jhorn

Very good directions above, but I have a 1988 two door honda accord hatchback and my combination switch is a bit different. I am having trouble with the headlight switch located on the left side of the steering wheel. The headlights turn off if the switch is bumped at all. I am a poor student and would like to try to fix the switch rather than spend $165 on a whole new combination switch. If you have advice about how to take the switch apart so that I can clean the contacts. Here is a link to an image of what the assembly looks like http://illustrations.allinfoaboutaut....php?page=3512 . I know how to get the combination switch off of the steering column, but not how the take the switch apart to get at the contacts.

So far I have pulled the steering wheel off and have removed the combination switch, but have not yet taken the combination switch apart because I am scared of having springs and small parts fly around the room then never get it back together. Thanks,

gjflores

Does anyone know any other reasons why my 94 civic cx wipers would work on high, but not low? I am going to use the cleaning instructions above, just wasn't sure if there might be any other problems that could lead to the wipers not working on low speed.

richrd0001

Many thanks for your extensive efforts to help out here. You sure helped me. I have a 1989 Prelude Si. I took off the steering wheel to get at the light switch, which I may not have had to do. Saw something to that effect elsewhere but pursued the ready, fire, aim approach as is my custom.

I'd had a problem with needing to find a "sweet spot" on the switch between headlights on and just running lights. Just turning the switch to "headlights" turned on the headlights left the running lights and dash lights/clock off. This worked for a while but required vigilance on the matter of not having rear running lights. Eventually, this was blowing a fuse somehow and I had either to fix the switch or replace it.

I opened it up per your instruction (my switch is not same as yours in the photo) and found there was a build up of corrosion on one copper strip. It was a little like the pitting visible in your photo under "6." See the middle strip on the far right of the pic.

I scraped off the corrosion and also used my knife to scrape clean all other contact surfaces and used existing grease in the switch to lube all surfaces.

It works great now and I'm possibly $135-156 richer, according to my research of part availability for my '89. Mileage 408,000 with original engine. What a great machine!

Hopefully, the short problem has been solved by this.

Thanks again for your taking so much trouble to lay it all out for us.

richrd0001

I found corrosion on the copper contact was preventing a proper electrical connection. Look for dark brown deposits.

BuiltInDueTime

Nice write up, My wiper switch works but when I pull it forward (turn the sprayer on) and the switch just falls down and the wipers just turn on high. can that be fixed or should I just replace the switch?

HollyMM88

What if I have an issue with the lights and brights switched? I have a 99 Prelude and my head lights and brights are backwards. When I turn my head lights on like normal just the brights are on. Then when I flick it and turn my brights on then my brights and regular head lights are on. What do I do?

Dekorum

Are you sure about using dielectric grease on the actual contacts? You never want to use dielectric grease on electrical components themselves because its non conductive. It's fine to use on rubber or plastic sealing the entire switch contacts but not on the metal contacts..

EJ2GOON

i need help!.........i think i have the same problem, my dash lights turn off when i switch it to turn on my headlights, therefore my tail lights are off and dash, but my brake lights still work...............

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Er. What part of the DIY are you having problems with?

EJ2GOON

would cleaning it really fix this problem?...........when i turn my dash on it works fine, until i turn the switch to turn on the headlights, my dash just turns off and headlights stay on.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

How about you actually TRY it?

EJ2GOON

finally tried it today, cleaned it up and my damn dash lights still wont turn on, but i think a small part inside, in the middle of the switch is broken.................i guess i'll just hit up the junkyard and get a switch.

EJ2GOON

got a switch at the junkyard today, and it worked good.........................this was still a good DIY though.

Dekorum

Now you should clean the switch you got from the junkyard, to help prevent it from going bad.

pdiggitydogg

Might try this this afternoon. Rear wiper switch is a problem on my crv...I assumed it was shorting out because it works if I finagle the switch after its on.
Its the same switch as civics and tegs so maybe it'll help. If not there's always new.

althor1138

Thanks so much for this. I have an '87 civic hatchback that has this problem with the lights not turning on sometimes. Especially in cold weather. A new switch is prohibitively expensive. I'm going to try this out next weekend instead of buying the new one.

HybridEarthquake

Thank goodness for the "Read before you ask" section!! Just finished dis/*** of the headlight switch. The highbeams didn't work, neither did the passing lights...and the lowbeams would flicker.

I found that the white piece was melted and charred, and there was a ton of carbon all over the underside of the high/low beam "teeter-totter" piece.

I cleaned it all with CRC QD Electronic Cleaner, and scraped the rest of the stubborn carbon with the tip of my multi-meter probes. Once it was all back together, it metered good, so I was surprised to find that I didn't have highbeams still, but had at least gained passing lights. Removed it again, disassembled it, and removed some of the disfigured white plastic while flipping the "teeter-totter" end for end to hopefully get away from the gouges that had been burned into it.

Re-metered it (good), and then re-installed. I HAVE HEADLIGHTS LIKE I AM SUPPOSED TOO!!!!

THANKS FOR THE GREAT WRITEUP AND VIDEO!!!

philztheone

Well done sir! Wish I could buy you a coffee. Thank you.

cr4ckfi3nd

definitely going to try this on my wiper switch this weekend, its ultra sensitive and only goes into high.

JarvisW

Thanks. I was going to try this anyway, but its nice to see pics first!

I did both switches on my 94 sol. now I have a problem with the wiper delay. Its always been iffy tho. So I need to look up the relay now..

Thanks again!

deschlong

iTrader: (8)

Used this DIY today, finally - after saying I was going to look into a problem I was having with my switch for about a year! Seems better but the true test will be when the cold weather hits - this is when it was the most flaky. Thanks!

baller status

I have a weird problem that seemed related but this how-to didn't fix it unfortunately.

I swapped an intermittent wiper stalk and ICU into my hatch, as I have on other cars I've had in the past. On this car the lowest intermittent setting doesn't work unless the parking lights are on.

professorman

Thanks a lot! I did this repair on my 94 Accord, and it fixed my turn signal problem. Great writeup!

geletmote

Mate just performed the clean on the indicator part for the 96 integra here in Australia as there was that constant clicking sound, now its disssapeared. Thank You for this Great stuff

D15miniek

my wiper switch is held up by wadded napkins right now is there a way i can fix this i had no idea they came apart and so simply