Civic EG

I understand, it's hard to try to decipher problems you can't see for yourself.

Once this week is done (final exams) I plan on taking a look at the wiring job. I doubt I'll be able to make much sense of it (not too great in the electrical department) but hey, I might see something that makes sense.

Guess I could always get a few sets of battery-powered Christmas lights and jam them in my tail light housings :-D

I'll update this as I find stuff out; thanks for the help so far, Danomatic.

I did both my switches today at work, and the improvement is huge. before my headlights wouldnt turn on until my car was warmed from the -40 degree climate i live in, and my wipers almost never came on unless i jiggled the switch like mad. But after following your excellent DIY both switches work like new. Thanks a lot you just saved me huge cash

After I got home from work tonight, I was planning on removing the switch so I can give it a cleaning.

I removed the three screws holding the column on, but after doing so the column stayed in place. Are there any sort of clips holding the two halves together or should it fall away as soon as the screws are removed? I didn't want to pry too much for fear of snapping the plastic, but it almost seems like its glued together or something.

If there are clips, where should I be looking? And if not, I guess I'll try a slim common-head or a spackle scraper to separate the halves, and cross my fingers that I don't break anything. At least I have off for the next few days :-)

BaTzEG92 wrote:After I got home from work tonight, I was planning on removing the switch so I can give it a cleaning.

I removed the three screws holding the column on, but after doing so the column stayed in place. Are there any sort of clips holding the two halves together or should it fall away as soon as the screws are removed? I didn't want to pry too much for fear of snapping the plastic, but it almost seems like its glued together or something.

If there are clips, where should I be looking? And if not, I guess I'll try a slim common-head or a spackle scraper to separate the halves, and cross my fingers that I don't break anything. At least I have off for the next few days :-)

Once all the screws are off... ...pull. If it's the first time that they are coming off they might be snugly fit in there. Prying a little will help too.

Danomatic, I wanted to say thank you for your help and for posting an awesome write-up.

I pried a little on the column and noticed some plastic ears securing the two halves together, so I pulled on the bottom half and away it came. Took a little pressure to get the switch itself out, too.

I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but after giving it a thorough cleaning (contacts were black as hell haha) and re-installing it, my dash cluster and parking lights turned right on. Granted the switch was warm from being in my house, but I'll give it a try later tonight when it's below freezing again to double-check.

Cross your fingers :-D

BaTzEG92 wrote:Danomatic, I wanted to say thank you for your help and for posting an awesome write-up.

I pried a little on the column and noticed some plastic ears securing the two halves together, so I pulled on the bottom half and away it came. Took a little pressure to get the switch itself out, too.

I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but after giving it a thorough cleaning (contacts were black as hell haha) and re-installing it, my dash cluster and parking lights turned right on. Granted the switch was warm from being in my house, but I'll give it a try later tonight when it's below freezing again to double-check.

Cross your fingers :-D

Nice. Good work man!!

great man!!:hehe:
i,m new here,
my car also have this problem high and low beam . My country is right hand drive. hope this diy same as my car sr4/eg9....

azizul wrote:great man!!:hehe:
i,m new here,
my car also have this problem high and low beam . My country is right hand drive. hope this diy same as my car sr4/eg9....

Hey mate you mean you have the same case? good for you to have it resolved. Now im stuck with the headlight switch and its kinda pain in the a**..

Could this be what I need to do on my ride?

My corner lights are ALWAYS on. The first click of the switch does nothing because the lights are already on and the second click puts on the lights... any ideas on what could be wrong?

The wiring at the lights looks fine but I do not want my corners on all the time.

background. the car was swapped 2 owners ago to a b16a2 and previous owner with a car idiot and I am FINALLY fixing my issues with the car... this is 1 of only a few left.


ps. with ignition off the switch works... with acc and ignition on the corners are ON.

issue was fixed, i made a write-up. the corners were "hard wired" to have constant power from the "#4 accessory"

I followed your cleaning procedure but I still have the problem. Is there anything else I should do?

The junkyard wants 70 for a used switch combo but I dont want to spend the money unless I know it will fix the issue for sure.
my car is 1996 Honda civic EX.

fevillago wrote:I followed your cleaning procedure but I still have the problem. Is there anything else I should do?

The junkyard wants 70 for a used switch combo but I dont want to spend the money unless I know it will fix the issue for sure.
my car is 1996 Honda civic EX.

Are you sure you have everything back together properly? Is your problem intermittent or do your headlights never come on? Check you fuses? How long has it been an issue? Do you have a wire break somewhere? Is your unit missing any pins, and connections broken?

We would really need more information to help you fix your problem.

Might be worth it, to ask the guys and the junkyard if you can throw the part in your car to see if it fixes the problem before purchasing the part. You never know, they may let you. PLUS, you can always bargin with them for a lower price. make your case!

Sales tip for you, as you ask for any of these things, nod your head yes slightly; sounds a but weird but it works. Get the other persons brain thinking yes.

Are you sure you have everything back together properly?
yes...everything works fine but I still have the delay of the lights coming on in the morning. It takes 3 mins for the lights to come on after I start the car and when the weather is at 40 degrees F.
Afterwards they turn on fine until next day or when it gets cold late at night and the cars has been sitting for a few hours.

Check you fuses?
I will. Are there any relays in the circuit I should replace?

How long has it been an issue?
I noticed the issue when it started to get cold where I live.

Do you have a wire break somewhere?
I had the left headlight and buld brake so I purchased a new paired set with new bulbs and a new socket wiring set.

Is your unit missing any pins, and connections broken?
not that I can see

We would really need more information to help you fix your problem.

I did noticed my new headlights did not come with covers of where the bulbs mount. Maybe is takind longer for the bulf filaments to heat.
I also added buld grease to the pins and socket. Is supposed to help with the connection. the same grease was added to the combo switch after I cleaned it and put it back togethere. Should I take it off?

Might be worth it, to ask the guys and the junkyard if you can throw the part in your car to see if it fixes the problem before purchasing the part. You never know, they may let you. PLUS, you can always bargin with them for a lower price. make your case!
I will try this if nothing else works.

What do you mean they didn't come with covers where the bulb goes??

The plastic backplate?

So your bulbs are exposed to the elements? just clipped in and nothing behind them, that could be an issue.


http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2460258

same issue, some people report not fixing it and just dealing with it. Others cleaned the unit like you did and others replaced the unit.
additionally, some have mentioned the wires having higher resistance in the cold... did you use the same gauge wire for you repair?

PirateEG wrote:What do you mean they didn't come with covers where the bulb goes??

The plastic backplate?

So your bulbs are exposed to the elements? just clipped in and nothing behind them, that could be an issue.


http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2460258

same issue, some people report not fixing it and just dealing with it. Others cleaned the unit like you did and others replaced the unit.
additionally, some have mentioned the wires having higher resistance in the cold... did you use the same gauge wire for you repair?

yeah no back plates. I will try to get some.
I used the wire that came with the new socket . It seems to better insulated that the stock wiring honda uses.
If I do replace the combo switch I will also get the back plates and will post an update. In the mean time I am just dealing with it.

fevillago wrote:

PirateEG wrote:What do you mean they didn't come with covers where the bulb goes??

The plastic backplate?

So your bulbs are exposed to the elements? just clipped in and nothing behind them, that could be an issue.


http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2460258

same issue, some people report not fixing it and just dealing with it. Others cleaned the unit like you did and others replaced the unit.
additionally, some have mentioned the wires having higher resistance in the cold... did you use the same gauge wire for you repair?

yeah no back plates. I will try to get some.
I used the wire that came with the new socket . It seems to better insulated that the stock wiring honda uses.
If I do replace the combo switch I will also get the back plates and will post an update. In the mean time I am just dealing with it.

finally got another combo switch and back plate from the junk yard and my lights work now. thanks for all the tips.