Civic-EG.com Forum 3.3.1

- Sat Feb 27, 2010 2:18 am #178099 Okay so i think everyone has heard of civics dash lights not turning on.
Well now im experiencing it.

Its in my 92 si hatch i picked up.
its happened to me before when i took out a aftermarket radio out of a car but it went away?

anyways i have head lights and such but when i turn them on my dash light do not come on, my clock dims to almost nothing. and i have no lights in the climate control

it seems like its shorting out or drawing power. all fuses are good.
i was told that it was my dimmer switch but i dont think so?
also was told to bypass that switch.

did a few searches and came up with nothing.

if you have any help or information it will be greatly appreciated.

- Sat Feb 27, 2010 2:32 am #178101 Have you made sure that it wasn't the dimmer switch?

1992 EG8

- Sat Feb 27, 2010 3:23 am #178109 ive played with the switch and nothing. i was told i could jump the switch by touching the 2 pins together on it? would that do it?

im thinking its something else but ill check.

- Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:14 am #178127 i have the same EXACT problem im just going to take it to honda and find out how much it will cost to get it fixed i changed the dimmer switch the previous owner gave it to me when i bought the car but it didnt seem to fix the problem.... so my dash turns on sometimes and goes out so i have to tap the dimmer switch really hard for it to come back on and if that doesnt work then i have to bang on the top of the switches for it to come back on but still goes out my climate control lights dont come on either

I'm going to the gulf, swim down and plug that oil leak with my dick

- Sat Feb 27, 2010 2:55 pm #178173 Hmm its getting to the point where i dont even want to drive at night!

when you turn your lights on does everything else kind of dim?

where is the relay for the dimmer switch?

[suspendedHatch]

- Sat Feb 27, 2010 4:29 pm #178182 Yeah don't drive at night. Parking lights are on the same circuit, so you may not know it, but you have no parking lights.

Check fuse 19 under the dash.

Relay for the dimmer? Do you know what you're talking about? There's no relay.

Also, the dimmer has 3 wires not 2... you want to jump the red to the black. This bypasses the dimmer.

Do you have a shitty installed aftermarket stereo or not? If the fuse keeps blowing, then your problem is there.

Failing that it's most likely your combination switch. That can be tested too.

- Mon Mar 01, 2010 1:27 am #178417 indiglos ftw!!!

- Mon Mar 01, 2010 4:27 am #178450 i was thinking about getting lights and sticking them behind my dash but then i noticed when i signal when my dash lights are on, everything else like my clock dims each time!

im pretty sure its the illumination wires that are in the harness to the stereo.
thats why this problem is most common in cars with aftermarket decks with modified radio harnesses.
you dont see this problem with someone pays the 4$ for that adapter harness to plug in instead of cutting up and making it work.

just like what i have.

- Tue Mar 02, 2010 11:44 pm #178781 WOWWWW okay i think i pretty much know have to completely strip down a car from all of its harnesses now!

spent the last 2 days tracing wires in the harness to find out why i have no illumination lights and hopefully put this problem to an end for good!

i put a meter on the number 19 10amp fuse. does the dash lights and what not.

i get 12v on one side and not the other.

the means the problem is before the under dash fuse panel.
probably the plug in the back of the fuse panel.

i actually printed off the whole electrical section of the honda manual!!!


anyways im stuck now because all the harnesses that plug into the back of the under dash fuse panel, i cant locate them in the manual?

i need to know what wires are in what harnesses. like a pinout diagram.

is there another reference other than the service manual? (yes that is completely opposite to what one would say)

man this sucks

- Wed Mar 03, 2010 12:43 am #178792 ok i might be reading this wrong you get 12v on one side of fuse #19 but not the other. this is how it should be with the fuse out. if that remains the same with the fuse in, the fuse is blown.

- Wed Mar 03, 2010 6:18 am #178882 no no, i must have said it wrong. i tested it with the fuse in.

i have researched the shit out of this circuit.

-it come from fuse No.40 under the hood as a white wire.
-Which then goes to your combination light switch
-Comes out as Red/Grn
-And plugs into the under dash fuse panel.
-goes through fuse panel as Fuse No.19
-from there it leaves as 5 different Red/Blk wires

1.---------- Dashlights
Dimming signal(Clock,A/T shift
position indicator Iight,Cruise
indicator light,Shift-up indicator light)
Dashllght brightness controller
Rear window defogger switch light
Hazard switch light
Cigarette lighter light

2.----------R.} Front parking light
L.}

3.----------R.Taillights
License plate lights

4.----------L.Taillights

5.----------Heater control panel light
L- Shift position console Iight(A/T)


-Now the last 4 are all working circuits,
i have tail lights and plate lights and all that.

-This would lead me to believe that the plug that leaves to go to all that illumination and dash light stuff is the cause of the problem.

-and i cant locate that plug in the back of the under dash fuse panel that goes to that in the manual anywhere?

-If i can find it i can see it the connector in the harness is back if even if the fuse panel plug is bad.
-or i could follow that harness plug back and see if the wires are all okay. but i just dont know which is which?



I know this seems like a mess but it helps me figure it out if i write it all down like this.

SOoooo heres the big question. Does anyone on this forum know what harness is what on the back of the under dash fuse panel? who here is a wiring god?

[suspendedHatch]

- Thu Mar 04, 2010 4:43 pm #179165 Well first of all, if you have power on one side and not on the other, that simply means the fuse is bad.

If the problem is that your fuse keeps blowing, then you need to find where the wire is grounded. This is almost always caused by a modification.

You're mistaken trying to trace the wire before the fuse box. Power goes into the fuse box, it's divided among the fuse outputs, and then it passes out to each individual circuit.

- Tue Mar 16, 2010 9:05 pm #181661 i have the same problem.but i also anit got no tail lights but everything else works..some one told me its the after market radio

- Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:17 pm #181681 yeah i noticed it too when i put in a new radio. did you install deck yourself?
take it out and go over the wiring, make sure nothing is shorting out.
i aslo noticed my dash lights would come on when i would touch the constant 12v to the ignition wire in the harness.

- Tue Mar 16, 2010 11:33 pm #181686 no i didnt it was already in when i bought it but it works but the screen is no good.so im going to take it out anyways...