Hey guys, I searched and browsed many threads for ideas to narrow what may be my problem, and i’m about out of ideas :dozing:
My teg is a '90 GS hatch with a '92’s b18a1, kept the obd0’s ECU, distributor, injectors… this car’s been 100% reliable for about a year until this week.
I believe my problem may have started when I jumpstarted my buddy’s car with mine; however, this was the 3rd time i’ve jumpstarted his car, so i’m not sure whether jumpstarting another vehicle is related to this problem occuring, or this problem simply happened on the same day:
My teg has working interior(dome/door ajar & map lights), exterior lights(headlights & brake lights), and hazard lights in the “off” [O] ignition position.
All electrical functions work in the “on” [II] ignition position (such as the blower, clock display, intermittent windshield wipers, turn signals, rear defroster… i’m sure i’m forgetting to list something but my point is that the electronics work in this position). The only thing that didn’t work at first try in the “on” position was my head unit (Pioneer brand), so i narrowed that down by wiring both the +12v and the ACC wire from the stereo to the car’s +12v and it works fine.:werd:
This brings me to my problem that has me clueless: when my ignition switch is in the “accessory” [I] position, the constant +12v accessories (such as the exterior/interior lights, brake lights, hazard flashers, & the door ajar beeping) that work in the “off” position still work, but nothing that specifically works in the “ACC” position works (such as the blower and the stereo… i can’t recall what else should work in ACC, the intermittent wipers? anyone want to add to ACC-specific functions?).
My first thread search gave me the idea to check all possible under-dash fuses: fuse 22, fuse 14, and the 40amp heater motor/accessory fuse. :read:
Turns out all of these fuses were fine; I both jiggled and tried new ones with the 10A & 15A fuses. I verified the larger 40A fuse was good by swapping it with the other 40A fuse in my car’s under-hood fuse box. i’ve inspected all other fuses <25A and they all aren’t blown.
My next thread search suggested that my ignition switch could possibly be corroded up and not making good connections when in the ACC position. :read:
I have a decent understanding of electronics, and i fixed the ignition switch on my previous car by the DIY method, so I removed & disassembled my ignition switch and roughed up all the contacts inside of it with a steel brush. I considered putting some vaseline over the contacts so they’d never corrode again, but I didn’t in the interest of time (been scratching my head over this electrical problem for ~12 straight hours and counting).
From the process of elimination, i’m quite sure that the following items are NOT the problem with my vehicle: fuses, head unit, ignition switch, ICU (the rear defroster, driver’s side door opening turning the dome light on, and headlights on/engine off ding all work, so ICU appears to not be a problem)
I currently don’t have a multimeter, but my last guess is that there could possibly be a short somewhere in my ACC wire. But if this was the case, wouldn’t a short in the ACC blow my under-dash 40A fuse, or some other fuse?!? If this type of short wouldn’t blow a fuse, where is the next hop my ACC signal makes after the ignition switch, the fuse box? Does the ACC signal go to the head unit from there?
If there’s a thread topic or a common solution that i’ve totally overlooked, i’d really appreciate it if someone could inform me. My car’s electronics and wiring are 18 years old, so do you guys think I should try and run a new ACC wire thru the car? I’ve got to head back to college this saturday, so i’m really trying to fix this problem while i’m on t-giving break and i’ve got loads of free time on my side. I’m open to the wisdom of veteran G2 owners :surrend:
94