1991 Accord completely dead, out of the blue !

I own a 91 Accord, 120K miles. About an hour ago, when I tried to
start the car, nothing happened. I mean, nothing at all. The engine
wouldn’t even crank when I turn the key. The headlights don’t turn on,
and the horn doesn’t work either. Needless to say, upon inserting the
key into the ignition, the automatic seat-belts don’t move, and no
lights on the dash board turn on.

This is very strange, since in the morning everything was fine. The
car ran as usual, I even had blown the horn at someone .... Out of the
blue, the car is dead. My first thought was that someone stole my
battery. But the battery is there.

Do you think the battery could be dead ? This would be extremely
strange, since there was no hint of that. There is some corrosion at
the battery terminals (I thought the mechanic would have cleant those
when I changed oil 3 months ago). Or could some electrical connection
be disconnected ? Is it a good idea to try getting a jump-start when
the car seems completely dead ?I mean, its not like the engine is
trying to crank and then misfire. The car seems completely dead.
Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Try the horn again. Try the 4-way hazard warning lights. Try the
parking lights.

Don't work?

Battery has gone bye-bye or else the mechanic didn't clean those
contacts like you assumed. Why on earth would he on an oil change
unless you complained of some problem?

 

| Do you think the battery could be dead ?

mysterios ( Mr know all ) deserve problems

 

I'm thinking of a gummed-up solenoid in the starter (given the age of the
car, and the weather is likely still chilly where you are.) The time-honored
first aid for that is to whack the starter a few times with a hammer. No
kidding! but I prefer a plastic mallet, myself. If no-go, try a few more
times, then look elsewhere. My second thought is for the neutral safety
switch if you have an automatic transmission. Same sort of first aid (no -
not the hammer!); cycle the shift lever a few times and also try starting in
neutral. If a stick, the same would apply to the clutch safety switch but
that has already been exercised when you tried to start it.

If the easy things don't work it's time to do some real troubleshooting. If
one of those does work, be sure to fix the problem. Both of those get worse.

Mike

 

I once defended you from a "troll" accusation because I felt your heart was
in the right place. Please don't make me change my mind about that.

Mike

 

Your battery is internally shorted. Do not attempt to start the car again
as the battery may explode.

Replace the battery ASAP.

 

Clean battery cables and posts on battery. Should solve problem.

 

Another thing that may be going on, is the main power relay, doing
research, I've heard a lot of stories about these going bad on 90-93
Accords. Not sure where it is exactly as I've not had to change mine,
but a Yahoo or Google search should yield some good results. The
motorweek forums are good about these kind of issues as well.