Charri

Vehicle in SIG

So I just checked my fuses again and again....I believe there is some sort of shortage in the system somewhere. The fuse box in the engine bay under "Small Lights" keeps blowing its a 10A fuse ATC type fuse. I have the 97 SE so I have DRLs when I turn on the car the fuse is still good till I turn on the light switch to parking lights BOOM or the other way for the fuse blowing is to turn on the car/ or off either way and press the brakes the again BOOM Im inspecting the wires right now but I cant put a finger on it.

I checked other forums on here and some lude dude said it might be dimmer I will try that out. Anyone have this sort of problem before?

mihasik

I had this problem on my Accord 99 then i istalled the CD player turned out you need to isolate the original ground wire coz it also a dimmer for an original redio and get a new ground from a body

tommyboy042281

to the top!! i have just encountered this same problem

Charri

So I found out my accessory wire was fried and no longer had insulation. I rerouted the wire rather than follow thru the original harness. Check radio harness to see if it had any opens or whether it is shorting anywhere.

tommyboy042281

where is the accesory wire located at? and how did you rerout it? this is driving me nuts. i been working on this for 5 days str8 and cant get it

tommyboy042281

please someone help! wife has been without taillights for a week now and drives in the dark to work in the morning. im out of options and have done and looked everywhere! help!

billyrusa

The radio harness Charri mentioned is behind the radio. You need to remove the redio to check the harness. If you did not upgrade your radio and there is no problem for the radio harness, do the following test:

Pry out the Dash Light Brightness Controller and disconnet the 3-P connector from the controller. The connector should have three wires: Black, Red, and Red with black strip (RED/BLK).

First do a short curcuit test.
With headlights OFF and ignition switch OFF, use ohm meter test RED/BLK and ground. If reads 0 or low resistance, there is a short curcuit in the system. Otherwise do the following test with a good fuse installed:

1. The Black wire should be connected to ground all the time.
2. Turn on the headlight, the Red/BLK wire should have battery voltage. If the fuse blows out when the headlights on. You do not need to do the step 3 test. There may be a short curcuit or a problem with the lights switch.
3. With the headlights on, connect the Red wire to ground, the dash light should be on with full bright.

If you can pass the three tests, the controller is bad. Before getting a new controller, short the Black and Red wire on the connector and you will be able to have dash light and taillight while you are ordering a new controller.

If you do not have a voltage meter, just simply disconnect the controller, and turn on the headlights. If the fuse is still OK, connect the red wire to ground and you should be able to see the dash lights on.

tommyboy042281

ok i will go and try this in a few minutes. thanks i appreciate the help. i will let you know what happens. thanks

tommyboy042281

nope that didnt work. i installed a curcuit breaker in place of the fuse in the "small light" fuse spot and now when i turn on the parking lights they go on but very dim. after about 2-3 seconds the circuit breaker trips and i gotta try it again. i really cannot figure this b.s. out at all! has anybody had this problem?

Alanicious

iTrader: (1)

short to ground or excessive resistance.

agentsevn

Hey Billyrusa, is the "Dash Light Brightness Controller" you referred to the adjustable **** on the front of the instrument cluster? or is it something hidden in the dash?

If its the **** on the front, my 2000 Accord doesn't have any wires going directly to it, just 3 large clusters of wire that plug into the back of the instrument cluster.

If its an object somewhere in the dash, how can I find it? there is no info on this controller in my vehicles book, and I can't find anything on the honda web page or parts page.

My dash backlight & parking lights will not turn on, although the headlights hazards, turn signals etc still work. I have tested all the fuses, relays, & the switch

mrhondafrustration

I have same exact problem; Let me know what it is?

dale2

this sounds like a ground wire having a bad connection. I had this problem with the "brake lamp" light staying on when there was no tail light out. the problem was a bad ground wire (and they're everywhere). Check them all and replace them all if necessary. I found the ground coming from the ignition (where you insert your key) was not grounded properly and after replacing and re-grounding it the "brake lamp" no longer is on. And I haven't had any blown fuses any more.

Stackle2

What is the most efficient way to determine which wires are shorted/grounded out?

preynolds2

same problem

onoye

I just had this problem today with a 93 del sol - every time the parking lights were turned on it blew a fuse. That circuit with the dash and front/rear parking lights also has the cigarette lighter, and that was the problem - I disconnected the wiring connector to the cigarette lighter and no more blown fuses. I don't use the cigarette lighter and haven't bothered seeing what's wrong yet, but where it sits between the seats I could picture something getting spilled in there.

escanali

Hi there, I just purchased a 2005 accord EX-L w/ navigation, and I have a problem with small lights fuse, it keeps blowing when the alarm is either activated or disabled. I thought there was a problem with a wire shorting under the fender liner, had all checked and fuse keeps popping, I found out by luck that it happens only with alarm. Any input will be great, thanks

crispins

Ok I had this same problem when I bought my 97 Accord

I tested everything I could and never found the cause of the problem.

I gave up and just created a work around to fix the problem

I ran a wire from drivers side fuse box into the trunk. I connected the wire to a fuse that turned on with the key.
I then popped the panel from the drivers side taillights inside the trunk. I found the wire that went to the taillight bulbs and cut it. I then attached the cut wire to the new one that I had run from the fuse box.
I then cut the wire running down inside the black looming by the trunk hinge. I think this wire is red with a black stripe. I connected it to the new power wire I ran from the fuse box also.

Now whenever the key is on the taillights and lic plate lights are on.

Next I pulled the dimmer switch, cut the wire that fed the desh lights and ran another wire to the fuse box.

Now whenever the key is on al the dash lights are on as well.

Lastly is the front parking lights. I was not going to worry about them as they really are no big deal but I got a set of projector headlights so when I installed them I ran a wire to powerup the parking lights whenever the car was on.

So now everything works good and whatever the short was will always be but I got all my lights working.

bigginsUT

I know I've had bulbs burn out and arch themselves to the wrong polarity, thus grounding out inside the bulbs. I always check there first...
K, I've just fixed this problem - I took the advice as stated here or on another sight, I pulled my aftermarket stereo out and the dimmer wire was slightly exposed. the pre-cut insulation had signs that it'd been arcing at the exposed wire. I cleaned it up, thru another fuze in, and it's all working now. that should take care of my/this problem. good luck.

mois93da

well my parents' 97 accord sedan is suffering the same disease.
theres an old alarm system module under the dash, and theres an aftermarket cd player there... also the power locks dont work... so i can only check it out when i have free time, and i dont have much. gonna check out the cigarette lighter and the dimmer to see if any of that is messed up.

this didnt happen until one day my mother called me and said someone had broken into it... i rushed to her workplace and the lower dash was taken off and the wires under the steering wheel had been exposed. to my surprise the car started right up and she drove it home. but shortly after the small lights fuse blew for the first time. weird. me and my dad can only think theres a bare wire making a short but evertime i look under all the wires seem to be fine. only thing is those alarm wires tend to get in the way. might take it to a stereo shop to have it uninstalled. maybe they can spot something wrong in that process....