Hey guys, I have a 97 Civic EX Coupe with 99-00 style red/white tail lights. Ever since I got the car, my tail lights havent been functioning. Originally, it had bulb sockets which were different than the OEM ones and were missing a socket on each side. I just recently got the OEM plugs and changed it out and got new bulbs. Checked all the fuses and everything is looking good, yet the lights still wont turn on. Any ideas?

 

Fix whatever hack job the previous owner did

 

Check all the wires correctly

 

Check whether voltage reaches the socket. If that's fine, check the ground wires.

 

well, at first I think I solved the problem. My car has aftermarket fogs and xenon headlights which were too much for the 7.5 amp fuse that the manual recommended. So I changed it to a 10A, lights turned on, then drove it for 5 seconds and blew the fuse, changed it to a 15A same thing happened, blew it again, changed it to a 20A...lights were on and working fine till i drove it, then the fuse blew. any ideas? would i need a higher voltage fuse? or maybe its the wiring...

 

You have a short and you need to fix it. There's a reason that each circuit has a specific amp rated fuse -- it protects the wires and components on the circuit. You are going burn up your wiring or start a fire in your car if you use a higher than recommended amp rated fuse.

 

Do you have the lights and fogs hooked directly to the battery or fuse box. You are never supposed to use a higher rated fuse, like Ron said you can fry your wiring.