Hi, there has been a problem with my shift lock since i purchased the car. (It's a 2005 Civic, Se)

I'm sure many of you know what i'm talking about. But for those who don't; the action that takes place when stepping on the brake to release the shifter allowing you to shift.

Anyways, i've been through a lot attempting to fix the problem. Including; Replacing the solenoid. When that didn't work, i went to honda, they replaced the brake light switch. The problem still occurs. They checked it out more extensively, and said that the voltage of my brake lights(since i have these:http://www.slickcar.com/productdetai...ProductID=5387) were causing a shortage, and wanted me to order from them to fix the problem. - I forgot to mention, the lights use the same harnesses, but except bulbs, the plug into another harness attached to the set of LEDs)

I said no thanks, it's not the problem.

To diagnose the problem myself, i started by unplugging the brake lights. The shift lock still did the same thing. Then i said ok, let me unplug the entire harneess #3 (http://www.hondaworld.ru/images/spare2/14S5P5/004/1.gif) since that's whatis connected to the lights. Maybe it's shorting out.

Alas, it still occurs. The same thing, no delay, it still does it continuously. So... i was going to attempt to unplug harness #2, when i just thought of coming here and asking to see what others might think. #2 is quite the pain to get out.


What do you guys/gals, think the problem can be? Honda said the tail lights, i'm thinking a shortage somewhere.

This might not be a huge problem but... it's affecting my cruise control, and considering i commute like 40 mins to school, i'd like to have that working. Since something thinks my brakes are continuously braking the cruise control does not stay on(even while driving)

HELP!! (-:

 

This doesn't seem appropriate for the Audio/Visual section. Maybe an Admin can move this thread to the General Tech help section.

By the way, why have you discounted Honda's diagnosis that the LED taillights are causing the problem? Have you tried disconnecting just the LEDs and reconnecting the stock taillights?

What year/model Civic?

 

Ah, sorry, It is a 2005 civic, SE.

The reason i did not agree with their diagnosis is because i disconnected the entire wiring harness that connects to the brake lights, and the problem still occurs. Therefore anything after than connection could not be causing the problem, right?

 

What specific brake light connector are you referring to here? Where do the LEDs hook in?

I am also a bit confused about the shiftlock and cruise control problems because, at first glance, they seem at odds with each other. For example, the shiftlock problem suggests that the brake pedal signal is not being sent or received, whereas the cruise control problem suggests that the brake pedal signal is being sent or received at inappropriate times. Also, if you have an electrical short in a wire, I wonder why the brake light fuse is not blowing? What are your thoughts?

 

Well, i disconnected all of the connections to the brake lights, on both sides. Since it still happened, i unconnected all 3 connections from each tail light. When it still occured... i disconnected the entire harness(the one that is connected to the tail lights, the one on my wing, and the liscense plate light. If you look at the second link i showed above, i disconnected the entire #3 harness) and the problem still occured.

What the guy at Honda said, which is what i thought, and the reason i wanted this fixed, is that something is shorting out, either due to the brake lights, or the wiring harness. The short is causing the brake lights to constantly send a message that the brakes are being pressed down. Since braking allows the shift lock to click, and also braking would make the cruise control stop, there probably is a problem like what he said.

The thing is, the problem he told me, like i mentioned above, can't be the problem, since i disconnected exactly what he thought the problem was, and it still occurs.

 

Okay, the problem with the shiftlock is not that it won't unlock but rather that it remains in the unlocked state, resulting in loss of the shiftlock safety feature. Right?

Do your brake lights turn ON (sometimes or always) without the brake pedal depressed?

 

LEDs draw much less current than regular bulbs. The circuit may be depending on the low resistance (high current) of the normal bulbs to work properly. When you disconnect the lights entirely, the current goes to zero, making the situation worse.

So you should try it with normal bulbs like the Honda guy suggested. If that works, you can put load resistors in parallel with the LED's, like is sometimes necessary with turn signals.

 

I think you are using the right approach to locate the problem/short. You should also disconnect the brake pedal switch connector. Does the shift lock solenoid still disengage the shift lock? If so, you almost definitely have an electrical short. Consider that this short could be at the brake switch connector, in the WHT/BLK wire branching to the cruise control unit and the shift lock relay (not shown in the circuit diagram below), or in the WHT/BLK wire branching to the brake lights that you are currently troubleshooting: