Hi everyone,
I own Year 2000 AP1 with less than 50k miles. Bone stock. I drive for daily commute since I got it at 14k miles from a collector in 2018. However, recently the car was sitting more than 10 days with OEM cover on while I was traveling for work. It started to rain a lot in the SF Bay Area and one day I drove my s2k to work without any issues and then when I tried to start the car again, it won't start while the engine cranking is strong and the battery is fully charged as well. By the way, all this time the green key light was blinking on the dash board. I towed it to a Honda Dealer. After charging me more than $200+ to diagnose the car, they concluded that the immobilizer is not recognizing my key. They asked me to bring another set of key, which I did but still it won't start. Therefore, they concluded that it is due to bad immobilizer. They even tried to re-program the keys but it won't start either. On top of that, Honda does not make or carry the OEM immobilizer anymore so I have to find an aftermarket one or used one on my own, Then, they will replace it with charge. Anyways, I searched through the threads and forums to see if it is in fact the issue I am facing with the immobilizer but I didn't find any useful post yet, so I decided to post this thread for others to share or learn if this happens to you in the future. I have not found a good thread or forum that helps me conclude on the immobilizer issue either. Anyways, I will update this post after mine gets fixed but in the mean time, I'd appreciate if you had a similar issue with immobilizer or similar event with AP1. Or, even AP2 as I am not sure if this is common for both models. Again, the battery

is fully charged, starter seems working fine and everything else checked out by me and the dealer, so the only suspect, I hope at the moment, is the immobilizer as the dealer indicated. I will keep this post up to date after my problem is resolved. Feel free to ask any questions. Thanks

 

Lol I read the title of your thread and somehow knew you were in NorCal

My friend from NorCal told me all about the rain and how his car wouldn't start.

Reason? His AEM cold air was full of water.

Does your car have an aftermarket intake?


Edit: you said your immobilizer symbol is blinking...so it could well be an immobilizer issue.

I'm sure you can buy a used immobilizer from a junker if that's the case.

 

it's likely not the immobilizer, but you could just get a set (key, immobilizer, ECU) from a friend or junker to test with. I actually have a spare set around (for SMOG) and im in norcal if you want to try that with the dealer. The problem likely will be then that the dealer doesn't want to take liability for it because they already charged you for (wrong) diagnostics. the rain here has been rusting/corroding electronics, you likely have a connection somewhere that corroded/rusted. My MICU controller for the soft top and passenger window went quietly and that's in the interior under the dash.


Should be obvious but verify the "truths" or assumption you've made.
-test with a different battery, i don't care what your current battery's state is
-lazy/sticky relay -- turn the car to the second position, wait 60 seconds before pushing the engine start button
-if the dealer is correct, the car will stall after bumpstarting it

try those first, good luck

 

Try the PGMFI relay - Unplugging and plugging back in may fix it without the need for a new one

 

Hi B_serious, thanks for the note. To answer your question, no I don't have aftermarket intake. All bone stock.

 

Thank you all for the reply. Since the green key light is blinking and never goes off, this indicates that the immobilizer is not recognizing my keys at all. After researching more online, Honda's early models, not specifically s2000, suffer from the same problem, tho I have not found any with s2000 in YouTube or here. Also immobilizer is discontinued so I have to look for a used one. That said, I am going to replace immobilizer, assuming I can find a used one, per dealer's recommendation. I was thinking about replacing myself but no time. I will keep this post updated with updates in near future. So that others can avoid my hassles in the future.

 

Ebay is awash with immobilizer bypass kits for under $20. Just saying. No experience with any of them.

-- Chuck