Printer Friendly Forum Posts - major problem with rsx doorlocks

Hi I have a 2006 Acura RSX type s. All of a sudden out of nowhere, my doorlocks started acting up. I have a ultrastart u4366m alarm/remote start that i installed myself. I have installed many alarms and starters before so thats not the problem here. Anyways the proble is my doorlocks only work when the key is in the ignition on position or if the engine is actually running. Pressing the buttons either on the ultrastart remote or the actual factory unlock and lock button with the ngine off or the key out will yied no reaction from the car at all, no sounds or anything. I don't know how anything could be wrong with the install as the system worked perfectly for a few months.Why would the locking system in the car stop working with the ignition off? I checked the fuse for the locking system and like i thought it was good as the locks do work with the car on. Today I did replace the headunit with a jvc kd-hdr1 so I could play my ipod and satellite radio wihout fm mod static. But the locks even worked for a few min after this install. Besides what could I of hit working in the area of the radio on this car. I did run a 14 gauge wire to the battery to supply the headunit with power to avoid the alternator noise that honda ystems are famous for but again I was careful running this wire and I used a existing grommet in the dash. And again the locks stil worked after the radio install. It was a few min later that I just tried them and they were dead. But even if I nicked some wires which I almost certainly did not wouldnt that just incapacitate the locks completely? Why do they only work with the ignition on? Any help is appreciated from some of the experienced guys on here because if I have to take this to the Acura dealership which I am planning on needing to already, I know they are going to try to blame the alarm or something else and not cover this under warranty. Thanks in advance

Did you try just disconnecting the brain from the 4 or 5 ultrastart wiring harnesses and then testing the acura doorlocks (at the door and w/ the keyfob)?

Sounds like a BECU/SECU problem since the doorlocks are working with the key in the "III" position. Did you have to diode isolate anything during the install? Door triggers?

I think it's somehow the ultrastart brain -- try disconnecting this and testing the OEM Acura keyfob as well as the doorlock buttons on the drivers/passenger door. Did you disconnect the car's battery prior to the headunit install -- if so perhaps that momentarily dropped power to the defective ultrastart brain until it started acting up again? I would meter the lock/unlock wires as well and see what it happening when you press the door lock/unlock buttons on the door itself. I would also meter the GREEN/ blue wires off the ultrastart brain doorlock three pin plug and see if they are dropping to ground (-) after you press either lock/unlock.

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Also .. did you have the ignition autolock feature enabled?

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I've seen this in newer mitsubishis........a fuse under the hood blows.....when the ignition is turned on, the door locks work perfect....when the key is turned off, the keyless and door lock switch do not function. I would check all of your fuses, including the ones under the hood.

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On the rsx forums you can find a *.pdf of the RSX service manual with EWD (electrical wiring diagrams) .. that'll tell ya which power sources power the door control/keyless entry unit .. usually there are several power sources w/ several different fuses that would ultimately affect it's performance.

If you do find a blown fuse... you still have to find the source of the short in the circuit ... check that brain.

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Thank you guys for the responses. I did diode isolate the trunk and both door triggers properly. Bear in mind that this setup worked great for some time. I do not believe it is the ultrastart brain, here is why. I do have the ignition autolock and unlock programed on. When I turn the ignition on then the doors lock. If i turn the ignition off then they do not unlock because The entire locking system is dead with the key off. When the key is in the on position the ultrastart locks and unlocks the door fine. I don't even think metering the wires will tell me anything I don't know already. The wires will almost certainly be dead when the key is off. I checked the door lock fuse under the hood and it is fine. Nothing was touched on the alarm brain and all wires are secure. If something was cut or loose then the problem would not be resolved by turning the car on. I did not disconnect the battery during the headunit install. I dont think anything mechanically is wrong, it seems more of a programming issue but I may be wrong. When I ran the wire to the battery for the headunit I unscrewed the positive terminal screw but I think the battery was connected as the metal was on the metal the whole time. Also peterrubers, I dont really know how to go about finding a short. Do you believe that is what it is? How would the entire doorlocking system come to life just by turning on the ignition, keep in mind it is totally dead when the car is off. Also I checked the owners manual with the fuse locations and only one seems to be for the locks. It's a 15 amp fuse which is perfectly fine and operational. Any more help to save me the incredible financial burden of getting screwed by a acura dealer is appreciated. Also I have a ton of schoolwork due so I don't have that much time to test all the wires and play with it. Anymore help is greatly appreciated and thank you to everyone that has responded thusfar.

Also I see that you suspected the ultrastart brain. You may be right but no door lock wires were cut during the install, I simply tapped into the wires. Also how would the diode isolating come into play here? The diodes wouldnt reactivate with the ignition on plus that is just the trigger. How should I fix the becu or secu. I might try and disconnect the ultrastart brain but I am not expecting any miracles from that. Cause the brain is functioning perfectly all the time and I am sure it is triggering the lock and unlock of the car at the appropriate time but since the locking system is dead the car is unresponsive. With the ignition on, the ultrastart locks and unlocks the doors by remote perfectly. That is why I think its a becu or secu issue. If someone has seen this happen with this car before(I bet that is unlikely)and fixed it I would be overjoyed to hear how.

As mentioned by peterubers and me, it could be any of the fuses that are causing your problem, not just the one for the power door locks. You need to check all of your fuses in the vehicle. I'm not saying this is the problem, but this is where you need to start.

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Ok so do you have any recommendation about which fuses are more likely to be the culprits here. I am assuming that checking the headlight fuse will not be necessary, am I correct? Mikvot did you manage to fix those mitsubishis? Which fuse was blown in those cases?

when i test fuses, i dont even look at what they are for....i just get to testing. Yes, on the mitsu i figured it out...(all my new guys seem to blow one when they start working on these cars)....It took a while to find the fuse, because i couldn't understand why the locks would work with the key on, but not with the key off....same as yours. Thought it was something worse. I would just go through all of the fuses to be safe, no point of skipping any....should only take a few minutes if you have a dmm. Hopefully, this is what is causing your problem, but either way, checking all fuses is a good starting point.

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Hey mikvot that is good to know. I truly hope it is only a fuse and nothing more. Mikvot, which fuse was blown on the mitsu? Thank you

I think it was a fuse for the Etacs module, which is part of the fuse box inside of the car. The fuse ended up being under the hood. Obviously, your car is set up completely different then this car. The only other thing that didn't work was the domelight. Without checking all of the fuses, i would of never found it....the owners manual said nothing about this fused being tied into the door locks.

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You know whats weird, if I remember correctly when I was installing the headunit the domelight was not on even though the door was open. When I slid the domelight switch to on the light went on. I paid no attention at that point and when i drove the car the locks worked as the ignition was on. Anyways I will deff check the fuses tomorrow and will let you know what I find. Thanks again

Also if anyone happens to think of something else that may be to blame for my troubles, go ahead and chime in.

I was thinking about this a little more, and I haven't done car audio in a few years, but i remember on the older civics, that when you replaced the factory head unit ,you had to use a special harness, or jump a couple of wires to retain the keyless and domelight.......just an idea, not sure if all of the hondas and acuras went to this system. If you can't find anything, i would post on the Audio side of the forums, and see if someone has an answer.

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Doorlocks will stop working in Toyotas b/c of a bad fuse for the dome light.

As mentioned before -- you need to obtain a copy of the service manual -- NOT the owner's manual. The service manual will show you EXACTLY in schematic form which fuses *** usually more than one *** affect the power supply to the doorlock/keyless entry unit.

Often, the SECU/BECU is a very integrated module that also controls such functions as turn signaling, brakes, parking lights, etc. So, it follows that this unit receives power from many circuit avenues. I recently blew a doorlock fuse in a Toyota Camry '05 I was working on and found via the SERVICE MANUAL (not the owner's manual) that there are over 7 fused power supplies to the BECU that will affect performance of the doorlock/keyless entry system, including the dome light fuse.

Best of luck ... if all else fails and you cannot obtain a service manual with electrical wiring diagrams, just start checking fuses .. betcha you'll find one that is blown. Of course, the only way to find a short in the system is to undo all your wiring looming and electrical taping and find where a loose connection may be.

I would venture to say that it's not the brain at this point .. likely an Acura fuse .. however, the brain may have contributed to the blow fuse to begin with -- perhaps you've got the doorlock to the 3 second setting, not the 0.750 second or 0.125 second setting .. and this may have, over time blown some fuse in the Acura doorlock/keyless entry system. Also... you'd be surprised how wires can get crimped and pnched over time by the weight of wire bundles and get chaffed to the point where the copper wire touches some metal component.

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No, in this car the streo has nothing to do with the keyless or domelight. I think the only logical soluion is a blown fuse. I was constantly turning the ignition on and off during the headunit install because if you are all aware the 70-1725 metra amp integration harness for the rsx type s which allows you to usa a aftermarket headunit with the bose amp and sub is pront to alterantor noise so I was checking for this. Anyways in a couple of hours I will be going out to the car and checking all the fuses. Also a side question, can all the fuses including the small mini blade types on the interior fuse panel as well as the larger ones under the hood be checked without being taken out? Can all of them be checked with a dmm on top? Thank you

Also .. do not take it to Acura until you've done a thorough investigation ... I also own an Acura (TL) and know for a fact that they will likely NOT warrant the work they need to do to resolve your issue, and will most certainly blame it on the alarm/remote start brain/installation.

I would also post on the Acura RSX forums.. very focused discussions will likely turn up the answer as well

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This link will take you to a site that lets you buy the service manual *pdf for $9.00 ... that's a steal compared to the hardcopy price (usually up to a couple hundred bucks).

https://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/723083

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Or download it free here:

https://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread.php?t=348032

Try the second link .. it works.

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Keyless/doorlock system .. starts on page 22-156

After looking at the complete circuit diagram .. there are over 8 different fuses involved in this system as well as the Multiplex system (BECU):

Under dash fuse #10 (7.5 A) is the one that controls it when the ignition is not HOT (i.e. not the in the II or III) position)

Under hood fuses: #20 is the fuse in-line before it gets to that under dash fuse I just mentioned

Under hood fuse #9 powers the doorlock system during the Ignition in the II and III position.

I think you have your answer, best of luck.

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peterrubers thanks a ton for the help and making my read of the service manual a whole lot shorter by doing that reading for me. I am downloading the file as I write this and in a little while I will be going out to do some investigating. Can I test those fuses without removing each one and visually inspecting it? Thanks

It's ok to take ANY fuse out and just inspect it. don't worry. They are made to be taken out and placed back in the slot. I would physically use a pair of needle nose pliers and take them out and inspect them. I betcha its either that 7.5A fuse under the dash or the one directly in front of it in-line under the hood. They are the mini-blade type fuses, btw, in case you go and buy one from radioshack or pepboys, etc.

If you do find the fuse to be blown .. and when you put the new fuse in .. it may do 1 of 2 things:

1) it'll blow right away .. indicates there is a more serious short circuit than previously expected

2) it'll keep the doorlocks working fine .. but may eventually blow again .. in which case it'll be important but not urgent to find that short circuit

best of luck

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Hey how did you read the service manual so fast. How did you figure out which fuse did what when the ignition is hot or not etc.. I looked at the diagrams and had no clue. Now I have never read a service manual previously in my life so that may be why but in any event thank you very much and the info was extremely helpful. I just hope the new fuse does not blow when I put it in cause then I am screwed

I think i will be checking the under dash#10 fuse first. Thank you and I never thought posting here would be so helpful. Also you recommended me ask on the club rsx forums. While I do like that forum and go there frequently, for the more technical questions I think this forum is much better.

After re-reading that circuit on page 22-156 (page 1307 of adobe), I think i got it backwards:

In the IG1 "HOT" position, the following fuses are being used to deliver power:

Under hood: Fuse #19 and #20 (100A and 40A respectively), Under dash: Fuse #10 (7.5A)

In the IG1 in the not "HOT" position (i.e. during the circumstance where YOU are having the problem/issue), the following fuses are being used to deliver power to the keyless/doorlock system:

Under hood: Fuse #9 and 16 (7.5A and 15A respectively) (***CHECK these first***) (no under-dash fuses for this part of the system)

I now think that fuse #9 and/or #16 are your problem ... b/c according to the diagram these are the circuits that are used when the system is not being powered with the key being in IG position II or III.

When you blow enough fuses, as I have, you get good at reading EWD's and schematics, LOL!

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Hehe don't go to hard on yourself over blowing the fuses, I am sure you didn't blow as many as you are making it seem. Anyways, I doubt I blew one of the larger amperage fuses because then I would probably be having a lot more problems then just the door locks. I will deff check fuses 9 and 16 first in about an hour. i am so anxious that this will fix my prob so I hope I am not disappointed to find these fuses operational cause that would mean I have a larger problem on my hands. Thanks

btw -- what year is the RSX? This helms manual is for an 02/03 .. however, from what the guys on the RSX forum are saying, it still applies to the later model years.

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It's a 2006 rsx type s. They did make some changes for the 05 and 06 models. For example, wiring the 556h keyless bypass for the remote start is different for the 05 and 06's in relation to the 02,03 and 04's. That means there was a slight change to the immobilizer system. I'm just using this as an example of changes but I doubt they changed the locking system. I maybe wrong though

Also since I am preparing for the worst, what is a short circuit exactly. The doorlocks on this car are negative so I don't exactly know what a short circuit is or what causes it. Hope you can explain.

Well, even though a negative signal is needed to "activate" the doorlock motor .. the doorlock motor itself still needs a positive 12 volts (and some type of current) to activate the actuator to pull down that door lock. Perhaps something in the ultrastart brain is causing that negative signal to be prolonged .. therefore prolonging the current that's going through the doorlock actuators .. therefore blowing a fuse under the hood or dash.

Alternative theory is that an OEM wire has been compressed/pinched/eroded secondary to your remote start/alarm installation .. and over time .. it caused a doorlock power wire (12 volts) to short .. or be grounded to the chassis metal component and therefore allowed way too much current to flow through the in-line fuse .. causing the fuse to blow. When any OEM 12 volt power supply wire touches ground (or a metal component of the chassis which serves at ground) .. it allows all the current the battery can generate to flow through that circuit. Fuses are a safeguard against allowing all 550-700amps of the battery from flowing through a wiring circuit in which the wire can only handle about 5-30 amps (alternator and start wires in the engine bay can handle much more amperage/current obviously). The fuse allows only a certain amoutn of current (i.e. 7.5 amps for example) to flow before "blowing."

Less likely still, but still a possiblity is that something in the Acura system itself has finally decided to be defective .. and your alarm is not the culprit... this is highly unlikely only b/c I don't think this is a common issue at all on the '06 RSX's ..

Sorry if this is info that you already know, hopefully it helps you isolate your issue.

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That was actually very informative. I knew that a pinched wire was a "short" but never understood the science behind it. I don't anything was pinched and surely nothing was done to exacerbate the problem recently. I hope it is just a blown fuse and it will behave normally when the new one is inserted. I am just waiting for my brother to come back with the car as I lent it to him for the afternoon. I'l keep you posted

i see this problem a lot with buddies of mine that put in their own stereo systems with little regard to protecting wires. They later discover a blown fuse .. then trace it back to a pinched wire that is not a problem in and of itself, it's just that when it gets pinched, it's usually by something metallic and it pieces the wire sheath and allows the copper wire to contact and create a "new" circuit with the grounding metallic component of the car .. then then opens up the current to flow down this new path.

I rarely see with with remote start installs

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I hope no wires are pinched cause then I have to open up my dash again which I am so not in the mood to do. I think this stems from me working on the wires with the ignition on at times. Is that possible?

Also another thing I forgot to mention is that when I started working on this, I did blow the actual fuse to the radio which provides 12v there but i did not bother replacing it because I wanted to run a wire to the battery anyways. I know a fuse was blown as probing the wire harness revealed the WHITE/ red wire was dead but the yelllow/red accessory wire did provide 12v with the key turned.(I think those were the wire colors) Anyways do you think this has something to do with my prob?

i'm looking at the electrical diagram manual again ...

Yup... common fuses involved: page 1255 .. the non-bose circuit diagram (I assume you have the non-bose unit)

Fuse under hood: #2, #9, and #20 .. surprise surprise, they also affect your doorlocks...

Under dash fuse: #8

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The #9 7.5A fuse under the hood supplies a WHITE/ red wire .. power to the headunit... that fuse also seems to help the doorlock system

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Firstly I do have the BOSE system in this car. What is the diagram saying about that? Does the info you just provided still apply? Damn if only my brother would get home already as I am sooo anxious to get this fixed or at least find out the problem.

'ccording to the service manual .. the power to the headunit is identical to the non-bose vs. bose unit... the differences in bose vs. non-bose are at the speaker level as far as I can tell.

You said that your doorlocks were working w/o the key in the ignition temporarily after the radio install? Am I understanding that correctly?

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oops... forgot to read page 1253... different circuit power diagram for bose stereos:

Under hood: #14, 20, and 9 (still applies that fuses are shared b/w stereo and doorlock system)

Under dash: #15 and #8j

The #9 fuse supplies a WHITE/ red wire .. the one you mentioned ..

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Il tell you the truth, I am not sure they worked at all after the install. I initially said that because after I installed the stereo it never occurred to me that the locks would operate differently in the ignition on and off positions. I drove the car around and the locks worked with the ignition on but I don't know if they worked in the off position cause it never occurred to me to check that.

Oh I see what you are saying I just looked at that diagram and it all makes sense. I am assuming that there is no sense in checking the 100amp fuse cause if that was blown the car would be out of commission. I hope that it's the 7.5 amp fuse#8 that is under the dash cause I have some of those in my toolbox. Anyways we will have our answer soon enough. Before I started this thread here I thought I was completely out of luck but now I have hope.

But do you see how #8 fuse has nothing to do with the doorlock circuit (refer to the doorlock page in the service manual) ... if the #8 fuse is blown, and you replace the fuse... the doorlocks will be unaffected....

It's one of the other fuses... #9 fuse under hood probably or the other.

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Wow the wiring diagram is pretty annoying to look at. I am gonna check all the fuses we discussed in this whole conversation. I am sure the dedicated fuse for the radio is blown. I think that is under dash fuse #8. I think you are right that fuse #9 under the hood is the one that is causing the door lock troubles. I am still waiting to get the car back. I can't thank you enough for helping me out. I know you spent a lot of time on this so when I find out I will tell you exactly what it was and we will both know what to do if we ever see this problem again in the future,

I appreciate the feedback b/c it adds to my fund of knowledge .. so if I ever rig an RSX w remote start/alarm .. i'll know what's up if a fuse goes... plus this site is soley responsible for my installation business for remote starts/alarm systems b/c this is how I learned to do those type of installs, so it's my obligation I think to contribute a little $ and my knowledge as often as I can.

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Oh, and ceiling light (dome light) is diagrammed on page 1248 ... in fact, all the interior lights are in that circuit diagram.

The fuse for the ceiling light (dome light) is Fuse #3 (7.5A) under the hood. I doubt this has anything to do with your doorlocks, but also work checking. Verify that the dome light switch is in the "Door" position and then open the door to verify that it comes on. Then switch it to the "ON' position to verify that it stays on during open or closed door situation.

Pages 1201 and 1202 have a complete listing and location of each and every fuse in that car. You should check them all, but you can first check all we mentioned in this thread, as well as any that are listed as being involved with the following:

1) keyless receiver

2) Multiplex control unit

3) audio

4) ceiling light

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ok I am going out to the car now so I will let you know in a little while. I only have mini blade fuses in my house now so I don't think I can fix the problem tonight but at least we will know which fuses are blown. I will check back with you in a little while.

Also when you say the domelight is disprogrammed, does that mean when I replace these fuses the domelight will be operational again or will I have to do some type of programming? I am gonna make sure to let you know the end result so you will have this info on you for the future.

Oh my god, I just came back inside. The first fuse I checked was the #9 7.5 amp fuse under the hood. Guess what it was completely destroyed. I then went on to check all the other fuses and they were all good including the radio fuse. I thought the radio fuse would be gone too but it was still good. That is strange, when I was playing with the radio wires how come the#9 under hood fuse blew and not the radio fuse? In any event I put a 7.5 amp mini blade fuse in place of the blown #9 fuse and I saw the interior lights go on so I knew I was in business. I checked the doorlocks and they worked perfectly. I started the car and ran it for like 20 min and nothing blew so that is it, the problem is fixed. Thanks so much peter, I would never of thought a unrelated fuse would be causing this. Now we both will know what to do if we see this again. Good luck with your business and thanx again

THE IN A SENSE WAS PART OF THE RADIO FUSE ITS THE CONSTANT POWER FUSE THATS WHY YOUR LOCKS WOULD NOT WORK WITH THE KEY OFF THERE WAS NO POWER THERE FOR THEM TO WORK

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never stop

Congrats man.... keep that service manual handy ... it has a lot of great info in it... you'd be surprised how much Acura will rip you off for looking up a page or two in that volume and charging you $100/hr ..

I would still take some time one weekend and investigate your wiring of the remote start for a short.. I trust you made good connections, but that fuse shouldn't have blown over the course of two months or so. Also, check the settings on your ultra start brain and make sure you're not set to 3 second long negative pulses for the doorlocks -- make it 0.125 or 0.750 seconds.

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The #9 fuse is also part of the radio circuit .. when you were messing w/ the radio wires, you created a short (you now know exactly what this is.. ) and you caused a tremendous amount of current to be drawn through that 7.5A fuse - causing it to blow. Now, why did your radio still work? B/c, just like your doorlock system, the radio system draws power from several different power sources .. including that common 7.5A fuse. The radio was probably still 90% functional ... enough for you not to see any differences.. until you discovered the doorlock issue.

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