Rep Power: 0

Hi all,

First of all thanks for previous advise rendered on my radiator and condenser.

Advance thanks for electrical problems this time round.

2001 civic ex auto
Minimal LEDs added otherwise totally stock.

No battery problems for the last 6mths.

Last evening low beams gave way after gas stop. Suspect to be switch problem related to Honda recall.

Fiddled with the fuse and swooped new bulbs to be sure. Batt was d/c for over 3hrs as interrupted by dinner. Placed and rigged everything back before bed.
Woke up this morning to send my sister in law to bus station 10km from home.

Noted the following:
Low beam still not working.
Check engine light is on.
Check battery light is on.
Speedometer not working.

Upon reaching home battery died. Couldn't start car, rainy day.

Would like to get some insight before I turn my wallet in to the dealer.

Thanks a bunch!!

Brgds,
Sinblesser

 
Rep Power: 512

finding out what the CEL code is would probably help a little bit. If it ends up being related to your problems, it'll help diagnose what's actually going on. Have you gotten your alternator checked out?

 
Rep Power: 0

hi,

I plugged out my batt to charge, needed to start the car badly. after plugging it back, CEL is gone. Low batt indicator is also gone.

Speeo works fine now. There's a blown 10w fuse under the steering wheel.

However, low beam is still not working.

Aditional discovery,

I can hear the relay clicking as i turn on the lights, i think this means that my switch is working?

Took out both bulbs and tested them individually to make sure they are really not fused.

I'm not too good about the wirings within the hood, i suspect the problem to lie somewhere from relay to headlights itself but i cant get to it. there's no 12v running in the connector as indicated by multimeter for low beam.

i'm darn worried about tearing all the wire harness just to inspect the wires for both lights. i read somewhere about grounding issues, but cannot figure that out.

is it recommended to tear open the wire harness and check or replace the wires myself? i'm not technically inclined; beyond diy leds that is.
where i am, there's a genuine concern of getting ripped to the bone by workshops and dealers. (as i found out from my previous accident)

lastly, is there anywhere online where i can enter my chassis number and find out if i'm eligible for factory recall?

Thanks in advance.


Brgds,
Sinblesser


endnote: internet connection goes on and off in my village, hence the need to compile everything into this lengthy post. sincere apologies to everyone.

 
Rep Power: 0

Hi,

Really need help here.

I've been to the dealer, they totally disregard the recall on low beams.

Extensively tested all fuse, relay, lights, harness and switch myself. All seems fine. I understand that our civic uses ground switch, could that be the problem?
I searched and found another thread whereby the problem was solved by adding a ground wire to the low beam bulb pin. I tried that last night and ended up with 2 blown 15a fuses.

Can anyone tell me how the wiring goes around the hood for my lights?
colour codes and such? i really want to fix it myself, disappointed with my dealer and honda dealer. ripping me off is all they are keen on.

Advance thanks, i really need to know the wire colour codes as well as how it is snaking around the hood, at which point and where they are split up into left and right as well as alternative fix for ground.


Thanks,
Sinblesser

 
Rep Power: 512

Go pick up a haynes manual at autozone or whatever. It has electrical diagrams in the back and tells you wire colors as well

 
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Thanks Riceboy,

I'm in thailand. A village in remote north east to be exact.
I'll be thankful to have autozone.

Went to another honda dealer today(next city), this time i got the car diagnosed properly.

The tech said it's the switch assembly but my car is manufactured in thailand and not covered under any recalls.

looks like i have to order one online and replace it myself. but there's a slight tinge of doubt, dealers here have a very bad rep.

Cheers to all,
Sinblesser

 
Rep Power: 512

I'll take a look at mine later today and post up wire colors for you

 
Rep Power: 0

Thank you sir!!

 
Rep Power: 0

I sincerely beg everyone's pardon.


I'm really at my wit's end. As in previous post, i've mentioned that i'm in rural thailand village. I use my car a lot at night on jungle roads. Nearest town is 41km away.

Honda dealer diagnosed and quoted me about USD$140 to fix/replace my light switch assembly. They probably should rob the bank, the same part online costs under 30bucks. And i can do the work myself. The work order is in thai and includes a lot of misc charges which they assured me is essential. Among them, light bulbs, relays and fuses. They refuse to do the work if i omit some of the items.

Since my last post i've been sourcing online, all websites that i've seen will not ship to thailand.

There is NO junkyard in thailand that i might cannibalize from.

Can i fix the switch myself? i mean take it apart, cut it open if necessary. Fix the problem and superglue it back perhaps?

Cheers,
Sinblesser

 
Rep Power: 512

Sorry I didn't get back to you yesteday. My sister came into town and ended up spending time with her.

Anyways, headlight wire colors: +12VDC is red/yellow, Red/Blue is your high beam ground, red/white is your low beam ground.

I'll see if I can scan the wiring diagram later and send it to you or something.

 
Rep Power: 0

Thank you so much, I can be reached at Sinblesser@hotmail.com

Cheers,
Sinblesser

 
Rep Power: 308

Schematic: https://www.civicforums.com/forums/a...0&d=1267189121

Theory:https://www.civicforums.com/forums/a...6&d=1281967392

I saw a recall kit once it contained a new headlight switch and a single terminal pin and short length of wire. The recall deals with the connector pin that provides the low beams grounding (which allows it to light) at pin # 6 RED/WHT of the connector going to the headlight switch.

 
Rep Power: 0

FIXED!!

Thanks to riceboy and craigw.

I didn't even replace a single part. Riceboy's wire colour identification allowed me to trace and multimeter the wires all the way and determined them in good working condition.

based on craigw's inputs, i once again took out the steering column cover, multimeter-ed the light switch on various light settings, then checked and gave all pins a firm push into the harness, the mentioned pin and wire did over heat. Scrapped the burnt rubber off the pin, pliers ensured good pin connection to wire, shoved the pin into the harness... low beams WORKED!!!

Learning that our headlights are ground switched helped a lot in this problem.
I hope that this thread will be helpful to those who are facing low beam problems yet not under factory recall like me, or better still; have to face dirty scheming Honda dealers.

Before you sign any purchase forms with the honda service desk, check the following:

1. Bulbs are not fused, note that bulbs can be double filament.
2. check the individual fuses in your under hood fuse box. burnt fuses might still work but it will be significantly dimmer.
3. switch out the relay with a known working one.
4. test your light switch, bring the car to a quiet area, you should hear the relay click if your switch is good. note the parking light relays are somewhere around the dash while headlights are under hood.
5. remove steering columns and check all pins/wires. clean connectors
6. test with multimeter and replace any damaged part(s).
   

IN my case, should i have gone ahead with the honda dealer and have them do the work, the light switch that i've been told to replace wouldn't have helped at all.


Sincere thanks again to all!

Cheers,
Sinblesser