The switches fail due to arcing between the contacts in the switch. Seeing
burn marks is enough evidence to replace the switch.


On 9/4/07 10:57 AM, in article 46dd806f$1@news.microsoft.com, "Mike"
<hlshadow@hotmail.com> wrote:

> I checked the car this weekend, and found no leaks, no funny noises, correct
> fluid levels, and a good belt. The problem did not reproduce over the
> weekend (figures).
>
> I took it into the dealer this morning, and they replaced the ignition
> switch under warranty. Their paperwork was...um...questionable, as they
> showed me coming in for the warranty work back in 2002, but never actually
> showed the part being replaced. According to the service guy (I didn't talk
> to the tech), they saw some "burn marks" on the old ignition. Having never
> actually held an ignition switch in my hand, I'm not sure if that is
> legitimate and expected for any switch with 110K miles, or if it was an
> actual problem that explains my issues.
>
> If the problem resurfaces I'll be sure and update the group, and if anyone
> can tell me if "burn marks" are in-and-of-themselves bad, it would be much
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks all.
>
> - Mike
>
>
>
>
>
> "Mike" <hlshadow@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:46d86b01$0$16517$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
>> Good afternoon all. I did a search of the archives, and read through
>> Teggers FAQ, but wasn't able to find any details for this specific issue.
>> Thanks for your time.
>>
>> My wife has a '99 Honda Accord sedan, 4-cylinder 5 speed with 115K miles.
>> About once every few months for a year or more, she has complained that it
>> "loses power." This has now escalated to three times in a week, and is a
>> pretty significant issue for us - if we can't figure it out we're going to
>> have to sell the car for safety reasons. Unfortunately I haven't
>> experienced this yet as it's not my daily driver, so some of the details
>> that she offers aren't exactly complete and I recognize that.
>> Nonetheless, here are the symptoms, and I'm hoping these ring a bell with
>> someone.
>>
>> Yesterday when making a left turn into a parking lot at about 20MPH, she
>> states the steering wheel "locked up" while making the turn, and she
>> nearly ran into a telephone pole. Sounds to me based on her explanation
>> that she lost power steering as she said it was incredibly difficult to
>> turn. She said that when it happened, all the lights on the dash came on,
>> but the radio was still on and the engine was still running. She
>> stopped/restarted the car, problem resolved. I'm not 100% sure why the
>> power steering would be affected if the engine was still running, but my
>> job is in IT not fixing Hondas unfortunately. :-)
>>
>> When this has happened in the past it was just the dash-lights turning on
>> and a loss of power briefly so this wasn't an urgent of a problem. It's
>> only happened before while sitting at an intersection stopped (dash lights
>> turn on/car may or may not stop running) or driving straight (loss of
>> power, dash lights on), so in the past she just restarted the car and off
>> she went. I didn't know about the loss of power steering until recently.
>> Besides this little hiccup, the car is flawless (and paid for), so we'd
>> love to resolve it if possible. If it's relevant, we live in NC and the
>> weather has been VERY hot as of late, but previous problems have been
>> throughout the year.
>>
>> I had the alternator checked this morning at an Advance Auto for grins, it
>> tested out fine. Any other ideas regarding things to check/repairs/tests?
>>
>> Much appreciated.
>>
>> - Mike
>>
>>
>>
>>
>