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how to change a turn signal (hazards) relay: 03 honda civic dx
This is for anyone having trouble with their turn signals AND hazards on a 2003 Honda Civic DX. This forum helped me piece most of it together, but some info was missing that I hope this will cover for future relay sufferers.
My signals and hazards were doing all these things, in no order:
blinking a few times then stopping
not turning on
working fine
blinking steadily, then flickering, then steadily, then stopping.
Internet research told me it was an issue with my turn signal relay (which does control your hazards as well - there was some misinformation about this at AutoZone). Then I had a REALLY REALLY hard time finding that turn signal relay in order to change it.
Here is a picture for you, future reader. May you not spend 4 hours looking for it and trying to replace the wrong relay, as I did.
1. it's in your under-dash fuse box. AutoZone will lie to you and have you puzzling over the one under your hood. Don't listen to them.
2. Pop off that panel just under the steering column. So easy! Enjoy things being easy because they won't be after this.
3. Be smart right now and shake out your drivers floor mat. No. really. Also set up a chiropractor appointment if you do that kind of thing.
4. Get down on your knees on the ground. Slide the drivers seat as far back as it will go. Flip over and lay down on your back with your head in the floorboard next to the gas pedal. Great. That's the only way you can do this.
3. Look at that fuse panel. There's a screw on the lower right hand side. It's screwed on really tight. Unscrew it and take the screw out completely.
4. Pull the entire fuse panel down. At the top right, buried under a lot of cables, is that turn signal relay. It is locked in there by some very firm tabs at the top and bottom. I recommend growing a third arm to do this right, but if that isn't an option, try to just jimmy out one tab at a time. You are going to have to pull damn hard.
5. I didn't test this out, but the AutoZone $10 relay was about twice the size as the one that was a tight fit under the dash (I also read that this was an issue for an Odyssey owner who ended up wasting that $10), so I sucked it up and went to the Honda dealership and paid $20.99 for an OEM.
6. Pop the new one in. Yes, those tabs are going to get in the way again, but not as bad. Screw the fuse panel back into place with that lower right screw. Pop that panel back on.
Re: how to change a turn signal (hazards) relay: 03 honda civic dx
hello, I registered just to drop you a thank you. I spent awhile under my dash trying to figure how I was going to get to that relay. Everybody else made it sound like it was so easy, but my sore fingertips told me it was NOT going to be easy :-)
Thanks to you I saved quite a bit of time trying to pull out that thing.
Re: how to change a turn signal (hazards) relay: 03 honda civic dx
Thank you thank you thank you! I don't know how I didn't see that screw to drop the fuse box. It's hard enough getting it out with the box dropped, I spent an hour trying to get it out with it all the way up behind the dash lol. In business now, thanks again!!
Re: how to change a turn signal (hazards) relay: 03 honda civic dx
I just signed up to say Thank you for your post.
My 2005 Honda Civic SI (EP3) had similar issues and replacing the Relay fixed it.
Symptoms:
-Turn Signal (Blinkers) sometimes or would not turn on, left or right.
-Hazard lights sometimes or would not turn on.
-Blinking rate would vary - Sometimes it'll blink fast and sometimes it'll blink slow.
I changed out the relay using a generic (Autozone) relay. It was from Duralast and cost me $10.99 plus tax. The Duralast P/N is 20111. I believe the OEM part number is 38300-S5P-A01.
What really helped was removing that bolt to allow the entire fuse box to slide down. This made it a lot easier!
Re: how to change a turn signal (hazards) relay: 03 honda civic dx
Thank you so much for this thread. As the posters above me have stated, your information saved me money and hassle. Seeing how 'easy' this was in other threads had me so frustrated until I stumbled upon your input. God Bless You!
Re: how to change a turn signal (hazards) relay: 03 honda civic dx
great post. I did this for an 05' civic EX. Used a new relay from autozone ($14), it is longer but the the width, height, prong pattern are the same. It works.
Re: how to change a turn signal (hazards) relay: 03 honda civic dx
ikc3000,
Thanks for taking the time to make this post! I registered with honda-tech.com primarily to thank you. Your directions saved me a trip to an auto mechanic!
I did this for a 2005 Honda Civic SI. Worked great! I bought the relay from an Autozone for $12.
For another resource, I found the following image to be helpful. 'Indicator Relay' means turn signals / emergency flasher relay. For the turn signal/ emergency relay, we want the square one (not the rectangular ones).
Re: how to change a turn signal (hazards) relay: 03 honda civic dx
Hello,
This was useful. I have a couple of turn signals that are out, Passenger rear and driver side marker. I changed the relay but the problem remained. Any ideas? The fuses are ok.
Re: how to change a turn signal (hazards) relay: 03 honda civic dx
Originally Posted by loayo
Hello,
This was useful. I have a couple of turn signals that are out, Passenger rear and driver side marker. I changed the relay but the problem remained. Any ideas? The fuses are ok.
Re: how to change a turn signal (hazards) relay: 03 honda civic dx
I, along with all the people before me, registered on this website in order to thank you!!! Your instructions saved me $200. I ended up getting the Duralast one at Auto Zone since the OEM part now costs $80. The clip part was definitely the hardest, needed the help of a small flathead screwdriver, and hand clamp once I got both of the clips off. Thank you again!!!’
Re: how to change a turn signal (hazards) relay: 03 honda civic dx
I want to say thank you to the OP for this walkthrough. I only wish I found this sooner - after a few days of scouring the Internet, I stumbled across this thread.
This works for a 92 DX hatch with minor adjustments. But the spirit is the same. Now to replace the relay with a LED compatible one.
Re: how to change a turn signal (hazards) relay: 03 honda civic dx
Over a decade later and this literally saved my life. Been at this for a few weeks now and I can’t believe I finally got it. Had to PB blast the bolt because it had about a quarter inch of rust on it, but I got it. Popped the new relay in and just left the fuse box dangling 😂 I’ll deal with that tomorrow. Thank you dude, Godspeed.
Re: how to change a turn signal (hazards) relay: 03 honda civic dx
Originally Posted by lkc3000
This is for anyone having trouble with their turn signals AND hazards on a 2003 Honda Civic DX. This forum helped me piece most of it together, but some info was missing that I hope this will cover for future relay sufferers.
My signals and hazards were doing all these things, in no order:
blinking a few times then stopping
not turning on
working fine
blinking steadily, then flickering, then steadily, then stopping.
Internet research told me it was an issue with my turn signal relay (which does control your hazards as well - there was some misinformation about this at AutoZone). Then I had a REALLY REALLY hard time finding that turn signal relay in order to change it.
Here is a picture for you, future reader. May you not spend 4 hours looking for it and trying to replace the wrong relay, as I did.
1. it's in your under-dash fuse box. AutoZone will lie to you and have you puzzling over the one under your hood. Don't listen to them.
2. Pop off that panel just under the steering column. So easy! Enjoy things being easy because they won't be after this.
3. Be smart right now and shake out your drivers floor mat. No. really. Also set up a chiropractor appointment if you do that kind of thing.
4. Get down on your knees on the ground. Slide the drivers seat as far back as it will go. Flip over and lay down on your back with your head in the floorboard next to the gas pedal. Great. That's the only way you can do this.
3. Look at that fuse panel. There's a screw on the lower right hand side. It's screwed on really tight. Unscrew it and take the screw out completely.
4. Pull the entire fuse panel down. At the top right, buried under a lot of cables, is that turn signal relay. It is locked in there by some very firm tabs at the top and bottom. I recommend growing a third arm to do this right, but if that isn't an option, try to just jimmy out one tab at a time. You are going to have to pull damn hard.
5. I didn't test this out, but the AutoZone $10 relay was about twice the size as the one that was a tight fit under the dash (I also read that this was an issue for an Odyssey owner who ended up wasting that $10), so I sucked it up and went to the Honda dealership and paid $20.99 for an OEM.
6. Pop the new one in. Yes, those tabs are going to get in the way again, but not as bad. Screw the fuse panel back into place with that lower right screw. Pop that panel back on.
YOU DID IT! Good job.
Thank you so much! I truly appreciate your directions and pics.
08-24-2011, 01:39 PM
how to change a turn signal (hazards) relay: 03 honda civic dx
