Rep Power: 0

hey guys. just signed up so excuse my stupidity. lol. just bought my buddy's honda. been 7 years since ive owned/worked on them. having 2 main issues trying to find best way to fix the horn and driver headlight.

1> horn did not work when i got it. while swapping steering wheel noticed no wire to the horn switch?? no horn under hood. going to buy a horn but wanting to know best way to wire up horn switch in car.

2> driver headlight low beam does not work. replaced headlights and trouble gshot to determine its in the wiring. am planning on cutting headlight plug and resplicing throught the passenger side then just place in wiring bundle to clean the look? only worry is possible power loss to lights.

thanks for any help guys!!

 
Rep Power: 291

on my 7th gen, the horn is behind the bumper. can't see it from under the hood. gotta take the bumper off.

did you check for corrosion on the wires?

 
Rep Power: 265

i'm had the same problem with my horn, and just yesterday i got the same problem with my headlight (same side as well)..... 0_o

as for the horn problem, this is what i did.

1. make sure the relay clicks when you press on the horn. to do this, go somewhere quiet and pop the hood. press the horn with your hand while you stand outside the car and see if you can hear a clicking sound coming from the right side of the engine bay. if you can hear a clicking sound, that means everything up to the relay (inclusive) is working fine.

2. you'll have to take the bumper off now. if you've never done this before it might take you alil while (it did my first time). first you'll have to remove the body clips holding the bumper to the protective cover under the car. (use a small flathead screwdriver to make it really easy). then go to the fenders. there should be a small philips head screw holding the very end of the bumper to the body. remove that screw on both sides. then start to peel the bumper off. work your way from one side to another. when you get to the middle there will be 4 more body clips you have to remove....


3. The horns on most civics is located on the driver side under the headlight, just infront of the window washing fluid reservoir. there should be 2 wires coming in/out of it. one is for the ground (which i believe is mounted on the metal bumper just above the horn, the other is coming from the relay). at this point, you should make sure your horn grounded well, the wire should be between the nut and body (lol, that's what she said) and tightly secured.

4. if everything is OK up to this point, it's most definitely your horn. i called a local junkyard and went and took it off the car myself and got it for $10..... hooked it up and everything works great now.

let me know how that works out.


can someone help me with the low beam issue as well? i have an 03 civic and i don't think i'm covered in that recall. thanks in advance.

 
Rep Power: 388

^ you gotta take the clips off the top radiator support too.

Very good description tho.

Was you car in an accident- it seems a little weird two issues right in the same spot.

Dont cut your wire harness. Swap the blubs and rest the high/low beams. If the low beam still doesnt work on the drivers side, its an issue with your harness or the connection. If the low beam doesnt work in the passenger headlight, then its the bulb.

 
Rep Power: 265

^ werd i've goen through 2 bulbs, on my third now... they've all given me the same result, high beam works, low beam won't show a thing (to clear things up i haven't been buying new Silverstar ultras, i've just been goin to Advanced Auto Parts and swapping em out)

what about the connection can i change/fix?

oh, and yes i bought this car after it was in a minor accident on the same side where i'm having the problem.

 
Rep Power: 265

bttt for help

 
Rep Power: 308

Have you tried gently moving the wiring and connector at the affected bulb ?? (with the low beams on) And look for any reaction from the bulb flicker or flashing. If so it may indicate a defective connector.

What year Civic ??

 
Rep Power: 265

it's a 2003.

well here's what happenned.

last week, i had both bulbs working fine on both high and low beam. with the lights on and on low beam, i was pushing the connecter in on the driver side bulb to make sure it was connected with the butt of my screwdriver. my screwdriver slipped and it pulled the connector backwards, and i heard a "popping" sound and from then on the low beam light on the driver side won't work.

i checked the fuses shortly afterwards and the fuse for the driver side headlamp had tripped. i replaced it but nothing changed.

hopefully that'll narrow it down alot.

 
Rep Power: 308

Is the new fuse still o.k. ??
Replaced with proper size ??

So it is 1 or both low beams missing ?

Do you have a meter or test light ??

 
Rep Power: 265

the new fuse is still OK
it is the proper size and ampage

only the driver side low beam fails to light

neither.

 
Rep Power: 308

The headlights are provided power to the common terminal of the 3, Then the low or high terminals are grounded by way of the headlight switch to operate the bulbs.

Since you have high beam you have power to the bulb. You could try moving the connector with low beams on and look for flash as I mentioned, If not there then you have an open connection between bulb low terminal and the headlight switch.

I have a schematic here on my work PC if you want me to send it PM with E-mail address.

 
Rep Power: 265

fixed it this morning.

like craigw was saying, there was an issue with the connector. pulled out my tiny flathead and cleared the socket from all the bulb grease and pinched it some so it grabs the male connector more firmly.

i'll give it a few days to call it a successful fix, bu i think i got it this time.


i got a professional headlight restoration kit for free the other day, so if the lights still work by next weekend, i'll polish the headlamp housing to get vivid bright light.

thanks everyone for your help.