Am I crazy

I don't think so, but throwing parts at an electrical problem is not a recipe for success, as you've already seen.

Troubleshooting this will require downloading the service manual and working your way through the wiring diagram with a multimeter to determine where the circuit breaks down. Checking your fuses, battery terminals and ground points is a quick, easy way to start, and you might get lucky. If what you're seeing is all the accessory circuits coming on in the second key position, but nothing happening when you turn past that, it's probably either a fuse, wiring, a relay, a connection point, or the ignition switch.

Once you know the answer to that one, you can decide whether the repair is realistic or not.

If this sounds like no fun, you will probably be best served by paying a pro to troubleshoot it for you. If it's a connection or a relay, fixing it won't cost much more. If it's a component (like the ignition switch), you can decide whether you want to do the work yourself or not.

 

I had a similar issue caused by too many keys on the chain and years of them hanging out of the ign. It caused an arc flash failure on the contact and it would not always start and it also would randomly shut off the car while driving which was scary. The good thing was it was an easy and cheap fix. New contact barrel swapped in and taking the key an putting it on it's own chain without all the house and work keys on it. This part here fails with lots of use. you can swap it and it doesn't mess with the keys or programming etc. you can pull the ignition out and look at it, it will be all burned up if bad, The part that burns out first is the starter part as the most juice goes through it when activated.

2008 HONDA PILOT BLUE STREAK (HYGRADE MOTOR) - US489 - Ignition Switch

Ignition Switch for 2008 HONDA PILOT by BLUE STREAK (HYGRADE MOTOR) - US489

partsavatar.ca

 

Potentially an immobilizer issue? If you need to reprogram the immobilizer chip in your keys to match a new immobilizer ring in your ignition, this might help...

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New Key Fob Replacement Won't Program

I own a 2006 Honda Pilot EX. My wife's key FOB quit working about 3 years ago. Mine quit working a couple of weeks ago so I thought I would order two replacement FOBs on eBay. The replacements have the same FCC ID's as the old FOBs but neither will accept the programming. I have followed the...

www.piloteers.org

 

the immobilizer lives in a different part of the ignition that bit is purely mechanical.

 

I have been there on my 2003. In my case, the lock cylinder was jammed, which is a common problem on high mileage Hondas. Sounds like you have an issue with the switch mechanism. Yes, the switch lives on the end of the lock assembly. That is, the left end, as you sit in the Pilot. You can replace this without a problem, it's just a simple electrical switch, not tied into the immobilizer. The immobilizer sensor is on the other end of the assembly, and is programmed to link to the RFID chip in your ignition key. You must be careful not to damage this sensor or its wires when you work on the ignition. You should be able to replace the actual switch without any impact to the immobilizer, as long as you do not damage the sensor or wires.

 

The guy in the first video is WRONG! He claims that the only fix for a jammed lock cylinder is complete replacement. NOT TRUE. If you carefully remove the actual cylinder from it's housing, and insert the key, the worn out wafers that are jamming will stick out slightly. Then just pull them out and throw them away. The original key will now work perfectly. It is usually just one or two wafers nearest the key entry point, and they are worn out by people who use heavy keychains that pull down on the key over many miles of vibration. I did this repair over 3 years ago on my 2003, and it's still working perfectly.

There is a youtube video by a gal in a blue shirt that shows this procedure clearly. the title is 2003 Honda Odyssey ignition sticking, and the gal who posted it is "I fix things". She does a great job showing you how to save your ignition assembly!

 

The guy in the first video is WRONG! He claims that the only fix for a jammed lock cylinder is complete replacement. NOT TRUE. If you carefully remove the actual cylinder from it's housing, and insert the key, the worn out wafers that are jamming will stick out slightly. Then just pull them out and throw them away. The original key will now work perfectly. It is usually just one or two wafers nearest the key entry point, and they are worn out by people who use heavy keychains that pull down on the key over many miles of vibration. I did this repair over 3 years ago on my 2003, and it's still working perfectly. There is a youtube video by a gal in a blue shirt that shows this procedure clearly. the title is 2003 Honda Odyssey ignition sticking, and the gal who posted it is "I fix things". She does a great job showing you how to save your ignition assembly!

How can i remove the cylinder from the housing around the ignition part itself to get to wafers please help ive made it all the way to removal of transponder but cant get cylinder out

 

quod vide...

 

So now she has an ignition anyone can stick a screwdriver in an turn on. Ok! She saved $700. 😁

 

Did she take out all the wafers? tl:dw

 

That's what it looked like

 

So I bought the entire Ignition Switch from Rockauto.com but was able to only replace the electrical part of the switch and fix the issue. Thanks for everyone's support and help here.

I will say the electric connector connects to the BACK of the fuse box in the driver side and was a huge pain to get to. Also removing and reinstalling the screws on the ignition was a pain and really requires a perfect size screw driver.

 

Glad you solved it.

Electrical part only, so no messing with wafers or the immobilizer system? For all your efforts, you should still consider you got off relatively easy. What do you suppose the cause of the electrical problem was?

 

Glad it worked out and you have spare bits should something else go.

 

 

I've had to replace the electrical bit on 2 of my Hondas with high mileage, they burned out on the older ones. once on my civic at around 140K miles and once on my CRV after about the same. When you pulled the back off they would be all black and scorched. The civic was bad, you'd be driving along and all of a sudden the car would stall, then it would re-start with the clutch and keep going. after that happening 2-3 times I figured out the 12V flowed through the ign switch and the bad connection would short it out and stop the engine just like shutting of the key, then it would come back and allow it to start again. The CRV just had times it wouldn't respond to the key turning, so I just figured I'd look at the connector and sure enough it was all crapped out.