Dash indication is two flashes when started, gear is any position i.e. neutral, reverse , 1st etc. to 5th. Fuses good. next step recommendation!

 

My only experience with electric shift models was a honda similar to yours. I know in my case, the battery had to be completely charged for it to shift properly. I also had to replace the shift sensor, seems like it was toward the rear of the transmission. I think I arrived at that by retrieving the codes, do not remember how though. Bought the part off of Ebay, it did not cost very much and fixed my problem.

 

Is that the gear indicator blinking twice, then a pause then twice again? I have not got my Manual with 350 fault codes at home, but on the 450 code 2 is speedo sensor, is your speedo working? At first almost all faults on ES models seemed to come from the angle sensor, that is fault code 3. However as the machines get older, worn shift motor brushes and non contacting ES buttons have become common too. The shift motor costs nothing but time to strip and check, but is a pig to get back together.

 

The diagnosis procedure by Honda is not very reliable because it cannot detect a wiring/connection problem.
Many people have chased these problems by replacing one part after another.

If you want a quick and easy fix, you can bypass the ECU shift control computer. No need to replace any parts!

I have a drop-in relay system for that which you can find at: subzerosound.com. /HondaECUBypass.html

 

Steve J I usually keep a trickle charge on the battery, however, when hunting in October in Colorado, I used the outlet to charge my phone occasionally. After 9 days in the mountains the failure occurred, the Honda would not shift and the indicator flashed twice paused and flashed twice again, no matter what gear I could manually put it in. I put the trickle charge on the battery at home, to make sure the battery was charged, - hooray the Honda shifted normally until the battery was discharged a little bit, then the problem reoccurred.

Solution: Replace the battery all seems to work as designed!!
Root Cause: Low / failing two year old battery. Battery Voltage checked - looked OK - wouldn't hold a charge.
I'll have to watch to make sure the Honda charging circuit is functioning properly.

 

When the engine is running it will be producing well over the voltage needed for gear changes, and when it isn't running you won't need to change gear, as long as you change down to neutral before stopping the engine. So either the battery is taking all the power the alternator can produce or there is something wrong with the charging circuit. With engine running, check the battery voltage, should be between 13v and 14.5v depending on the revs, and how well charged the battery is. If the voltage is below 13v and doesn't alter upwards, either regulator or stator is faulty. It can sometimes be a faulty wire too, so if it isn't charging, check you are getting full battery power with a 12v test lamp at the regulator plug (red & green wires).