pintobean11

Hey All. New member to the board not new to civics. I just picked up a 1996 Civic LX the other day. This is my 4th civic that I have had. Recently I have had a 90 LX, 97 HX, 96 EX and now this 96 LX.

Car is pretty decent and I got a good deal on it. Plan on giving it a tune up this weekend. First what should I be tuning up? Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, fuel filter...anything else?

Here is the big issue, when I got home this afternoon, I noticed that my tail lights were on. My lights are not on so I really don't know what this could be. I decided to pull the negative to reset the car and that didn't work. I also pulled the fuse and that didn't work. I started the car got my buddy and had him stand behind. It seems that the brake lights are staying lit and when you press the brake it doesn't get brighter which leads me to believe that the sensor to trigger the brake lights might be messed up.

Has anyone heard/seen of this and can point me in the right direction.

Looking forward to working with you all on this board.

OneBadTurboCRV

For starters this is the 88-91' Forum you are posting in... Either way it is most likely your stoplight switch... Look at the top of your brake pedal and you will see it.

pintobean11

Mods, please move ;

accordin 2 me

He just told you what the problem was. Now crawl under the dash with some duct tape and a few pennies to replace the rubber that broke. You should see little traces of blue/black "crayon" on the carpet. They sell replacements at honda. Look around on the next few pages and theres a thread explaining what happend

thenext

Had the same problem. I slipped in a bolt, a nut, and a jam nut to adjust it. **** plastic parts. Only mine was a little white crayon looking piece :/

pintobean11

He said most likely so I'd like to get some other members inputs as well.

Former User

As mentioned, just check whether the rubber stopper that presses on the brake light switch on the brake pedal is missing or broken. It should only take a minute or two to figure out.

pintobean11

Yeah I saw the "crayon" looking pieces this morning. Thanks for the help.

thenext

Here is how I fixed it

angrysmileyface

If this is a manual you might want to purchase extra pieces for the clutch, and cruise control switches too. I know in my 93, when one died, the others followed soon toot suite. Its like 3 or 4 bucks to get it from the dealer, or be cheap, wrap a piece of cardboard in packing tape and zip tie in place.

pintobean11

Thanks for your help guys. I have some pieces at home that are plastic that look similar to the ones the dealership offers. I noticed that my cruise control doesn't work all the time so it may be going bad too.

accordin 2 me

Sorry bout the language ron. But yep glad i could be of help

Former User

Not a problem. I just try to keep threads focused on tech rather than allow them to stray off topic.

myoungs82

FYI, there is also a rubber grommet on the clutch pedal that often breaks and makes it impossible to start your car. For that, and for this, I simply use a small round magnet. I read about it here as a temporary fix, but I've continued to use them as a permanent fix. The first time, on the clutch switch, the magnet slid and I had to redo it. But once I got it centered correctly, it's worked for several months now.

Regarding the brake switch and grommet. Someone told me a few days ago that my backup lights didn't come on. When putting the magnet on the brake pedal for my tail lights tonight, I noticed another switch on the clutch pedal that seemed to be missing a grommet. I've put on a magnet to see if that's what controls the backup lights.