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1989 Honda Accord with weird humming noise & electrical problems after a break-in

I've got a 1989 Honda Accord that was broken into toward the end of January. The repair place said that only the steering column -case was broken & the window. They said they didn't see any electrical or damage to any of the wires by the ignition. Nevertheless, after we got our car back- I noticed some strange things. The first thing I noticed was one day after going to my car after work that the headlights were up. When I went into my car, I saw that the headlight button was not pushed in- the headlights should not have been activated at all. My battery was dead & the headlights seemingly turned themselves on. I got a jump and had no problems starting my car. Two days later, I went into my car & sat down. Before I even put the key in the ignition, I heard a weird electrical humming noise coming from the dash area. Strange, I thought maybe I left a tape or the radio on- there was nothing in the tape deck & the radio wasn't on. I put the key in & it started, but the initial start up display lights (the fasten your safety belt light, brake light & the engine light) stayed lit up the entire time I drove. When I got to work I shut the engine off & the display lights all went off, but the weird humming noise continued. For the next 2 days I continued having no problems starting the car- no stalling- it was easy to start. Still the constant humming noise persisted & I decided it was time to take the car back to the auto place that supposedly "repaired" the car. Well, that morning when I went out to start the car & drive it to the auto repair place. The dash was still humming, I tried starting the car but it was having a hard time. I tried 1 more time using a little gas- there was very little power to the crank & it didnt start. Still humming. I tried 1 more time & the car went completely dead. The humming noise finally stopped. I'll also note that the car had well over 3/4 tank of gas in it. My wife & I bought new jumper cables & tried to jump the car- but it still wont start. It wont crank or turn over. Today she tried to start it, and we got the display lights to come on & the radio turned on, but no reaction from the engine or the starter.

Any clues as to whether this is related to the break in & electrical wires that may have been overlooked? Or is this some other issue?

We're haven't got a clue & if its going to cost us more than $500 to repair its not worth it & we just might end up buying a newer car.

Reply to
jderekhoward
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It doesn't know the words.

Describe the symptoms. Does it turn over normally? Does the engine try to run?

The correlation is very high.

You have to fix it. You can't get rid of the car in this condition anyway. It's probably something simple like a poorly mated electrical connector.

Have you checked all the fuses under the hood and under the dash?

Try to pin down the source of the humming. Remove the fuses until it stops. That will tell you which circuit it's on.

Pull the cover off the steering column. Leave it off until the problem is found. Check any visible connectors. Are all the wires secure in the plastic shell of the connector body. It would take just one loose ground wire to cause the problems you're seeing.

Reply to
Charles

if they broke the steering column case, most likely they tried to hot wire the starter and drive the car by messing with the ignition switch. i suppose they are just some stupid punks (professional car thieves don't steal a 20 year old car that's worth less than $1000) and, out of ignorance, they may have messed with the cluster wires under the left side of the dash board (where the head lights relays and the fuel pump relay are). Best case, you only have to replace the ignition switch. Worse case, those f*ckers may have f*cked everything up!! Or it can be just a loosened connection or a short circuit I can't really tell...

Reply to
bi241

We just got it towed back to the original repair shop. We were going to try some troubleshooting & but both my wife & I work

- and we needed to get this taken care of asap. It will be interesting to see what the cause of the problem is. I'm just hoping its related to the break in- otherwise insurance won't cover it! ack!

Reply to
jderekhoward

You have insurance on an 89? I got a bit nervous about not having it on my 91 Accord after reading that it's still one of the most stolen cars. Apparently there are enough still running that the part need is high.

Reply to
dgk

For a break in, homeowners insurance should cover it if it is on the property.

Reply to
L Alpert

Actually, I think most home-owners insurance specifically exclude motor vehicles from any coverage.

When deciding whether or not to have theft or other optional coverage on the car, look at how much the extra insurance costs. A 1991 Honda Accord SE with 150,000 mi on it has a retail value of about $3500. That's about the value you'll get before the deductible. So, if the deductible is $500, you'll get about $3000. So the question you have to ask yourself, are you better off paying the extra $300 or whatever the extra coverage costs every year or putting the money in the bank?

Remember, they are expecting to make money off the extra coverage, including the cost of handling the claims. Plus, if the car is destroyed in a crash or stolen, you can deduct some of the loss on your income taxes.

The bottom line is that you're probably better off taking the risk and not having theft and collusion on this car. Remember, if there is a crash, and the other party is at fault, the other party if responsible.

I would have dropped coverage a while ago.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

My homeowners policy covers theft from autos on my property. Also, it may make sense to drop collision on a vehicle, but the comprehensive portion of the coverage is not that much more.

Reply to
L Alpert

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