so i had a problem for a while with the gas light and maintenance required light occasionally flickering very lightly, and i was under the impression it was a grounding issue, and after playing with the wires for a bit it went away, for a long time.

Yesterday it happened again while driving, so i reached down to the wires near my left shin/knee, and pushed gently (i didn't think i was pushing anything hard enough to disconnect something, just enough to cause the connections to move a bit) hoping that whatever wasn't making a connection would connect and the lights would turn off.

That's when all hell broke lose. the gauge cluster turned off (meaning no tach, speedo, temperature, or fuel indication, but the back light is still on), the check engine light turned on, maintenance light turned on, eps light turned on, i think the electronic steering is messed up (feels heavier than usual), rear defroster is stuck on, and the windshield wipers are stuck on.

I stopped by the honda dealer in my area, and they said that they wanted $300 just to look at it. im sure i must have just disconnected some important wire (or a few wires), but by looking, i cant see anything obvious out of place.

if anybody who knows a bit about the wiring can offer some advice on where to look for a problem (there are a ton of wires down there), that would be extremely helpful.

Thanks,
-Ryan

 

Lol @ $300, That makes it level 3 diagnostics(3.0hrs pay).

It's likely very simple, you shorted something. Figuring out what is shorted and why it happened is why the dealership wants $300, they don't work for free.

I'd start by looking for burnt/shorted areas of wiring or a damaged local ground(multi-ground). A bad connection can become dangerous as it arcs and creates heat. Could be any number of things, from apartially plugged in plug, partially torn or badly soldered wire or even moisture from any number of sources. Check everything you can reach or suspect could be an issue then check the things that make no sense to check, you'll find it.

-Froth

 

Yea, well, my hope was that they could take my list of symptoms, spend 10 minutes looking at a wiring diagram and say that all those systems go through this wiring harness (in the area that i might have broke it), and we will just charge you $100 to replace the whole harness. maybe I was a bit optimistic.

To add to my list of symptoms, the beeper that sounds when you leave your keys in the car now likes to beep every time you turn your car off; it will keep beeping until you close the door (or manually push the button once that makes it think the door is closed).

one thing i've noticed is that my wiring does not look as clean as this:
http://www.modifry.com/products/ect/fw_wiring_sm.jpg
Either he cleaned up his wiring a lot, or the previous owner of my car did some things to mine that are causing these issues, I'm not sure (I bought it certified pre-owned, so you would think that they would check for some strange stuff being done). I would guess that I have 2-4 extra connectors in there.

 

well, all my troubleshooting last night did not solve anything, I cant see any obvious faults.

i did come across the service manual through another forum:
http://s2000.com/forums/engine-tech-drivet...000-2003-a.html

and as far as I can tell, the problem must be related to the gauge cluster, every component that is having an issue is going through there. the one that was giving me the hardest time conceptually was the EPS, but it gets the speedo and tach info from the gauge cluster, so it makes some sense that it's not working properly. It's definitely working somewhat, just feels a bit strange, which would make sense if it isn't adjusting for speed.

so Im going to go through as much of the wiring as I can find related to the gauge, since it all happened for like 10 minutes, then stopped when i restarted the car, then came back the next morning, im guessing i haven't completely killed the gauge.

anyway, I doubt anybody can help, but if someone has some advice on which of the wires in that area might kill the whole gauge, let me know.

 

sorry i'm no help, but i would recommand you go to a Audio Video shop. they specialize in electronic stuff. they should be able to figure it. good luck

 

Replacing a wiring harness is going to cost alot more than $300 - probably more just for the harness without any labor - so I hope that's not the problem. But if you bought it as a "certified pre-owned" car from a dealer, check your warranty. You may be able to get it fixed under the "certified" warranty.

 

Good advice on the AV shop, i was thinking that most car shops wouldn't know the electronics, so if i give up and decide to take it in, i'll call around the AV guys first.

my certified warranty was up a long time ago, bought my 2003 in 2007 with 38k miles, now there are 101k. i wouldn't have thought a wiring harness to cost that much, i figured maybe $50ish, but hopefully i dont have to figure out.