I have a Honda Civic coupe LX 2006, a friend of mine left its headlight on for 10 hrs and now when i try to start, it won't start. i tried almost everything but still unable to resolve the problem. i went to repair shop and they said there might be problem with key since on my dashboard the key sign light is blinking and doesnot stop. however key is working fine, i mean the remote. did anyone had similar experience in past?? need help!!!

Last week my car ( Honda Accord EX 2002 )did not start, when I start, there was a click sound but did not start. I doubted the battery and changed in from auto zone, it started immediately but gave the same problem ( did not start next time). I called a mechanic and he doubted several things but his prime suspect was starter. He replaced it and now its fine ( starts and runs great). you better try changing it . Hope it works.

 hey i had the same problem with mine with same model except mine was EX. had to freakin tow it to dealership i was so mad. had paid decent money for it..

the problem with mine is the fuse box went out. Had to pay honda 200+ for diagnosis. There you go atleast i saved you the diagnostic fee

make sure you change the battery right after the problem is resolved.. Tire plus had warned me before the battery was getting weak, i just ignored them, turned out later that because my battery was weak, it had blown the fuse box...

I had exactly the same problem man, it would crank but wouldnt start, even tried jump start no luck. I am sure it is the same problem with yours.. Lemme know..

 that is why TOYOTA> HONDA. atleast they are reliable..

 @the_hareeb, How in the world do you think TOYOTA>HONDA. . . 
If your honda had problem, it's because of you...You didn't change the battery on time and that's what you get in return. 
Honda is always the best. 100% better than Toyota.
I was driving My 1989 Honda Accord till last year until one of the door fell off although the engine was running fine..That's how strong Honda's are.. The door will fall from the car, but the engine will be fine.

How would I have known that a bad battery gonna cvost be almost 700 in repairs?? the fuse box is 400 dollers? ridiculous..

not just this problem, i have had other problem with new fairly new civic, my o2 senser went out..my seat creaks, rattles everywhere..One thing for honda though, interior 'looks' better..

atleast with toyota i had ever had such problems. sticky accelerator?? put  the damn foot mat to its place so it doesnt slide all over the place.. all due respect, people are just dumb and dont care. just need some scapegoat in this bad economy. notice how everybody is targetting their ad against camry/corolla? Not saying honda is bad, it is still better than most american brand cars, just that I have had bad expereince with my civic so i traded it in with new toyota. 

I have had old toyota before, never any major problem

Puranakagaz...its a whole another topic about which car is better, One of my car is a Toyota corolla 2003 model which i bought in 2002 brand new, it has 170K miles on it as I travelled a lot . it has been running smooth without problem for almost 10 yrs now. I do my regular oil changes and changed the battery last year just because i felt it was time. NOW .....my friend who has a honda has a similar story, his car has lasted him for ever too, SO bro both honda and toyota are great cars, both last for ever and whoever owns one knows it.

by the way mushroomhead....sorry .i read half of this thread and got bored .....did you jumpstart your car?

Ya i tried jump start several times man. but no luck. as the hareed said, the dealers told me to bring the car over there and said i need to diagnos the car and other stuffs. Too much expenses...Thanks hareed for sharing, but i don;t think its fuse box in this car though coz i already checked it with a mechanic and he said its fine. so i'm quite sure its the key thing. but dealers still want me to diagnos...i have no other option than to listen to them coz they are the only one who can reset the code.

Thanks everyone...thanks for sharing and suggestions.

 mushroomhead, one suggestion. if you NEED to to wthe car. first call your insurance and see if you can get roadside assistance.. mine is only like 2 dollers a year.. so that they will provide towing, saving you money.. if not, get AAA. its like 60 bucks which you will end up paying anyways+ you have AAA for future too incase you need towing later or motel discounts

Do this first before you bring it to a mechanic?

Last summer I had 97 Accord which left on parking sport for couple days and did not start.

A Brazilian mechanic and tried to restart it, even spraying the brake cleaner in the air intake did not work and ruled out  timing belt need to be replaced. Later I just took off battery from my other car and replaced it and jump start and the car started with little hesitant.   Later I went to the auto zone and told them the situation and he answered me that the computer has something to do with it.

You may try this, first take the battery line off and do not leave the key on ignition. Try to jump start it. You may need to know if there is any key that needs to be readjustment , in my car it has tiny on off switch next to the hood latch.  (if you have any in your car , know it how it is and you may put it back as it was ).

Or you may ask your friend if you can check your car with his/her battery on your car just to start it.

If it is bitter cold and your car has low gas in the tank, it will be troubled to start. Advised to fill in gas if the temperature is below zero.

As you have 2006 civic and it would not be a starter problem because most starter would not go bad until 100k, if the you hear lauder  hissing sound but would not start it means your starter is good, may be you would like short video tape and bring it to AutoZone , they advise free of cost.

You may wanted to change the spark plugs , cost 2-5 dollars each , get platinum, last longer  and get the right one otherwise you will be facing second dilemma

They are the butcher.  Do not hurry to be butchered.

If you had didsonnected the battery for some reason, it could be security reason .

When you lock your door, does the key sign stops flashing? if so , it could be the broken chips in your key.
If all the lights and signs glows on when you try to turn your engine on, chances of dead battery is low. And if the key sign still flashes when your key is inside the keyhole, possibley the secuirty system has locked it.
If you have spare keys that has inbuilt chip in it, try using it. I guess you have tried that already.
 try taking the keys out of the keyring and try once

Another possiblity is that the battery in your KEY is dead.

From google, it suggests to check fuse number 9 .

If it is security reason, your dealer should be able to help you start your car temoprarily using your temporary/card key

Make sure you know your theft-activation sequence. If you do, then remove the battery connection for a few seconds like 30 sec and reconnect. This gives the system a complete reset. The key signal should go away.

That's what I did when something similar happened to my Prelude.

If the engine does crank but does not start completely, then you have loose connection in our system starting from the battery. Tighten the battery connections.

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http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2361779

I believe its the same thing as mine. I just took it to honda house and re-registered the key and the car is working fine. They charged me $100 though for so called labor charge, but they didn't do anything except for resetting the key.

@ bhojpure: If the key light blinks on the dash board whenever you insert your key, the most probably you are experiencing the same problem i did. There is no other option except taking it to dealer.

Oviously they would not do any thing, just  bring it to the garage and put it for hour lifted , work on other cars and after an hour give it to you in working condition.e
Mostly in civic 2006 either you have PCM or  ECU , you have to locate it and push is for couple second which will reset the computer chips and restarts the car or it may be as syanjali said , jsut underneath the steering wheel there may be a tiny switch you have to push up or down.
It is called f u c k ed up by new Technology and it must have some instruction in the manual how to reset it.

Unfortunately, there is no way to deactivate that immobilizer. You have to have the key with the integrated transponder that was programmed to the ECU computer on your specific car or the ECU will not permit you to start it. If you lose the key, you have to go to the dealer to get a transponder key programmed to your specific car. It's about $300. Lots of places advertise systems they claim allow you to by pass the immobilizer, but they do not work.
But it is not true, if you know which one is ECU, you push in will reset it in eyeblink.  from Edmond.com

Someonesuggested this.

So, I dont warranted if this process work...
Here is a better understanding of how a immobilizer works; each key has a code imprinted on it, no battery of any type just a random code. When you go to start the car the immobilizer computer sends a signal to the key. If the signal it receives back from the key matches one of the 5 keys it keeps in its memory, it sends a "OK start" message to the PCM starting the car. If it doesn't see the "OK start" signal it doesn't start and the green key light in the dash flashes. In short there is no way to reset it.

Try another key. If not, there is a way to bypass it shortly to get the car to a Honda dealership for reprogramming of a key or key replacement. Your Prelude may also have a problem with one of these components. It will need to be hooked up to a Honda scan tool and checked for immobilizer codes.Let me know if you have any questions. I'm a 6 year factory Honda tec.

I will try and answer all I can.Here is how to use the "pcm brake code" You weill need to call your local dealership and give them you vin # to get the code.To start the engine, follow this procedure:
1. Cut a temporary key using the key code and anon-transponder key blank.
2. Turn the ignition switch ON (II) with thetemporary key.
3. Enter the first digit of the immobilizer brake codeby pressing and releasing the e-brake pedal the samenumber of times as the digit. For example, if thefirst digit is 4, press and release the e-brake pedal 4 times.
4. Turn the ignition switch to Lock (0) and then backON (II).
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to enter the second, third,fourth, and fifth digits of the code. You have up to30 seconds to enter each digit.
6. After you enter the fifth digit, the immobilizerindicator on the dash will blink five times,meaning you can now start the engine with thetemporary key.While the engine is running, the immobilizerindicator will stay on. If the engine isn't started with in 10 minutes, you'll have to reenter theimmobilizer brake code. You'll also have to reenterthe code if the engine is shut off for more than 10 minutes.This also workes for any Honda immobilizer system. However you need to use the brake pedal. Only preludes you used the e-brake.

I think it was a recall for that problem? You did not check for that?
This guy got free services. You may able to get money back  if that was the case?

http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/mechanical-problems-technical-chat/88362-immobilizer-issues.html

Few things to keep in mind,
Yeah as someone above pointed out it could be a weak battery,,(since you said it seems to crank but then it stops) but then if u have tried jump starting,,this possiblity is ruled out.

Security system and engine immoblizers generally keeps the power from going to relay unit that powers the starter solenoid which causes the engine not even to crank in an event of security breach. But since you said it cranked during jump start, i dont think it is security issue.

If it is indeed the key being not recognized by the system it is as simple as trying your spare key.

Normally a car has three steps in key, accessory mode, ignition mode and starter mode. It sounds. You need to have working ignition circuit to keep the engine ruinning, which is different from cranking it which is done thru starter circuit, ( ie used just to power up the started motor momentarily until the engine is running, then ignition circuit sustains the engine run). It could mean that you ignition circuit fuse might be blown out, which causes the car to crank but not start.

And another couple of simple things that one can do are, try squirting some starter fluid into the intake manifold while cranking. The engines with fuel injection system tend to have memory which seems to get the engine to crank in cold mode even though it's warm outside,,if the engine was stopped in cold condition last time,,which causes the cylinders to flood with gas during cranking and make it hard to start. The solution to press the gas pedal all the way and crank and let the blast of air in the engine to clear off the flooded cylinder..

Welll good luck..Hope it keeps guys from worshipping the mechanics so much.

Dear Gwatch;
You are right but it has something to do with the new technology, once the car is dead the ECU needs to reset and in old car they were right underneath the steeriing wheel but in newer car they have chips / code in the key which is not recognized. Once the battery is dead again they have to bring it to the dealer or a mechanic who can rest it or  by pass it. As  I talked to the young mechanic he told me that i have to find out the ecu and pin it for couple seconds it will reset the ecu and will start it. I think there may be more advise how to do it.

I saw an ad  on web regarding new key that will bypass the codes. How aobut in your 2003 camry xle? 

I had a same problem with my S-type last week as well. I took it to the dealer and found out the moisture had collected inside the system somewhere and it was draining all the battery juice. They charged me 250 as a diagonostic fee coz it took them two days to figure it out. They told me it was an easy fix but just took so long to figure out .