check the ground connection, too, just to be sure.

 

Update:

Today I pulled the battery and have it on a charger. It appears to have at least a 50% charge, based on the gauge on the charger.

Before pulling the battery, I ran jumper cables to the disabled car and tried to jumpstart it. No luck. In fact, absolutely nothing happened when I turned the key. No dash lights, no main relay click, no horn or headlights.

I checked the ground wire from the battery and the connection is a firm as can be. Same with the positive cable connection.

Now I'm really puzzled. Anyone have any new ideas, as the ignition switch clearly wasn't the whole answer?

 

I would grab a volt meter. Measure the voltage across the battery terminals.

Keep the neg prob of the meter on the negative battery post. See if you have voltage where the + cable attaches to the under hood fuse box. You can try using the + lead where the + cable bolts to the starter.

You can try the opposite, where you keep the + lead on the positive battery post, then use the - probe where the negative battery cables bolt to the radiator support and under the engine.

You are just testing the battery cables electrically.

You probably should check the main fuse in the engine bay fuse box along with the fuse for the ignition switch. Also see if the white wire that plugs into the ignition switch is getting 12V.