I just bought a 95 honda civic si vtec automatic. I’ve had it almost two weeks I haven’t had any problems with it until the other night my dashboard lights went out, I looked at the fuse it was bad so I replaced it but then I turned the car on and I can’t shift out of park. Yes brake lights work and all the other fuses are just fine. I also have my gear shifter lights out and my stereo is suppose to turn on when I start the car but will no longer turn on at all. People say it’s fuses, my transmissions locked…help? It’s my only vehicle
Typically, I’d say there was probably a reason, like a short or a bad module, causing the fuse to blow, but on a 20 yo car, the possibility of corrosion at circuit connects is also strong. The radio and gear selector lights being out may be related to a bad ground connection common to them. Also, there is a solenoid in the gear shift selector that needs power and a ground. If the ground circuit is bad, that would explain why the solenoid cannot open and let you shift. Corroded circuits can increase resistance, causing connectors to heat up and draw more current. This can help blow fuses. The circuits and wire bundle feeding the radio and gear selector needs to be checked out with a multimeter for proper 12v signal and ground continuity.
It could be your brake light switch(behind brake pedal somewhere where it contacts) is not making contact properly which allows it to shift out of park.
Typically there is a switch around shifter to override the safety feature, have you tried that, its usually a slot of some sort.
Yeah if I override it, my turn signals and all my gauges on the dashboard don’t work so I can’t tell how fast I’m going or how much gas I’ve got etc
Because these items are on different circuits, I’d say that you have a bad ground somewhere.
Yosemite
It sounds like an assortment of bad electrical connectors or ground contacts. Are you able to identify the connectors which go to the instrument panel. They’d typically be up under the dash. If so, disconnect them and inspect for signs of corrosion or burned contacts.
Is it possible this car was ever in a flood or got dunked into a river or pond at some point? That could be an explanation.
These kinds of electrical problems can be solved, but the way to do it is with the schematics and a volt meter. If you don’t have the schematics or know how to use a volt meter, and some looking around for problems doesn’t turn up anything obvious, and you’ve checked all the fuses, you’d probably be ahead of the game to ask an auto-electric shop to help you find what’s wrong. Once you know where the problem is, you could try to fix it yourself if you like.
Shift lock interlock?
Possibly helpful
So I’ve got it fixed. I piped the cover by my shifter some piece was popped off so when I popped it back on it unlocked my shifter. Now my tail lights and dashboard aren’t working, someone said it could be a “dc relay switch” ?