1993 Civic EX, automatic.

Please forgive the odd troubleshooting...I'm a computer guy, not so much a
car guy...

It seems like whatever part/circuit for the car that handles "letting the
electrical system know that the car has started" has fried itself.

The car starts fine but...

(1) The dashboard is completely dead...no lights and the spedometer does
nothing. The digital clock does light up if I push the display button.

(2) The turn signal is dead as well...no indicator lights/noise and the
blinkers do not come on.

(3) The "release button" on the stick (automatic, remember) can not be
pushed in. To have a functional car, I need to insert the key into the slot
beside the stick...press and hold the button...and then pull the key out to
start the car. As long as I keep it out of park, everything drives fine.
And finally...

....and this one is all kinds of fun...

(4) The "key indicator" noise starts bleeping the moment I start the car and
doesn't stop until I pull the key out.

So...it seems like the electrical system "thinks" the engine isn't running.
Tomarrow morning I'll look at the fuses, but I'm not sure where else to go.

Any ideas? (aside from learning how to diagnose my own problems, I mean)

Thanks,

Sam Krosney
samkrosney@hotmail.com