chasa@rcn.com wrote:
>
> Honda uses special brake light bulbs because there is a relay coil in
> series with each bulb. I will guess the bulbs see about 9 volts and
> the relay coil sees 3 volts.....together they see 12 volts.
>
> The relays, there is one for each tail light, turn on that red light
> on the dash if they do not sense a properly operating bulb.
>
> Honda tail light bulbs cost more than regular tail light bulbs.

The '92 Accord uses quite ordinary 2057 dual filament bulbs that you can
buy anywhere.

"Normal" relays are designed to have a certain voltage across the coil
(e.g. ~12V for automotive relays). It is desierable with a high coil
resustance for low power draw (fixed voltage => want to minimize current
for low power consumption). The relays in the relays in the lamp failure
units have low resistance coils. They see hefty currents (several amps)
and have small voltage drops across them (fixed current => want to
minimize voltage for low power consumption).