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What does this button do?!!

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Old 01-07-10, 11:06 AM
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What does this button do?!!

I recently found a small red button under the dash near the fuse box. its just a regular button you push and thats it. it doesnt stay pushed in when pushed or anything. I will post a picture later when i get back home but I pushed it to see if anything would happen and just recently i noticed my volt meter has stopped working. do you guys think this has anything to do with it? My car doesnt seem to have any major modifications made to just a cone filter and eibachs with swaybars. so nothing electrical ive noticed so far.
Old 01-07-10, 03:16 PM
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It's not stock. Perhaps it is a fuel pump cut switch?

Trace the wires and see where they lead...
Old 01-07-10, 03:52 PM
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Question

Originally Posted by Aaron Cake
It's not stock. Perhaps it is a fuel pump cut switch?

Trace the wires and see where they lead...
Yes, that would make sense. Ill take a picture and upload it a little bit later in about an hour or so. Ill also see if i can trace the wires but I have almost no electrical experience what so ever so i might need some help figuring out what it leads to exactly. Also what purposes could this button serve other then a fuel pump cut off switch?
Old 01-07-10, 05:16 PM
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its a b.s nos switch....

no but like aaron said trace the wire it might be there just for looks
Old 01-07-10, 05:31 PM
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Question [update] heres the pic

Its a little dark but you can easily make out there is a large tangle of wires near it so it might take me a while to follow the trail. It looks like three white, red, and blue wires are coming out of it. if its a fuel cut off switch where would it most likely connect to? to the fuse box? or directly to the bay?

(fast2G) if for looks it would be some where visible but its almost right in front of the fuse box behind the hood release latch, and only visible if you get down and look for it
Attached Thumbnails What does this button do?!!-p_00003.jpg  

Last edited by masa_3100; 01-07-10 at 05:40 PM.
Old 01-07-10, 05:49 PM
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who knows man it could be anything
Old 01-07-10, 05:57 PM
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Button?..only Jack Bauer knows for sure!..tick/tock/tick/tock!
Old 01-07-10, 06:15 PM
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Far better picture!

Here is a photo i took with my good camera. It shows that there is just two wires coming out of it both black. and they seem to go into an opening in the frame/body.
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Old 01-07-10, 06:21 PM
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it's for when the battery gets weak u push it and out pops the energizer bunny,lol!

j/k, have u tried pushing it to see what happens? maybe is't a replacement a previous owner installed for the sub zero bottle.
Old 01-07-10, 06:31 PM
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I wonder if it is for some kind of kill switch for an aftermarket alarm system. No real way to tell by the picture, you really need to trace the wires. You could try testing it with the car on and off and see if power is flowing through it.
Old 01-07-10, 06:38 PM
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I did try pushing it but not with it running. so ill try next time while its running. My RX7 doesn't come equipped with a sub zero tank cuz its a California base/luxury model, at least thats what ive read and i dont recall seeing one in there too.

so if its a fuel cut off switch and I do hit the button while running. Its just gonna die out and nothing bad will happen right? just like a kill switch? cuz this is my daily driver to school and I cant have anything happen that would decommission my car for even the shortest amount of time.

And can anyone tell me where the wires would normally go to if it is a fuel cut off switch? cuz i dont want to spend hours trying to follow it down there when i could have just gone straight to the finish and be done with it.
Old 01-07-10, 06:42 PM
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Originally Posted by masa_3100
I did try pushing it but not with it running. so ill try next time while its running. My RX7 doesn't come equipped with a sub zero tank cuz its a California base/luxury model, at least thats what ive read and i dont recall seeing one in there too.

so if its a fuel cut off switch and I do hit the button while running. Its just gonna die out and nothing bad will happen right? just like a kill switch? cuz this is my daily driver to school and I cant have anything happen that would decommission my car for even the shortest amount of time.

And can anyone tell me where the wires would normally go to if it is a fuel cut off switch? cuz i dont want to spend hours trying to follow it down there when i could have just gone straight to the finish and be done with it.
I am not so sure it would be a fuel cutoff switch. If I was wiring a fuel cutoff switch it would be a toggle instead of a momentary type like you have. I was referring more like a kill switch for an aftermarket alarm system. Instead of just randomly pushing it see if you can use a DMM to probe the contacts when the car is off, ignition is in accessory position, and when the car is started. See if voltage is flowing to the switch in any of those cases.
Old 01-07-10, 07:06 PM
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Originally Posted by AcidShock
I am not so sure it would be a fuel cutoff switch. If I was wiring a fuel cutoff switch it would be a toggle instead of a momentary type like you have. I was referring more like a kill switch for an aftermarket alarm system. Instead of just randomly pushing it see if you can use a DMM to probe the contacts when the car is off, ignition is in accessory position, and when the car is started. See if voltage is flowing to the switch in any of those cases.
Thats what i thought, if it was a cut off it wouldn't be this kinda switch. This car does seem to have some sort of security system but its never on and i havent figured out how to arm it. The reason i think it has security is because below the CD player there is a panel with one red LED right in the center, nothing else. but it never blinks.

I sadly dont have any tools on me except for the haphazardly gathered wrenches and such that i have collected and i dont think ill be able to get my hands on a ohm meter, or what ever they are called.

So with fuel cut off switch eliminated what are the other possible functions of this button?
Old 01-07-10, 10:50 PM
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Does the car have a car deck that plays videos?

My friend has a button under his wheel, not in that spot, but what it does is allow him to view videos on his deck while he is driving. Usually you can't do it when the car is in drive, its a safety measure. This bypasses it.

I don't know, just throwing some things out.
Old 01-08-10, 09:00 AM
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Originally Posted by RX7Klutch
Does the car have a car deck that plays videos?

My friend has a button under his wheel, not in that spot, but what it does is allow him to view videos on his deck while he is driving. Usually you can't do it when the car is in drive, its a safety measure. This bypasses it.

I don't know, just throwing some things out.
doubtful. something like that wouldn't be in such an out of the way place. it would be easily reachable as in ur friends case or in the dash/console.
Old 01-08-10, 03:46 PM
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So what is it!!!????

Still trying to find out what it does. Im not sure if ill be able to trace it because of its path into a hole in the frame. Im thinking ill just try and find where it ends, but ill need you guys to throw out some of the MOST PROBABLE functions of this button and tell me what and where it would be wired to in that case. You guys can joke around but please leave a good idea too.

I liked that energizer bunny one hahaha *push* "nope no bunny..." T~T
Old 01-08-10, 04:35 PM
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it being there must really annoy u. get a volt meter and see if there's any power going to it with the switch on. if not, eff it. rip it out. i've never know car manufacturers to put switches/buttons in out of the way places like that. i stand by my original thought, it's probably something a previous owner put there.
Old 01-08-10, 06:36 PM
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maybe turn the car on, pop the hood and have a friend stand over the engine bay as you push the button?

...just hope your car doesnt explode
Old 01-08-10, 06:59 PM
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Hey...Cut it out!

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it's probably a button to summon Fooby the Kamikaze Watermelon lol
da-da-da-daa-da-daa whee! *splat*
Old 01-09-10, 12:12 PM
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Originally Posted by rxtasy3
it being there must really annoy u. get a volt meter and see if there's any power going to it with the switch on. if not, eff it. rip it out. i've never know car manufacturers to put switches/buttons in out of the way places like that. i stand by my original thought, it's probably something a previous owner put there.
that the simple solution ignore it if it hasn't killed you yet it cant kill you in the future.
it cant be that annoying if you cant see it
Old 01-09-10, 09:47 PM
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Talking yeah...

Ill go get a volt meter from some where and check it out. well i guess this button will for ever be a mystery, cuz Im too afraid to push it while its running. oh and just a quick side question,

what does that little flat head skrew thing do, its on the passenger side of the bay near the AFM with a R <-> L markings near it. cuz I thought it was the head lamp angle adjuster or something and turned it (its like that on my moms civic), but then my car wouldn't start and it took me a good 30mins and the help of a stranger to jump start it to figure out where to turn it to in order to get it to start again. and now it seems to idle a little differently.
Old 01-09-10, 11:34 PM
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just a wild guess but it may be a rich-lean adjustment?
Old 01-09-10, 11:37 PM
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Originally Posted by masa_3100
Ill go get a volt meter from some where and check it out. well i guess this button will for ever be a mystery, cuz Im too afraid to push it while its running. oh and just a quick side question,

what does that little flat head skrew thing do, its on the passenger side of the bay near the AFM with a R <-> L markings near it. cuz I thought it was the head lamp angle adjuster or something and turned it (its like that on my moms civic), but then my car wouldn't start and it took me a good 30mins and the help of a stranger to jump start it to figure out where to turn it to in order to get it to start again. and now it seems to idle a little differently.
.....

that would be the idle mixture adjuster.... don't play with that....
Old 01-10-10, 02:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Raid3n
.....

that would be the idle mixture adjuster.... don't play with that....
....yeah... It kinda sucks when your car suddenly doesnt start, so ill steer clear of that thing from now on. But just to check the L = Lean and R = Rich, and it seems to start easier when set to a richer mixture is that right? just have to make sure its not too rich. I need to make sure this car starts up as easily as possible.

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Old 01-10-10, 02:41 AM
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you'd best get your self a multimeter, and a factory service manual, and reset it back to the factory specs.

or find someone in your area that can do the above.


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