AZ_G

Hello. This is my first post here. This forum was recommened to me as a helpful place. I did a search and did not find anything so hopefully this is not a repost.

The turn signal on my wife's 1998 Civic is blinking at about twice it's normal rate. I noticed that the front bulb is not as bright as it normally is so I'm assuming the bulb needs to be replaced. It looks like I need to remove the front headlight in order to get to the bulb. Is that correct? I was hoping there would be an easy to get to the bulb, but it looks like things are just to cramped without removing the headlamp. Thanks in advance for your help.

Libertariat

Bulb needs to be replaced.

If it's out or half-dead that's what happens.

h22a1_julien

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ek forever guy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Bulb needs to be replaced.

If it's out or half-dead that's what happens. </TD></TR></TABLE>

its eather that or a fuse

Libertariat

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by h22a1_julien &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
its eather that or a fuse </TD></TR></TABLE>

If the rear signals still work (which I'm assuming they do) the fuse is fine.

besides, the probability of a turn signal fuse blowing is unlikely.

AZ_G

Okay thanks. Do I have to remove the head lamp to get to the bulb or am I missing something?

Libertariat

No, open your hood and look at the back of the headlight, it's pretty straightforward.

phootbag

I worked on one that had the same symptom. I got the car because the lube kid replaced the bulb but the symptom was still present.

The cause ended up being a bad ground for the rear turn signal. It tricked the multiplex into thinking that there was a bad bulb and made the turn signals on one side blink twice as fast even though all the bulbs were fine.

NOFX

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ek forever guy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">No, open your hood and look at the back of the headlight, it's pretty straightforward. </TD></TR></TABLE>
He'll actually have to either remove the headlight (which could be easier btw) or remove the clips in the fenderwell so he can gain access to the back of the turn signal bulb.

I would recommend just removing the headlight instead because the clips in the fenderwell and other plastic clips on the exterior of the car have a tendency to break down and then fall apart or stretch when you attempt to remove them. Which then you'd have to buy new clips (not cheap) and even worse, you'd have to dig the rest of the clip out of there, which can be a real pain.

The headlight removal is pretty straight forward. There's two bolts on top, one on the front corner and one at the rear/side corner. Make sure you remove the black rubber boot from the back of the headlight first (this normally covers the headlight plug - you won't need to remove the actual bulb though).

The turn signal socket will come out of the housing with a half twist. Then the bulb comes out with another half twist.

After installing the headlight again, you might want to make sure to aim the headlight too. You can find instruction for that here: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=2053718
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phootbag &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I worked on one that had the same symptom. I got the car because the lube kid replaced the bulb but the symptom was still present.

The cause ended up being a bad ground for the rear turn signal. It tricked the multiplex into thinking that there was a bad bulb and made the turn signals on one side blink twice as fast even though all the bulbs were fine. </TD></TR></TABLE>
But more than likely the issue is just a bad bulb.

Check the bulb first. It's about a $4 fix (the cost of bulbs). Then move up to bigger things if it still works funny.

Libertariat

my fingers are just nimble enough I slide it all out.

NOFX

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ek forever guy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

my fingers are just nimble enough I slide it all out.</TD></TR></TABLE>
It's not even that. I have puny woman hands, but I don't want to mess with the clips out of fear of breaking them. I try not to mess with exterior clips unless I really have to.

AZ_G

I finally was able to get this taken care of this weekend. It ended up being a little more difficult than I expected to get the headlight out. I had to remove the bumper cover along with a metal bracket that was below the headlight assembly in order to remove the headlight and gain access to the bulb. The bumper cover and metal bracket were in the way and no matter what I tried I couldn't get the headlight out until I removed them.

I replaced the bulb and the behavior is normal now so that was the problem. Thanks for the helpful input fixing this. I appreciate it.

NOFX

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AZ_G &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I finally was able to get this taken care of this weekend. It ended up being a little more difficult than I expected to get the headlight out. I had to remove the bumper cover along with a metal bracket that was below the headlight assembly in order to remove the headlight and gain access to the bulb. The bumper cover and metal bracket were in the way and no matter what I tried I couldn't get the headlight out until I removed them.

I replaced the bulb and the behavior is normal now so that was the problem. Thanks for the helpful input fixing this. I appreciate it.</TD></TR></TABLE>
You don't need to remove the headlight.

If you have your owner's manual, it will tell you exactly how to change it without removing the housing.

AZ_G

Then why did you recommend removing the headlight in your earlier post?

wiZCo

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AZ_G &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Then why did you recommend removing the headlight in your earlier post? </TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NOFX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
He'll actually have to either remove the headlight (which could be easier btw) or remove the clips in the fenderwell so he can gain access to the back of the turn signal bulb.

</TD></TR></TABLE>



This is how the owner's manual tells you how to do it, if you turn the wheel away from the front of the bumper, you can remove the fender lining and access it from behind.

NOFX

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AZ_G &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Then why did you recommend removing the headlight in your earlier post? </TD></TR></TABLE>
I thought this was another thread I'd seen about changing a headlight bulb, not a turn signal bulb.