parking lights stay on
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1
parking lights stay on
The lights on my 1986 Accord have begun to act up. The low beams won't come on but the high beams do. The parking lights stay all the time. Is there a relay that might be stuck or not working? If so, where would it be located. I've checked fuses but all seem okay. Am removing the main 40a fuse now to kill parking lights during day, and replacing for night driving. I'm a college student and can't afford to take it in to a dealer. Help would be greatly appreciated.
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 5,960
RE: parking lights stay on
Aloha syeldell welcome to the forum, hope we can all help each other out. Go to autozone.com, register for free, and put in your car info, I am currently looking at your wire diagram for your car, this site will show you where all your relays, fuses, fuseable links are, also will how you the wire diagram of your elect circuit.guessing, the light problem sounds like it may be in your light switch.Also go to ebay.com and see if you might find a manufactors repair service manual. I have one for everyone of my cars and it has save me lots of $$$ also lot to learn. And if you happen to call a service tech at honda, they can relate to what you are talking about.
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4
RE: parking lights stay on
don't go to autozone, I mean you can, but try this first:
I've had 2 accords, an 83 and now a 92. It seems like the most problematic elements about these cars are the electrical ones. More than anything else, I've replaced relays, switches, etc, than actual mechanical parts. Which I suppose is a testament to a Honda's reliability. I'm also a college student, and I know how it goes...
You can solve this problem easily. Try narrowing down the source of the problem:
Let's start with the headlights. The low beams don't work, the high beams do. Start at the problem and work backwards. Check the bulbs.Often the answer is the most obvious solution. Or, like acmech52 said, it could be your switch. Both of thesewould make sense since the high beams do work.
The parking lights stay on all of the time. Again, the switch is a good place to start looking at. It is possible that you have a bad relay, but I can't recall ever hearinga relay click when I turn my lights on. I would cancel out all other possibilities before I go digging around to replace a relay; unless you're a gymnist, replacing a relay that's located in the dash can be something to regret if it turns out that the relay wasn't the problem after all.
You've already checked the fuses, so no worries on that front. So it's looking more and more like that switch is the culprit. One way to find out, right? So take the steering column apart (as described in a repair manual, if you don't have one, get one) and remove the switch. Now inspect it. This is a failry old car, and you have to consider how many times that switch has been toggled back and forth. Go to Radio Shack and buy this stuff called "DeOx-it". It comes in a set of 2 small aerosol cans, and works mircales for electronics. Spray it on the electrical connections on the switch itself, just a few short bursts. Let it dry, then do it again. plug it back into it's wiring harness on the car and see how it works. You know, try spraying the DeOx-it on the connections on the harness for the hell of it, you never know. Might as well while you have everything open like that.
Hope this helps you.
I've had 2 accords, an 83 and now a 92. It seems like the most problematic elements about these cars are the electrical ones. More than anything else, I've replaced relays, switches, etc, than actual mechanical parts. Which I suppose is a testament to a Honda's reliability. I'm also a college student, and I know how it goes...
You can solve this problem easily. Try narrowing down the source of the problem:
Let's start with the headlights. The low beams don't work, the high beams do. Start at the problem and work backwards. Check the bulbs.Often the answer is the most obvious solution. Or, like acmech52 said, it could be your switch. Both of thesewould make sense since the high beams do work.
The parking lights stay on all of the time. Again, the switch is a good place to start looking at. It is possible that you have a bad relay, but I can't recall ever hearinga relay click when I turn my lights on. I would cancel out all other possibilities before I go digging around to replace a relay; unless you're a gymnist, replacing a relay that's located in the dash can be something to regret if it turns out that the relay wasn't the problem after all.
You've already checked the fuses, so no worries on that front. So it's looking more and more like that switch is the culprit. One way to find out, right? So take the steering column apart (as described in a repair manual, if you don't have one, get one) and remove the switch. Now inspect it. This is a failry old car, and you have to consider how many times that switch has been toggled back and forth. Go to Radio Shack and buy this stuff called "DeOx-it". It comes in a set of 2 small aerosol cans, and works mircales for electronics. Spray it on the electrical connections on the switch itself, just a few short bursts. Let it dry, then do it again. plug it back into it's wiring harness on the car and see how it works. You know, try spraying the DeOx-it on the connections on the harness for the hell of it, you never know. Might as well while you have everything open like that.
Hope this helps you.
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mike0094
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Jun 1, 2009 08:05 PM
