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I was in an accident a couple days ago. The driver in front of me suddenly hit her brakes and I slammed into her back end; my car wouldn’t start after I hit the other car, so I was stuck in the road until the tow truck came. After my car was dropped off at my parent’s house my father and I looked at it. The damage seems to be mostly cosmetic from what we could see, but my car still won’t start and we can’t figure out why. Since we couldn’t see any crunched or broken parts (other than my headlight)we thought maybe the computer just needed to be restarted. It didn’t work; car still won’t start.
My car is a 1991 Honda Accord. The damage is the left front where my headlight used to be.
I have 2 kids that have things going on that I need to get them to, but my car is the only transportation we have. We live out where buses don’t run. If anyone can help me figure out the problem it would be greatly appreciated. I am also attaching pictures that I took of the damage right after the accident.
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Does it try and crank? or nothing at all. Computers don’t just “get reset” If anything an impact would damage it beyond repair and need replacement, but I doubt that’s what has happened. Absolute first thing I would do is pop the hood and make sure your battery cables are in tact and tight. If they are the second thing I would do is check the battery. The number 1 killer of batteries is vibration. Start there and then report back.
Yes, battery and cables are fine. My hazard and brake lights work, but nothing else. There is not even a noise when I turn the key to try starting the car.
After you check your battery cables for tightness, put a volt meter across your battery terminals. Check for 12volts, then leaving the meter connected start the car and watch the meter checking for a voltage drop of no more than 9 volts.
Is there anyway you can open the hood and take a picture of whats behind the headlight? Possibly a fuse or relay center?
Yeah, I wouldn’t call this a “cosmetic” damage…
Something shifted during impact. Wild guess is, battery shortened. Can you jump start the car? I don’t see any “vital” electrical parts in that corner, but alternator is about almost there.
Start with checking if engine to body negative strap is attached. Otherwise, try jumping the car. If she starts from jump, it’s battery.Some cars have an inertia switch that will disable the fuel pump in the event of an impact. You should check to see if that is the case. Usually in the truck there is a reset you push.
Check your owner’s manual for this. Possibly some relays or fuses have been compromised. Make sure your battery and connection are sound.
Firs question is this a ‘crank no start’ or a ‘no crank, no start’. If it’s the no crank, the engine may be damaged. For now, forget the accident and do a no start diagnosis on it as if that didn’t happen. Here’s information on how to do that.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-no-start-problems
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
There’s nothing wrong with the battery, that was the first thing we tested; it’s working fine. There was a main fuse that had fried; we got a new one today, but when we hooked it up it instantly got fried again. We’ve tried going through the owner’s manual, but nothing has worked from that either.
My father is going to try taking the grill piece off so we can see things better. We want to see if there’s a wire or line that is being pinched or cut that we cannot see with the grill on.
I think you’re taking a step in the right direction. If it fried instantly you most likely have a short to ground somewhere. Let me see if I can find you a wiring diagram, if not maybe someone else can find one. As you said, look for a pinched wire, insulation rub off contacting ground, etc.
If it fried the main fuse right away there’s likely a short somewhere. Follow the positive battery cable and look for areas where it might be touching bare metal. Since those fuses are expensive you want to see if you can find the short before you replace it.
Keep us posted.
Followed the battery cable, everything is fine there. Thought it might be the alternator, but checked that and it’s fine too. Don’t know where to go from here.
Engine ground cable. Well, it’s called strap, not cable actually.
Fuse box. Honda used to mount general fuses ground as a large metal plate common to all fuses, right under the fuse box.
That there is short somewhere, is no doubt.
I am going to suggest something maybe not welcomed. Unless your father is a good electrician, either bring her to a specialty shop, or post ad on craigslist specifically asking for mobile car electrician. See, thing is, there are so many wires and fusible links, you will spend days going through them. Unless you get lucky and spot it right away. Eg, you saw that cracked headlight connector? You know it may be something as simple, as light bulbe shortened inside and still connected to the system? We could not start Olds Aereo once, and after hrs of desperate search for a mate to a loose connector hanging down off engine block, went to dealership. Turned to be hood light connector. Engine won’t turn, until it was plugged back in. How about that? That you have busted headlights/wiring, that’s for sure and seen on one of the pics.
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