honda civic blowing main fuse

Soupi

i own a 94 civic 1.6 esi and have not had many problems with it at all in the past 2.5 years i've owned it but last night it wouldn't start at all, wouldn't even turn over and starting motor wasn't even engaging at all, no engine managment lights at all but alarm, lights and radio were working so defo wasn't the battery. my friend came down and finally figured that it had blown one of it's main fuses in the engine bay, he took that fuse out and swapped a fuse that was working in order to start the car. i drove the car home but there was no interior electrics, power steering was going mad and i kept getting an electric shock off the barrel, i know that this was mainly due to the fuse being taken out. my question is: why did the fuse go in the first place? if i just get a new fuse and put it in will it blow that too?

ds20prefecture

It sounds like you have a short circuit to ground. Perhaps the relay between your key and the starter motor is shot? More likely there's a wire loose or frayed that is grounding off the body of the car. Or perhaps an electrical connection is sitting in water? The short circuit pull too much current through the fuse which burns out (like it's meant to) to protect the electrical components.

You should not drive the car like this - you are in danger of an electrical fire.

Soupi

well it's sitting up at my mam's house now and i was advised not to drive it until i get it checked out.it was broken into a few weeks ago and although they didn't get the car they pulled out the ignition and basically made a mess of it.would that be the reason a wire might be lose?

blastman

Sounds like that would be a good place to start looking, certainly.

Ratchet

yep, maybe ignition is not wired correctly. i would imagine they just chopped the wires. there is enough current there to melt the wires and burn it to crisp.

seen it before where wonder electrician puts even bigger fuse in place of the problematic one

ds20prefecture

Ratchet wrote:

seen it before where wonder electrician puts even bigger fuse in place of the problematic one

Or wraps a bit of foil around the fuse and puts it back in. :eek:

@Soupi - you'll need someone who knows the Civic to rewire the ignition barrel. It's not a big job, but you must have the wiring diagram to do it.

Soupi

ds20prefecture wrote:

@Soupi - you'll need someone who knows the Civic to rewire the ignition barrel. It's not a big job, but you must have the wiring diagram to do it.

my bro does replica lancers and can strip cars and put them back together,very smart boy.think i'll get him to have a look otherwise i'll be taking a trip down to the garage,not so bad,my bro's mate is a mechanic and he can run it through the computer and find out what's really goin on with it,poor baby

stratos

Replace the fuse and see how you go carry another spare( if it does blow the spare will get you home).
If there is an eltrical fault the fuse is doing it's job and will protect the circuit.
Fuses often blow for no real reason.
The voltage in the car is only 12 volts indsufficient to give you an electrical shock.
The ht voltage for the plugs is enough to make you yelp, but i doubt it would find it's way to the barrel.
Hope this helps.

Soupi

gave my boyfriend a shock and he's built really well. anyway my brother's mate is coming to look at it on saturday so hopefully he can sort it out. thanks for your help lads