Thanks for the advice yet again guys. I just called the Honda people who are fixing my car and the guy there said that it was likely to be an electrical/wiring issue, because (1) the radio wasn't working and 2) when he disconnected the radio, then he could get the car started. He says the alarm etc was wired through the radio and that a specialist would take a look at it Monday.
any of these things make sense?

Cheers

 

Most likely he's telling you the truth, it does sound like an electrical problem if he says he disconnects the radio and the car turns on then yes it would seem like an electrical issue. Be ready for a nice surprise bill when you go pick it up though.

 

ohh boy.. how much do you think this surprise bill is going to be?
Is this a common problem?

anyone know anything about it or how it can be prevented?

Thanks

 

Well i can't really say weither it's a common issue or not as i've only seen one other car with electrical problems and that's my 94 Accord. Never heard of cars with electrical problems. From my experience i would say cars with electrical problems come from cars that have or were modded in the past.

Tell me do you know if you car has or had any modifications in the past besides the alarm you have? Intakes, Exhaust, Turbo, Aftermarket stereo, neon lights, head lights, HIDS, etc.... Anything that has to do with wires could be the reason why your alarm has been acting up. Maybe someone had some kind of modification on the car and then pulled them out and other wires got loose or ripe them out.


The bill i don't really know but it's probably gonna be somewhere between $200-$400 i would assume. I'm only guessingso don't quote me on that as i have no idea how much it really is, it's just a pure guess and the reason why is because it's honda. anything you do at a dealer will cost about 1.5 times more than a shop. but look at it like this. Would you rather not get the electrical problems fixed and risk dying because of a fire caused by electrical problems while your driving? Any unprotected wires near the fuel lines could spark a fire you know. At least they should get all your electrical problems taken care of. I would ask when you go pick it up how much electrical problems the car has and if they took care of it just to be on the safe side. Let us know how much the bill was.

 

You know now that i double looked at previous post you mentioned that the guy told you the radio wasn't working and that when they disconnected the radio the car turned on. the problem could be in the radio itself. Maybe it's broken and a replacement would fix the problem or it could be the wires or harness that are causing the problem. either way if they are still checking into i would personally go over there and ask them to show me if the radio is damaged first as that's easy and cheaper to fix. just be on the lookout for their response when your actually there to pick up the car. ask them questions and see how they respond. usually they'll give you the truth but you gotta be on alert cus they see your a girl and if you look like a clueless girl (not mentioning you in particular just saying in general) they'll try and milk a clueless girl for as much as they can. they may just tell you electrical wires needing to be fixed and charged you say $300 when it was could really be a damaged radio that you can buy at a junkyard for $50 and hook it up yourself and save $$$$.

 

thanks for your patience.. No I have not fitted the car with any of the stuff that you mention. I bought it in 2002 and my understanding is that everything was standard for the '97 EX model including the alarm etc.
I bought it at 37,000 miles and it now has 72,000 miles.. think I should start taking it to a shop rather than a Honda dealer all the time as I have been doing since I got it?

 

Well if your "Alarm" is standard then it's a keyless entry and not an alarm. my 01 ex has keyless entry since it's standard a.k.a. stock. if you haven't touched the car for modifications then like i said go to the dealer and ask them to show you if the radio is actually damaged. you have every right to ask them to do this because fixing an electrical problem is more expensive then putting a new or used radio. like i said it could be their trying to give you the run around. since they said that a "specialist" will see it on monday, than i suggest you find a ride to the dealer and make sure you don't leave until they prove to you it's really an electrical problem and not a damaged radio. i would have them prove it to me and they can't deny me of my right because that's my car and money there dealing with and they can't simply tell you to take your car out of their dealer simply because you don't agree with their estimate.

As to weither you should take the car to another shop it's really up to you. honda dealers are more expensive but most of the time there honest unlike say firestone or midas. in my opinion you have this forum for any troubleshoots you encounter and we can try our best to help you diagnose any problems and then you can just find a specialist shop in your area. let's say you have bad cv joints, most cv joints specialist tend to be cheaper than honda and have better experience with that part.

What you can try doing at honda is trying to get free oil changes. My girlfriend was born with some good gifts and one of them was the ability to get me free oil changes and tire rotations when i had my 2007 Dodge Caliber. she would take the car to Planet Dodge and every single time she would get free oil changes simply because she mentioned that she knew one of the service managers there and i guess the service guy gave her the free oil change cuz she was cute...

So if your a regular at honda try and find service managers that you can start getting to know and always go to them for any questions and any service you may need and little by little you may get some free stuff. if you know something already just ask it again anyways just to get him to talk more and you'll see he might start throwing something for free at least.

I know one of my honda's service managers very well because i've gone so many times with different honda's that when i bought my 01 civic 2 weeks ago he checked it out for me for free which is about a $100 service. so that was a good freebie.

 

Ok.. i just got a call from the Honda guy. He says that the part that controls the remote transmitter (the CPU) is screwed up and had to be replaced.. $380 as predicted..

make any sense

 

Hmm it does make some sense. i would still ask him about the stuff with the radio. At least the bill is more or less what i told you it was gonna be. So it's not a surprise anymore

 

If they haven't done the work just yet which they shouldn't without your approval i would just ask them to disable the CPU of the transmitter so i can drive the car tell them you don't need it right now and if i were you i would have a clifford alarm installed which costs about $400. Hmm Honda OEM Keyless Entry vs Clifford Alarm with cool LED Transmitter!!!!!