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Hi all

Inside my car looks pretty dark in evenings, it has been like since i got it.

Anyone who can tell me where the bulbs might be hidden? or is there any bulbs at all? I have checked all the fuses, but couldn`t find one broken.

HONDA CIVIC 5-DORS 1,5vtec, MB3, 1998

note: Button with red and green arrows has been pulled out, and have replaced a broken bulbs. Now i have light in green arrow, and not red, even thoug i have replaced that bulb too. I have a multimeter, and can see there are no voltage at all to bulb, marked with red

 
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The 6th gens had issues with the dimmer units failing... I would invesigate that.

Are all of the "dimable" bulbs out ??

The one with green arrow is the on indicator.

 
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Hi Craig

Thanks for the reply.

This is the europe model , i am from denmark, and in this model, there are no dimmer unit. You can not adjust the light volume.

Most of the bulbs blowed out.

The one with green indicator works fine and it has always worked fine, i`m able to measure 12V for the indicator, but button it self should light up in the dark, or actually it should be on all the time, but the 12V is not there, the voltage is zero

 
Rep Power: 517

All cars have a control for adjusting the brightness of the dash lights.
Yours should be no different from the rest of the world.


This is one of ours, I think it is even right for a 6th gen Civic.
In the US, it would be next to the Cruise Control Main switch.


Google image, you can see the dash light dimmer control (#1) next to the cruise main switch (#12):



The green is just a tiny little colored condom on the bulbs.
You can see the bulbs in various switches above.



The dash lights get 12v from a fuse, here (USA) it is #30 in the dash fusebox.
The dash lights are supplied a variable ground through the dimmer control.
I have seen several dimmers burned out (often after a rookie installed a stereo or something of the like) miswired something attached to the dash lights circuit.

If you want to bypass the dimmer for full ground (max brightness), jumper the black and red wires together at the dimmer control.

HTH

 
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its different from the rest of the world

I do not have the dimmer for adjusting the light volume.

If you also look at the dashboard, its totally different from the USA version.

I am not able to dissassembly the dashboard, if i could, it might be easier to find the bulbs.

Until today i thought the fuser for the dash lights were placed in relay box , under the dash board..

In my car i do have two different fuser boxes, one right beside the 12V battery and the second one inside the car, hidden under the dash board.. I have only checked the fuses inside the car. Tomorrow i will check the fuses beside the battery, hopefully i can find one broken

I will keep you updated, thanks for trying to help

 
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here's a long shot. maybe it was tied in to the factory radio? just a thought. can you find some wiring diagrams specifically for your car?

 
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thanks for the reply, no nothing was on the radio that came with the car. I have seen the lights working sometime ago. a few year

I have checked all the fuses today, but all of them works

and no i can not find wiring diagrams for my car.

 
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I have found this pics, it looks like its fuse 30, but in my car fuse 30 is wokring good,

 
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Does fuse 30 have power on it ONLY when the headlights/parking lights are turned on?

Do you realize there is a "Dash Light Brightness Controller" on the far right of the second page (114-1)?

Do you know that is the same diagram as what I have for US models?

 
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Yes this is for a US model, but this wiring diagram was the closest to mine, which i could find for my car. so i still doesnt have that dimmer


I found the following connector which is connected to a dummy, not sure whats is for

dummy:





defrogger switch cables

 
Rep Power: 517

I'm guessing that dummy connector is just below a fan switch?
That isn't like our fan switch (US).
That looks an awful lot like an Accord (or something?) dash. Sure doesn't look like a 98 Civic from the US.
98 Civic should have the clock in the radio display.


I'm curious now. Can you show what more of the dash looks like?

 
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Not sure why this is so different from a US civic model,
but here are somep pictures, i have also taken some pictures from fuser box and description

1: Fuser box
http://i45.tinypic.com/t7oa9s.jpg

2: Dash
http://i49.tinypic.com/oppa3n.jpg

3: Left side
http://i50.tinypic.com/20qdidz.jpg

 
Rep Power: 517

Dude, I don't think that looks anything like what they put in our Civics over here in 98. Wow.

Your pics make me think of 92ish Accord. Or a combination/composite of various cars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_C...on%29#Aerodeck

A quick look around leads me to think that nothing we have over here is going to help you, other than some logical approach to making the lights work as desired.



Wow! You got adjustable headlights!



Still thinking it should have a dimmer:
The odometer/trip reset button in the gauge cluster, can you twist it and dial the dash lights up?
How about that foglight switch? On the opposite side of the steering column, maybe a dimmer would be over there?


Ok, anyway....

DO ALL the taillights and license lights work? (It appears they are all on the same fuse on your fusebox label.)
If the headlight switch was bad, then none of the lights on the park circuit will work, AND that 10A fuse won't be powered when the headlights are on. If none of the lights work, put the voltmeter lead on that fuse and check there.

YOu DO realize you can check right on top of any of the fuses for power, don't you? Touch your lead to either of the metal tabs on the end, you can see them here:
If a fuse is blown, you would only have power on one side, not the other. You don't have to pull the fuses out to check them this way.
AND we will know if the fuse is being powered up when needed.



Did all these lights quit after the radio went in?

If I suspected that the radio install was the likely cause of the lights being out, (it is often the cause) I'd pull it out and disconnect it so as to not damage any more......

If it was ONLY the dash illumination affected by this problem, I might try to supply the missing (+ or-) to whichever wire it needs to be on in order to get the illumination lights to come on.
If all the other lights (tail and license) aren't on either, you better not do this.

If you go to any item in the dash that is supposed to have illumination, (probably even that blank dummy plug)
Find the red/black wire, does it have 12v+ when the lights are on?
Does the red have ground on it when the lights are on?

You are probably going to need a real wire diagram that is for your specific car.

 
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Maybe this is a special edition civic

Still no dimmer, but will try to turn the trip reset button , dont think it wil help.

Yes i am electronic technician, and have checked all the fuses on the top of the fuses.

All my lights, taillights, headlights, foglights, cabine light works as it should.

Did all these lights quit after the radio went in? : no. My radio has been installed almost 3 years ago,

 
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If your illumination wires are red/blk and red, and you do not have 12 volts on red/blk when lights are on... then measure resistance of the red wire to ground. Open ? / 0 Ohms ?

If you have 0 Ohms then maybe they are not capable of dimming and if you locate the open between the taillight relays contacts and the red/blk lead they will work again.

The other possibility for missing voltage to red/blk lead would be to bypass and provide a new 12 volt source for them from the taillight circuit. (bypass open circuit)

 
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Yeah. Hotwire it. LOL.

 
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Hi all

Sorry for the late response. I tried to find the right wiring diagram for my car, and here are the diagrams , You have now all the electrical diagrams



1: http://tinypic.com/r/r90mjp/6
2: http://tinypic.com/r/2v994kz/6
3: http://tinypic.com/r/2v994kz/6
4: http://tinypic.com/r/2lnuy4k/6
5: http://tinypic.com/r/3517146/6
6: http://tinypic.com/r/16hugc2/6
7: http://tinypic.com/r/14mynvl/6
8: http://tinypic.com/r/2crr0hh/6
9: http://tinypic.com/r/30vlsee/6
10: http://tinypic.com/r/dvjxp5/6

 
Rep Power: 517

Top right box. Item #79 is the dash light dimmer.
See, I told you it should have one.

Check the fuse F19 in the passengers fusebox. See if that fuse gets powered up when the headlights are on.
If the glovebox light works with the headlights on, the fuse is deemed to be good.

 
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The repair manual i have borrowed from the library, was for models 1995-2000. This is the only manual on the market. Its a Haynes Manual.

It is in english, so i believe this caunts for many models in different countries, the points is i still dont have the dimmer Sorry to say that. In my glove box i dont have any light in it, and never had it. No bulbs or cables are feed in to the glove box.

Today i spent 3 hours in the car, trying to disassembly the whole dash panel. I was very close to take whole dash out, but only 2 screw were impossibble for me to unscrew. They are very big but dont move at all.

Tomorrow i will borrow some tools, and hopefully i can disassembly the front part og the dash, so i can disassembly the heater switch, cool and hot air switch, the bulbs are behind the switches.

I am very close to a solution, i believe

all my fuses are still in good condition

 
Rep Power: 517

Dude! Don't yank the dash, just hotwire the lights to come on! Pick ANY one light out of all the lights in the same circuit and they will ALL come on. Even that connector in the dummy plug pic should have the right wires, hotwire them right there.

Use a fused jumper though (same rating as fuse F-19). If it blows the fuse then you can start chasing the short.

Hotwire= supply the missing power or missing ground, whichever it needs to operate.

 
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I could hot wire it as u say, but i dont think the bulbs are in good condition anymore. After many years the bulbs being black beacuse the the gas inside the bulbs are burned more and more.

Sorry but i need to take it a part, it gives me headache not to dissambly the front panel I would very much to see the bulbs I have a plan for changing the bulbs with blue led color, or white.

Tomorrow it will be a good day, i hope so heheeh


But if i cant remove these two big screws, i will take external 12V, or take 12V from the stereo, throug a fuse, and apply the voltage to the lights.

 
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You should do this anyway so you know which lights do or don't work. Even if only for test purposes.

JMO.

 
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I see your point

I`ll keep you updated

Thanks for now

 
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I tried hot wire it, but it didnt worked at all.

i need to take the console out, i still have two big screws i cant loosen

 
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Did you Ohm out the red wire ??

Voltage applied to red/black will do nothing without a ground on the other side of bulbs.

 
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Sorry i didnt ohm the red wire. what i have done, was to chech all the wire potential with respect to the GND. but there are nothing, ZERO


My cigarette light was working a few days ago , but sometimes it didnt turned on, i believe there is a weak potential some where

Today i have checked the cigarette lighter bulbs, it was burned off.