shadowfox

I did something I do to ALL my vehicles I own, I change the tail lights to the LED lights. But this time something went wrong... the relay caught on fire. It worked for almost 2 weeks without a problem, then one night on my way home from work, I turned on my turn signal and my subs started to pulse to the turn signal . Well I thought must be a ground loop, I'll install my ground loop isolator tomorrow, no big deal. 1/4 of a mile down the road I go to turn again, hear it pulsing, louder this time and I smelt something so I pulled into the park and got out of the car, went to the back of the car (after poping the trunk of course) and looked at the sub set up made sure nothing was burning and start to walk back to the front, I noticed the entire car was full of smoke, I pulled the door open and began searching for the source... the turn signal relay caught on fire, melted some of the plastic on the fuse box... nothing too bad. I called me dad and babied it home thinking it was an eletrical problem or something. Found out AutoZone wanted an arm and a leg for a new relay -.-, so I called a local junk yard and they happened to have a 2k3 on the lot and said I could have the relay for 3 bucks, no complaints there, and installed the new one and uninstalled the led lights.

So, It's been 4 months since the last one caught on fire and I was wondering, was it the led lights that did it, or was it a fluke or just a bad relay? Has anyone else encountered this problem ( I searched for something pertaining to this and saw nothing in the results so thought I'd post it).

Tragedy

iTrader: (10)

My advise is to put back in your stock bulbs, I am not too sure if it is a common relay problem.

shadowfox

I did. I was just wondering if it was a common problem.

Storm897

Heres a recall on 2001 Civics.
My head light harness actually melted. The mechanic showed me the original after replacing it. Thank god nothing caught on fire. I did nearly crash though. While driving on a side street with no lights, my low beam head lights went out. After a while I figured out that the high beams still worked. Pissed people off that day driving homing but at least I got home in 1 piece.

Make : HONDA
Model : CIVIC
Year : 2001
Manufacturer : AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO.
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 04V086000
Mfg's Report Date : FEB 24, 2004
Component: EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS
Potential Number Of Units Affected : 440000

Summary:
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES, THE LOW-BEAM TERMINAL ON THE HEAD LIGHT WIRE HARNESS CAN OVERHEAT AND COULD CAUSE THE LOW BEAMS TO FAIL WITHOUT WARNING.

Consequence:
AN UNEXPECTED LOSS OF LOW BEAMS COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE HEAD LIGHT SWITCH AND COUPLER FOR SIGNS OF HEAT DAMAGE. IF HEAT DAMAGE IS PRESENT, THE DEALER WILL REPLACE THE SWITCH AND COUPLER. IF NO HEAT DAMAGE IS PRESENT, THE DEALER WILL REPLACE THE HEAD LIGHT SWITCH AND ONE MATING PIN IN THE COUPLER. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON APRIL 5, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT HONDA AT 1-800-999-1009.

Notes: CUSTOMERS CAN ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S AUTO SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

shroomster

^^^^^ummm he was talking about his taillights that has nothing to do with the taillights..

tinman

LED bulbs don't seem to work well in 7th gens. Other people have had problems with LED tail lights. It has something to do with the light control module.