[north49thridge]

2009 RL DX. 109,000 Kilometres. New Battery in March 2014.

There was a post about this exact issue. There were a few responses but none of those factors were the cause nor was there any folllow up by the OP as to whether there was a resolution or not.

Back story. Summer 2014 take the 2009 RL fishing and trailer is backed into the lake w/o disconnecting harness. All is well until I pull into the driveway, walk around to the passenger side(Firewall location) and detect an electrical burn type smell. Think nothing of it and later that night am awakened by flashing lights. My RL's driving and dash lights are flashing on/off and interior lights are on. Unlock and lock her up again and all seems fine except for warning lights in the cluster are still dimly lit.

Read up and first point of attack is to disconnect Neg terminal wire and let sit over night. Remedied the problem for a few weeks until it happened again. Same point of attack and has remained free of this issue.......Until today.

First rain of the year. Start her up, drive down the road and right indicator starts flashing, gauge needles start trembling and clicking sounds can be heard coming from driver side of the RL, most likely relays.

Get home, pull the key and back to square one with the flashing driving lights and dim dash lights so I pull the cover off the main fuse box under the hood and systematically pull each fuse to see if and which one was the culprit with no luck. Would like to mention the "MAIN FUSE"(Screw to hold it in place) was the only one I did not pull for fear I would break something considering it wouldn't budge even with the screw removed.

Disconnect the Neg terminal Batt wire once more as well as the trailer connector harness, let it sit, hooked Batt back up and remained the same.

Pulled the Neg wire a second time and it seems to have subsided......For now.

I will have to take it to a Tech but is there anyone here that has any idea as to where to look other than a Tech? Do I have to pull that Main Fuse and if so has anyone ever done it? Could it be the culprit? Any help at all would be appreciated.

Thanking you in advance for any and all replies.

 

[Dnick]

2009 RL DX. 109,000 Kilometres. New Battery in March 2014.

There was a post about this exact issue. There were a few responses but none of those factors were the cause nor was there any folllow up by the OP as to whether there was a resolution or not.

Back story. Summer 2014 take the 2009 RL fishing and trailer is backed into the lake w/o disconnecting harness. All is well until I pull into the driveway, walk around to the passenger side(Firewall location) and detect an electrical burn type smell. Think nothing of it and later that night am awakened by flashing lights. My RL's driving and dash lights are flashing on/off and interior lights are on. Unlock and lock her up again and all seems fine except for warning lights in the cluster are still dimly lit.

Read up and first point of attack is to disconnect Neg terminal wire and let sit over night. Remedied the problem for a few weeks until it happened again. Same point of attack and has remained free of this issue.......Until today.

First rain of the year. Start her up, drive down the road and right indicator starts flashing, gauge needles start trembling and clicking sounds can be heard coming from driver side of the RL, most likely relays.

Get home, pull the key and back to square one with the flashing driving lights and dim dash lights so I pull the cover off the main fuse box under the hood and systematically pull each fuse to see if and which one was the culprit with no luck. Would like to mention the "MAIN FUSE"(Screw to hold it in place) was the only one I did not pull for fear I would break something considering it wouldn't budge even with the screw removed.

Disconnect the Neg terminal Batt wire once more as well as the trailer connector harness, let it sit, hooked Batt back up and remained the same.

Pulled the Neg wire a second time and it seems to have subsided......For now.

I will have to take it to a Tech but is there anyone here that has any idea as to where to look other than a Tech? Do I have to pull that Main Fuse and if so has anyone ever done it? Could it be the culprit? Any help at all would be appreciated.

Thanking you in advance for any and all replies.

I don't think you said if you had OEM trailer harness or aftermarket. If aftermarket, they are notorious for causing undefined gremlins, the only sure cure for which is to toss it & put in OEM harness.
If you already have OEM harness, I would first ask, was the Ridge itself in the water, or only the trailer (wouldn't be the first time )?
Next I would follow your lead on the 'main' fuse. I suppose it's possible that you "partially blew" that fuse (degraded it) with that initial incident, in which case I can imagine a reduced current capacity could cause these demons.
Otherwise, just be sure that ALL of your battery cables are clean and tight. That includes the terminations at the other ends. Good Luck!

 

[north49thridge]

I don't think you said if you had OEM trailer harness or aftermarket. If aftermarket, they are notorious for causing undefined gremlins, the only sure cure for which is to toss it & put in OEM harness.
If you already have OEM harness, I would first ask, was the Ridge itself in the water, or only the trailer (wouldn't be the first time )?
Next I would follow your lead on the 'main' fuse. I suppose it's possible that you "partially blew" that fuse (degraded it) with that initial incident, in which case I can imagine a reduced current capacity could cause these demons.
Otherwise, just be sure that ALL of your battery cables are clean and tight. That includes the terminations at the other ends. Good Luck!

The RL was purchased with the tow package so I'm guessing it is the harness is OEM. Although I have come close on more than a few occasions only the trailer has ever hit the water . All connections seem fine as the vehicle is relatively clean for a 2009 but I'll give wires and any chassis grounds I can find a second look.

Have you ever had to or known anyone who has removed the main fuse and if so is it as simple as just a pull like other fuses and relays? would hate to damage anything apart from the fuse.

The first instances occurred with water at the rear harness and this time it was sitting in the driveway and rain overnight triggered this event.Water is obviously the constant variable in this case. I'll try removing it once I have a replacement. Is this a dealer only item?

Thanks Dnick.

 

[Dnick]

Try to verify if it's a Honda OEM harness. That is a very common source of gremlins for folks suffering 'weird' electrical issues like yours.

Regarding the main fuse, the only one I ever removed was on an old Civic eons ago, so I can't advise. I will say that there's a link on here somewhere to get an electronic copy (PDF I think) of the Service Manual...... that would tell you everything you need to know. I'm away from home, so can't check mine.