Tail light craziness

JACK6306 · 06-22-2009

Hello Guys & Gals, I am new to this board but was hoping that someone here could grace me with the knowledge to point me in the right direction for fixing my nelly belle. I have a 95 Honda civic dx with about 245,000 miles and she is still going strong. A few weeks ago I realized one evening that my rear tail lights are staying on even when the car is completely off. There is one light on the left side that does not come on.The brakes lights come on and off when the brakes are applied but the rear running lights just stay on no matter what. I have read a few post and have looked at the fuses under the hood and dash. I have also looked at the bulbs in the rear and all look fine no burnt bulbs any where. I have attached a picture that shows the car off with the lights on. I have just pulled the fuse for the rear tail lights until I get this problem solved. Please any help would be greatly appreciated.

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CraigW · 06-22-2009

Are your front markers and dash lights coming on as well ??

What is the designation (name) of the fuse being taken out ??

If you pull the "taillight relay" will that make them go off.

JACK6306 · 06-22-2009

Nah, my front markers and dash lights are not staying on like the rear lights. I believe that under the dash I have checked fuse 19 30 & 32 I beleive that those were the three fuses that I checked out under the dash. The fuses uner the hood I just checked the one for the tail light. All the fuses were in good shape. In order for me to keep the lights off I pull the fuse under the hood for the tail light and the light goes off at that point. Also I just replaced the bulb thinking maybe that would solve the problem but no it did not. In addition to adding a new bulb I also disconnected the 7p & 4p connectors from the light combination switch and the lights still stayed on. Not sure what to do next any help would be appreciated.

Thx

CraigW · 06-22-2009

Seems strange that the rears can be on and not the fronts (should be on the same circuit) Both front & rear and dash lamps should be switched by the "taillight relay" can you hear a relay click under the dash when you turn on the markers ?? If so try to locate this relay and take it out to see if the rears stay lit.

You should try to download the free 96-00 Civic factory service manuals from the web. It will help out.

JACK6306 · 06-23-2009

Hello All, I am so embarassed to say this but it wasn't the running lights that were out it was the brake lights that are the problem. The bulbs are all fine I think that it might be the brake light switch but wanted to see what you guys might think.

THX.

CraigW · 06-23-2009

Most likely... It may be out of place (plunger not able to operate) or the switch could be bad (always closed contacts)

Should be a simple fix though. Inspect the operation of the switch when moving the pedal. You should be able to see what is occuring.

Edit: I could not find any threads but someone mentioned before about this issue... Somehow there was a hole and it allowed the plunger to not get pushed when the brake pedal was released ?? They used a plastic plug to fill in the hole and it solved the problem.

Here is the thread, Not sure if the 6th gens are similar or not --> Stuck Brake Light Switch

gearbox · 06-23-2009

that happened to someone i knew before, turned out to be a stuck brake light switch. i played around with the switch and it finally popped back out and the lights turned off.