My friend Sharon has a 1991 Honda Accord automatic with approximately 115,000 miles. Recently, she hasn’t been able to move her shift lever out of park.
She read the manual, which instructed her to insert her key into a slot on the right side of the console, start the car in neutral, put her foot on the brake and shift into drive. This worked for a day, then the horn sounded every time she put her foot on the brake.
Her mechanic installed a switch, but said that didn’t fix the problem. He thinks the car may need a new wiring harness.
Is there a wire directly to the horn which can be disconnected or cut so she can drive without sound effects?
Could there be a short in any of the wires? Should she drive the car at all? She hasn’t driven it for nearly a month.
Does she need a new car? Her money is very tight, but a major repair could easily cost more than the car is worth and exceed it’s life expectancy.
Her mechanic installed a switch, but said that didn’t fix the problem. He thinks the car may need a new wiring harness.
What switch did he replace? Did he replace a switch or a solenoid? There is a key interlock switch, key interlock solenoid, shift lock solenoid as well as a interlock control unit that controls these three switchs and solenoids.
You can remove fuse number 25 in the under hood fuse box and that will disable the horns. It will also disable the interlock control unit so you will need to remove the shift lock solenoid that locks the gear lever in place to be able to shift it out of park. Check to make sure your brake lights come on when you press on the brake pedal after removing the fuse because this may also stop the brake lights from coming on. If it does try the next option.
Another way is to disconnect the wire connectors at the horns. There are two horns both have a two wire connector to them with two wires going to them. One wire is blue with a red stripe and the other is white wire with a yellow stripe. They are the same for both sides. I think this would be the easiest thing to do if you are able to shift the transmission out of park when the brake is applied
When the brakes are applied does the shifter move out of park? If not then you will still need to remove the shift lock solenoid from the shifter.