Honda - Odyssey :: 2003 - Electrical Malfunction - A/C Won't Work Sometimes
May 19, 2013
I have a 2003 Odyssey EX - everything was working fine up up to last year. When summer was almost at an end, the A/C suddenly failed. I pressed the 'Auto' button, I heard the compressor kick in and felt the slight kick/drop in rpm like normal, but after about 3-5 seconds the compressor disengaged and the engine went back to unhindered idle speed. The A/C console was still set at Auto, so i turned it off then back on, but this time there was no compressor kick in at all. At first I thought a fuse blew, but I checked them and they were all fine. I continued on my way and decided I would just turn on the fan/blower, but it didn't work either. It didn't matter if I set the console for auto or manual, heat or cold, when I turned the fan knob to any speed it would not turn on - with the following exception: If I turned it all the way to max and waited about 10 seconds or more, then it wold blow at full speed. Same would happen if I put it on auto and turned the temperature knob to lowest or highest temperature - after 10 seconds it would turn on the fan at max speed (since I figure consoles are programmed to go to max fan at temperature extremes to get to either one faster...)Also of note: When I turned off the vehicle, and turned it back on at a later time, the compressor again wold kick in for 5 seconds then turn off......and by the way the rear fan control works just fine throughout all this.
Since the summer was over, I didn't need the A/C and figure I would fix before the next summer. Every once in the while I would test again, and a couple of months later the A/C decided to work just fine for a whole day, but then it went back to the odd behavior
So now I'm thinking the environment console is busted and I need to replace it, except other things start to behave erratically:First was the break release for the transmission lever. I wold press down on the break but could not hear the 'click' that releases the transmission lever to shift out of park. That first time I just couldn't get it to work, so I used the emergency release on the top of the steering column, but after that I could simply pump the break or release and pump repeatedly until the click happened, usually took 3 tries. The funny thing is that this becomes consistent for about a week, and then months will pass with no problems shifting out of park, only to happen again for a week...
On some rare occasions, the interior lights don't work they way they are supposed to: They'll stay on when with all doors closed even when set to turn on only with open doors, or won't turn on at all with the same setting even with a door open (rarer still, will turn on with one door, but not another). I can always just set them to remain off all the time...
Same kind of issues with the rear windows and cruise control, most times they'll work fine, others they don't.
The only thing I really need to work in this Texas heat is the A/C, but before I go get an expensive A/C console replacement, or have technicians accumulate hours and hours of diagnosis to figure out the problem, I wanted to know if perhaps these are all related as an electrical issue with a buss-bar or a junction box - or a short from stripped wires in the harness, loose terminals, etc.
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I have a 2008 Honda Odyssey. I purchased the van used back in February with 34,000 miles on it. About a week after I bought it, the van started having odd electrical problems. My radio controls on the wheel would stop working, my rear wiper would start running even though it is in the off position. My power sliding doors would catch and close at the half way point on both sides at the same time. It is little odd ball stuff, but I am worried that the "brain" is not working properly. I have taken it to the dealer multiple times and of course they can't find the problem. They say to bring it back if it keeps happening, which I do, but every time they say it is fine and send me on my merry little way.
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Just installed on new alternator when my 2008 Odyssey broke down while on Va-ca in Utah. Battery charging warning light went on, slight electrical burn smell, battery drained. No power, car went into limp mode. Had it towed to nearby mechanic. Three days waiting for part.Replaced alternator and told me everything was cool. Only made it 50 miles after I picked it up. Same problem traveling through Mountain pass 6% grade with my wife and kids aboard. Had it towed again, only 5 days to make it 1500 miles back to work..
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I am having problems with ALL my driver door electronics, except the fuel door. my passenger side works fine, sunroof works fine. Ive removed the door panel to look for obvious problems, like broken wires.. Fuses are good, looking for a good place to start. Power winder/locks.
Little update, i reset my battery and they worked, waited like twenty minutes, nothing works again.. why would i have to reset the battery every time for the windows to work?
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It seems as though whenever I turn on the AC in the car (and sometimes even if I don't engage the AC) all the windows lock and only I can control them from the driver's control panel...
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We have a 1997 Ford Ranger, live in Minnesota. The heat doesn't work, the electric windows need to be pushed up the last 4 inches, the radio is stuck on loud, the back window latch is broken off, the dash lights only light up the speedometer to 50 mph, the driver's seat doesn't adjust for reclining, and the gas gauge doesn't work. We tend to drive our cars till they die and have been able to live with the above annoyances. However, in dealing with the lack of a gas gauge the person driving it when the odometer hits 200 miles is suppose to fill it up then reset the odometer. That was me this weekend.
Once the gas nozzle clicked off I gave it one last squirt to top it off and gasoline began flowing out under the car. Not dripping, not trickling, not squirting out back at me. Under the truck. Maybe a pint to quart of gas. After wondering if I was going to blow up that part of the county if I started my truck, I figured God wasn't done with me yet, so I started it and drove until I used up about 3 gallons. My husband thinks it is OK to keep the truck because by overfilling it I triggered a valve that actually supposed to do just what it did….release the extra gas.
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2000 Honda Odyssey, Gear indicator light on ther dash works when I start the van, however, when I turn on the headlights, the gear indicator and the gauge illumination lights do not work, when I switch the headlights off the gear indicator light works again. I checked the fuses and replaced them just to check.
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When the weather gets to below freezing and I start my van in the morning the brake pedal will not push down no matter how hard I push. The first time this happened I was moving and had no brakes for seconds. Luckily no one was in front of me. If I warm the van up just a couple of minutes I can feel it release and then the brakes are fine. I've taken it to the Honda dealer twice and also an independent mechanic and no one can find anything wrong with my brakes. I know I can wait until the van warms up but should this situation be happening? I never experience this in my Caravan or any other vehicle.
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I was noticing this morning, that my left front and right rear windows didn't work. Also each of my two side mirrors would only adjust to the left but not to the right. When I try to do the non-working windows the dome light would dim a little bit when I push the button, but no sound or anything.
This is an intermittent problem. They usually work, but sometimes they don't.
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Have a 91 Honda Accord (automatic) with seems to be an electrical problem.After driving a while the Tac, Speedometer stop working and the radio cuts in and out. The car still runs, just a little rougher; when I turn it off it won't start, acts like the battery is dead. After it sits overnight it starts and then runs fine for a while or until it happens all over again.
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I have a 2003 Odyssey minivan that shudders when going through the speedzone of around 40mph. It does not occur when I put it in '3' (so prevents transmission from selecting Overdrive), so I suspect it has something to do with shifting in to OD. We have replaced the engine mounts on this car.
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I have an 2003 honda odyssey that does not draw the antifreeze from the reservoir back to the radiator, took it to two mechanics first one flushed the radiator the second one pressure tested it, that came back fine they then fill it with antifreeze and said it was low this worked for about six months now its doing the same thing. It doesnt run hot but sometimes I get a gurgling noise when I take off. When I check the water level usually the extra in the reservoir tops the radiator off so it doesnt seem to be leaking but sometimes I smell antifreeze outside my vehicle
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We have an 03 Odyssey that we have to jump start if it sits for more than 1 day. We aren't leaving lights or radio on. Our mechanic can't figure out what is wrong. He has replaced the battery 3 times and says that is not the problem. What we are doing now is disconnecting the cables to the battery at night, so it will always start in the morning, even after two days of not driving it. It works, but it's a pain! What is causing this problem?
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It's an '03 Odyssey with 116K miles that has developed a hitch when shifting from second to third. It feels like an uncoordinated manual shift when the clutch is put in before the accelerator is lifted. Car revs 500 rpm before completing the shift. This only happens under load, such as when accelerating hard from a stop or moderate acceleration going up a hill. Not willing yet to let the dealer tell me I just need a new transmission and so few places deal with automatic repairs.
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My AC clutch will not engage until the engine gets hot enough to call for the radiator cooling fan to switch on, which in moderate weather at highway speeds can be forever. (Single electric cooling fan.) Of course, the AC should override the engine coolant sensors and turn on the fan and engage the clutch. Once the engine is hot, the AC works normally. No one seems to know where to start looking. It's an '03 Grand Marquis with an interceptor engine package.
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Our 2003 Odyssey had the transmission rebuilt last month after the original finally failed (215,000 miles). After the rebuild, third gear has a whine. (I don’t recall if it was there before the rebuild – it’s the wife’s ride, she wouldn't have noticed it anyway, and apparently I didn't either). The whine pitch varies with RPM, and is louder if the transmission is under a load. Going up a hill with the accelerator depressed makes the whine louder – taking your foot off the accelerator quiets it. I have a warranty for two years on the rebuild, but before I go back and start asking them about the noise, I was wondering what would cause it? I am worried they didn’t rebuild everything and will just tell me the whine is “nothing to be concerned about.” The transmission shifts smoothly and appears to operate normally other than the whine in third gear under a load.
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I recently bought a second-hand 2003 Honda Odyssey that had been very well-maintained. It had just had its belts changed about 6 months ago, too. After taking ownership I noticed a slight hissing sound when running the A/C. I didn't think much of it. Months later(today), I drove to work with no problems. But when I got into the car in the afternoon, I noticed the van was revving erratically. Not very high, but maybe up one full tick and then fall off. This was worrisome. Later when I got home I noticed the TSC light had come on as well.
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Of late my steering column has been getting stuck in park and I have to fool with it and manipulate it between moving the steering wheel and pressing on the brake until the column releases and then I can move it into drive.
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We currently have a 2003 Honda odyssey with about 119K miles. About once a month the transmission does not want to change between 2nd and 3rd gear causing it to rev very high. The only resolution is take your foot off the gas until its back to an idle state. Now I have read that these transmissions suck and have a bunch of problems. We are driving long this summer and we need a new trans. Last year when we drove to NC the car started to buck and rev really high when on cruise control for awhile. not sure if its connected but it was not fun.
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We got this product called "Lucas Transmission Fix" to try to quell the hesitation of the transmission when shifting from 3rd to 4th gear. It claims to stop slips and do other things beneficial to the transmission. The car is a 2003 Honda Odyssey. Is this product safe to use on this car? Is there the possibility that it would make the hesitation worse?
Some background information on the car:
- We bought it used last September with 137,000 miles. There are now 150,000 miles.
- Soon after we bought it, we changed the transmission fluid with Honda AFT DW
- 1 because it was slipping from 1st to 2nd gear
- After the fluid change, it started to slip from 3rd to 4th gear instead. Or maybe it was my imagination that it was slipping from 1st to 2nd before?
- The slippage is a lot more severe in cold weather / when the engine is cold
- In my last post about the Odyssey's transmission slip, some people suggested that the EGR valve be replaced. That has not been done.
- The spark plugs were changed last month. The old spark plugs were Denso, the new ones NGK-All maintenance is up to date
- The car is in good running condition other than the transmission slippage and an odd engine vibration somewhere between 1000 and 2000 RPM
- The dealer discovered oil leaks from oil filter housing gasket and rear main seal during the last oil change in mid-February. It must be a pretty small leak.
- A recall for the ignition interlock mechanism was done sometime in March
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2003 Honda Odyssey 150K+ miles... My wife called today and said she was smelling raw gas coming from the heater vents on the first cold day this year. I thought we had this issue last year but not 100%. What it could be or how to fix it?
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