[CL9] Problem with interior dome light

[jordiiisme]

Hi all, for some reason the automatic function on my interior dome light stopped working. If i manually turn on the light it works. Does anyone know what the problem might be? Thanks in advance.

[dc2r-0636]

easy fix.

there is a button (with a black rubber casing) that is on the door jam. it might be jammed. so look for this on the door jam. push it in a couple of times n see if it fixes it

[jordiiisme]

^
I'm not that great with cars but im assuming you mean this button?

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/821/img1570b.jpg/

Whenever i push onto it, the door puddle lights would go off, it didn't fix my problem unfortunately :(

Thanks for the help though.

[dc2r-0636]

check the other doors awell?

[jordiiisme]

yeah i checked them all

[eurogo]

I've got the same problem. It's a sender unit. Honda told me it was $250ish to replace so I haven't bothered

[jordiiisme]

damn, thats disappointing to hear. thanks for the help

[10KRPM]

yeah unfortunately its an expensive fix as they reorder the whole thing to replace.

when mine stopped working i thought windscreens obrien had screwed it when they replaced my windscreen.

[jordiiisme]

this is probably the latest update ever but i was never really bothered with this problem until now.

i recently got Honda to check what was wrong with the interior dome light (auto function not working) and i believe they said there was a problem with the base comp (part # 34252S5A003ZH).

i got them to order that part in and get it switched up but the auto function still isn't working properly and they don't why.
so yeah, basically honda doesn't even know what is wrong with it.

Just wondering if anyone has a solution to this problem or know any place i would be able to go to?

Thanks!

[peetah]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AITj5mKZJFA

Is it similar to this? I managed to fix mine by using a small flat head screw driver and bending some metal bit which didn't look like they were making contact but needed to be. Couldn't tell you exactly which one worked as I ended up bending/forcing quite a few metal parts around but this ended up solving my problem...

[jordiiisme]

My problem is with the middle interior dome light. Basically when,

Switch is on off - Light is off
Switch is in the middle (auto function) - There is a TINY bit a light coming through (never actually noticed this until now)
Switch is on on - Light is on

Here are some pictures to show you what i mean. In case you're wondering, i've tried it with the stock bulb and same thing happens.
Help much appreciated, thanks.

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/3269/img3431ef.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/193/img3431ef.jpg/)
http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/3430/img3430dp.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/24/img3430dp.jpg/)
http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/4206/img3429pb.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/534/img3429pb.jpg/)

[eurogo]

ahhh sorry different part to mine, i've got a luxury so we have the map lights that are auto on at the front and also lights in the rear. Honda quoted me a new sender unit for 220 installed. Problem fixed.

[peetah]

I would of guessed that something isn't making proper contact. Can you remove it and check it out? Although if you've replaced that unit and the car is still exhibiting the same behaviour it would indicate the problem lies elsewhere.

[jordiiisme]

Yeah, Honda replaced that part and it didn't fix it so the problem should be elsewhere. Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations on where i can take my car to, to diagnose the problem because Honda couldn't even give me a solution. Would i just take it to any auto electrician? any recommendations? thanksss

[opilot87]

Wow thanks peetah! After nearly a year of my front lights not turning on when I open the door, I have managed to fix it :) I just took the two plastic bulb covers off, and with a miniature screw driver, pushed into the little holes behind the bulb, and the light came on. I think it pressed a bit of metal to the roof to create an earthing point. Same trick for the other side.

However I poked it a bit because when I let go it wasn't a full brightness, and eventually all the lights then died - turned out it shorted the fuse. Replaced and it's all good now. Strangely when I replaced the fuse I heard the cd stacker whirring, and when I started the car all the clock and radio programming was lost. Weird.

Ollie

[peetah]

Glad it helped someone. I kept telling myself I should of posted on your thread from a few months back once but kept slipping my mind.
I actually undid the whole thing and removed it then started poking around.

The issue I was having with the front lights was very similar to what you're experiencing jordiiisme. I figured that there were 3 lines/points essentially; one for the manual on, one for the auto on and one for the ground. I haven't taken apart my rear dome light but I'd check the connecting head and see if one is out of line. Could be that it's not making proper contact at the actual point where it plugs in. This is based on my experience with the front and what I guessed was happening there. Wish I could come up with something more helpful though.

[woodz1]

I just fixed my front dome lights also. I got my car from the dealership with only one of them dimming when the door closed and then recently they both stopped working. I took the assembly out and put in more conductive metal bits (tips of a fuse) into the areas which were barely touching and also scratched off any rust from the washer/nut which grounded the circuit to the chassis (If you take the assembly out, you can see one side has a metal ring which makes contact with the washer/nut).

So I reckon it could either be the metal not making enough contact or the washer has corroded and isnt grounding the circuit properly.

Thanks peetah

[BraXta]

ok ok ok i got this problem... where is this hole can we get photos because it looks like a common problem... =D

Please help meeee lol =D

[accord_euro2005]

I just fixed my front dome lights also. I got my car from the dealership with only one of them dimming when the door closed and then recently they both stopped working. I took the assembly out and put in more conductive metal bits (tips of a fuse) into the areas which were barely touching and also scratched off any rust from the washer/nut which grounded the circuit to the chassis (If you take the assembly out, you can see one side has a metal ring which makes contact with the washer/nut).

So I reckon it could either be the metal not making enough contact or the washer has corroded and isnt grounding the circuit properly.

Thanks peetah

Thanks woodz1 and peetah,

I followed your joint advice, and it's fixed now:-)
The left dome light wasn't coming on when the door opened.
So I used a flat scredriver to unclip the light-cover/button off the left light.
Then I poked with a sharp metal tool inside the two little holes to the left of the
light-bulb. The one that made the light come on was the hole towards the front of the car. Curious as to what was actiually fixing it, I took the other light cover off also,
unscrewed the whole light assembly off ( it has two bolts, one within each light compartment ) unplugged the plug that connects the wiring to the underside of the light unit and looked on the underside. The second bunch of wires stayed connected, as I couldn't find a plug to disconnect it. Looking on the underside, you can see that there are some metal tracts that teminate where these two little holes are, and have some small bent sections, like claws, that are bent inside these two small holes.
The claws cause the two metal tracts, which overlay each other, to make contact.
When you poke inside the whole, you make the claws grip tighter, thus making better contact between the two metal strips.The whole metal strip was actually a little bit out, so I pressed it in gently with the tip of the flathead and then bent the claw tighter inside the little hole. That did it. I then reconnected the cable plug, screwed the whole assembly back in with the two bolts, re-clipped the two light covers and it's working properly now.
Thans for saving me $220 or so. I'd say there's a high chance of the repairer replacing some part that is not needed, then realising it didn't fix it, then finding out the real solution and still charging you for the part and the time spent, hence the $220-250 or so that was quoted to a couple of people on this forum. Cheers!