Honda’s engine won’t stop until lights go out!

[Garth]

I was driving my daughter’s 1998 Honda civic last night and upon returning home and turning the ignition off and pulling out the key I was surprised to discover that the engine kept running. I sat there wondering how I was going to kill the motor when I decided to turn off the head lights. When I did, the engine stopped. I started the engine again with the lights off then turned the key to off and the engine stopped as it should. I tried it again with the lights on and the engine kept running after turning the ignition key to off. I know I’ll have to replace the lock cylinder because you can remove the key when it is in the “on” position with the engine running which, I think, is quite dangerous. But I’m scratching my head as to how the headlight switch is interacting with the ignition switch by not allowing the engine to stop while the lights are on. I’m not sure if replacing the lock cylinder will solve the problem with the engine continuing to run after removing the key. Has anyone had this type of problem with their Honda? If anyone has an idea as to what’s going on electrically, I’d sure appreciate knowing. Thanks.

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[James]

Going to need to get a good wiring diagram and go from there. Test for power on ignition circuit with key off and headlights on.

[Author]

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