dash lights GONE- HELP!!!!

[causeraybay]

Hi guys,

I have a problem and desperately needing Help!

On Monday night I switched on my headlights as I do normally to find that my interior dash lights failed to light up. I also found out my OEM style fog lights no longer work either. My newly installed HIDs work fine- no problems there. The obvious and logical cause is a blown instrumental lights fuse which I had traced to be in fact blown. So I replaced it with one of the same power, 7.5amp and now every time I switch the lights on, it immediately blows (I think it blows at the first turn- parker stage). I've probably blown about a handful to date, possibly more! I have yet to try a more powerful fuse because from reading it could lead to a serious shorting if you are not using the recommended power.

My HIDs were installed 10 days before my problem started to occur by a good mate of mine who knows what he’s doing. During these 10 days I probably took the car out at night 3-5 times and everything worked as per normal. My Bi-Xenon H4 Hi/Low HIDs are budget ($170 including delivery to my door) and Made in China. It's the type that uses a relay leading directly to your car battery.

After searching on ozhonda I dug up an old thread which has pretty much has the same problem but with on a euro. This guy (007) claims his problem to be a faulty ballast of one of his HIDs however I don’t get the logic there as for one, shouldn’t a faulty HID ballast lead to a headlight not switching on at all and two, the two things aren’t connected.

Among searching on ozhonda, honda-tech, and even google/yahoo I’ve found this to be a not-so-rare issue however the causes are varied. Some have replaced the dimmer switch (most common cause) and some have rewired their head units. However I am told by many friends these things are unrelated and shouldn’t be the cause! I had a brand new Alpine head unit installed about 6-7 weeks ago (therefore probably about a month before I installed my hids) and before that I had a DVD, single-din slide out 7” head unit.

I also have eluminescent dials which I’ve had on for a while and they've never failed on me however it does flicker quite regularly when it's used but isn't very noticeable. I removed this today and it didn’t fix the problem so I blew another fuse. ><

Next, I intend on is removing my HIDs and go back to using halogen bulbs and see if that fixes my problem although I reckon it won't resolute this crisis.

My last resort is to get it professionally looked at, so does anyone know [melb] of any highly recommendable car electricians or should I take it directly to Honda?

I want this problem fixed ASAP as it restricts me from driving at night cos I have do not know precisely how fast I'm going or revving!

[philBo]

sounds troublesome, but i think your best bet is to head down to an autoelectrician or something so you can sort it out asap. pretty unsafe ray.

thought it may have been your fuses, but if it keeps blowing out your new ones then maybe your HID's are somehow drawing too much power?

[causeraybay]

bump for some assistance

[nugget666]

by off chance you didnt mention headunit installed recently?

[destrukshn]

try disconnecting your dimmer switch and then turning on the lights?

your HIDs shouldn't do anything, becuase it only sends power out when your head lights are on, but yours is blowing the second you turn your parkers on, so there is no power going to the HID's.

your head unit, could, if somehow magically, the illumination wire, is touching a earth, something along the lines of that

[bennjamin]

Give this a go.

DIY DASHLIGHT FIX / ALTER

http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49757

[tRipitaka]

definitely try the dimmer switch fix..

it was the solution to my problem..

[causeraybay]

thx so much so far for the help guys.

im starting to think it is very likely to be the dimmer switch cos my dials use to flicker quite a bit so i'm guessing it was dying and now it's officially dead. i think it coincidentally happened a short while after my HIDs were installed or could it be my HID's drew too much current causing the dimmer switch to break down even quicker?

bennjamin/tRipitaka: i ain't good nor confident with DIY so would u recommend me going to grab a replacement dimmer switch from the wreckers or it won't do anything? if so, do i buy the physical switch or just the plug in which the 3 wires connect to?

destrukshn: im very noob but if i disconnect the dimmer switch, wouldnt i get no dash lights at all or is it purely to test if the fuse blows immediately or not?

nugget666/destrukshn: probably still under two months since my new h/u has been installed but i definitely will rewire everything if the other suspected things doesn't resolve my problem!

[bennjamin]

bennjamin/tRipitaka: i ain't good nor confident with DIY so would u recommend me going to grab a replacement dimmer switch from the wreckers or it won't do anything? if so, do i buy the physical switch or just the plug in which the 3 wires connect to?

follow this - just pry the dimmer switch out with a flathead screwdriver and pop it out -



connect the BLACK and RED wires together , and leave the RED/BLACK wire alone. IF there is an issue with your dimmer , that will 100% fix your dash lights. (But the lights will stay @ 100%)

[causeraybay]

stay @ 100%; just to clarify, u mean i won't be able to adjust the dimmness right? if so, are there any other alternatives cos as u probably guessed, im very fussy owner....

[philBo]

stay @ 100%; just to clarify, u mean i won't be able to adjust the dimmness right? if so, are there any other alternatives cos as u probably guessed, im very fussy owner....

you're a fussy owner yet you bought cheap HIDs? cmon ray, who are you kidding? LOL

no worries there though man, ive only got my dimmer at 100%. i havent ever adjusted it as i find that anything less than that is too dull on the em1's.

or if you really want to, go find a wreck and replace the switch. but i doubt you'd need to bother with that..may not even be the problem.

[kerim]

ive got the same problem aswell, didnt want to start a new thread as it relevant to this.

the lights for the speedo, revs, and petrol/temp gauge wont light up, but the rest of the other little lights do. Even when i turn the lights and open the door, it doesnt make a beeping sound to warn me to turn my lights off. Fuses are all good

I recently installed a pionner dvd deck, dash was working properly. It stopped working when pushed the deck in abit the other day, so it sits in abit more. Also i have that EL guage thing hooked up, and that doesnt work aswell