Tail lights

Second Generation Honda Prelude topics

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isaiahpena
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Tail lights

Post by isaiahpena »

Ok so when im driving at night sometimes my cluster lights tail light and license plate light go out and sometimes they don't even come on at all when i turn my headlights on,my headlights always come on though i need help please cuz this is my car for work

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spiffyguido
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Prelude Model: 1991 SE-SR
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Re: Tail lights

Post by spiffyguido »

Likely a short somewhere.

Open your trunk and remove the plastic cover that shields your tailight wiring in the trunk. As I recall, these covers are a grey color.

With the covers off, you should be able to see all of the tail light wires. Look carefully for any faulty wiring connections or any places where the wire might have frayed and made contact with the body due to wear. It might be that a wire has gotten pinched and is shorting to the body of the car.

isaiahpena
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Re: Tail lights

Post by isaiahpena »

Ok thanks...well today i showed my friend and he just moved the light switch back and forth and they came on could it be that the light switch is messing up ?

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spiffyguido
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Re: Tail lights

Post by spiffyguido »

Absolutely! I assumed you would've noticed that affecting your headlights as well though. I've seen those switches go bad before. Usually the plastic ends up breaking where the signal light arm leaves the steering column.

isaiahpena
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Re: Tail lights

Post by isaiahpena »

Any idea how i could fix it

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spiffyguido
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Re: Tail lights

Post by spiffyguido »

If you're referring to the switching mechanism you'll really just have to see if the plastic is broken and could be glued back together. Otherwise you pretty much need to get a replacement, most likely from a wrecker. Honda may have discontinued that part so getting a new one may not be an option.

isaiahpena
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Re: Tail lights

Post by isaiahpena »

How can I see if the plastic is broken the switch the turns on the head lights seems to be the problem it feel like it doesnt align with the second dot no more it kinda feels loose on the inside

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spiffyguido
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Re: Tail lights

Post by spiffyguido »

The headlight switch is located at the end of the signal arm that comes out of the steering column. The breakage I was referring to usually occurs where the signal arm meets the steering column. The long collar of the signal arm will be broken. This switch itself is located inside the signal arm. I believe these aren't hard to remove, so you could take yours apart to investigate.

isaiahpena
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Re: Tail lights

Post by isaiahpena »

Would I have to remove the steering wheel cuz I was having a little trouble removing the light switch arm

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spiffyguido
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Re: Tail lights

Post by spiffyguido »

No, you won't have to remove the steering wheel. In fact, you likely won't have to remove the light switch arm itself to see if there is a problem there. Sorry, my memory of the 2nd gens is a little rust, but I believe once you remove the cover from the underside of the steering column you can see the wires that come out of the switch arm. Then you can use your multimeter to test the switching mechanisms.



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