2005 Honda Civic - Interior electronics shut off intermittently while driving

Question

My fiance's 2005 honda civic has had the interior electronics shut off while she was driving on a couple of occasions (weeks/months apart). I have not been able to reproduce this or been around to witness it happening.

Symptoms on occurance:

-guage cluster shuts off, no lights, gauges read zero

-radio shuts off

-climate controls shut off

-turn signals blink at an accelerated rate as if a bulb was out

-possible loss of power steering (I'll have to confirm this with her

Last year I replaced the starter, alternator, battery, and engine grounds. The car had run fine until last week when the interior electronics shut off again while she was driving.

I have checked the following:

-engine grounds

-battery voltage and alternator

-all of the interior wiring grounds that I could access without tearing apart too much of the dash

Could this be a problem with the ignition switch? Should I tear into the dash further and check the grounds behind the guage cluster? And are there any other components or connections I should investigate?

Any help or pointers would be much appreciated.

Answer 1

I would consult the Owners manual section dealing with fuses. My gut feeling is that before Honda puts a wire thru the fire wall they're gonna want to fuse it in the fuse box under the hood. The fuses have been in service for many years. It not that they're blown, its that galvanic oxidation effects the fuse connections. The OM has a more comprehensive explanation of which circuits are protected by each fuse.

Answer 2

Since this is an electrical problem, it's either (A) the wiring, (B) the computers, or (C) the alternator not putting out enough current. I would suggest that you check the alternator plug, as sometimes it will get loose. Also, wiggle the PCM connector, as that is what controls the gauges, etc. If it is loose, add some dielectric grease and put it back in. It is also possible that the connector behind the gauge cluster is loose. Lastly, use an OBD-II reader to check if there's any DTC's set by any system in the car. Modern cars mostly use CANBUS, which is like a local area network for the various computers in the car.