Honda Car Forum

Charlie S wrote:
> Honda installs a relay in series with each Tail Light Bulb so the bulb
> sees less than 12 volts.

eh? that's a new one on me! how does a relay drop the voltage to a
bulb??? by how much???? what's the purpose???

> I did not intend to say that you have to buy
> a bulb manufactured by Honda. A bulb intended for other than a Honda
> would fit, but not have the correct brightness.
>
> For other than a Honda tail light, if I had a burned out bulb I would
> look in a box in my garage for a bulb that looked the same and it
> would work.
>
> Cheers
> Charlie
>
>
> On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 18:38:53 GMT, "Doug McCrary"
> <DougMcCrary@spamcop.net> wrote:
>
>
>>motsco_ _ <"motsco_ _"@interbaun.com> wrote in message
>>news:42EA2E53.7090609@interbaun.com...
>>
>>>Doug McCrary wrote:
>>>
>>>>Charlie S <chasa@rcn.com> wrote in message
>>>>news:ulaje1lbmahlfa1ejvfm69k4arm1lhavm3@4ax.co m...
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>If you are talking about the "brake light" at the Door and Brake Lamp
>>>>>Monitor, it's a burned out tail light. Honda brake lamps are special
>>>>>so buy "Honda" lamps at AutoZone or whatever auto shop you go to.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>I keep seeing this -
>>>>"Special"? How? If the number is right, the lamp is right. Correct me if I
>>
>>am
>>
>>>>wrong.
>>>
>>>
>>>--------------------------
>>>
>>>That's right. Honda tranny fluid is 'special', but a brake lamp is a
>>>brake lamp. Honda doesn't manufacture brake lamps.
>>>
>>>'Curly'
>>>
>>
>>Thanks, Curly.
>>
>
>

Charlie S said

> Honda installs a relay in series with each Tail Light Bulb so the bulb
> sees less than 12 volts. I did not intend to say that you have to buy
> a bulb manufactured by Honda. A bulb intended for other than a Honda
> would fit, but not have the correct brightness.

Huh? A relay is just an on/off switch.


Casey

Charlie S said

> Honda installs a relay in series with each Tail Light Bulb so the bulb
> sees less than 12 volts. I did not intend to say that you have to buy
> a bulb manufactured by Honda. A bulb intended for other than a Honda
> would fit, but not have the correct brightness.

Huh? A relay is just an on/off switch.


Casey

Yesterday I discussed the Brake light that indicates a burned out
Brake Light. Today, I looked for another BRAKE warning light on my 01
Accord EX.....there is one. Look at page 329 in your owner's manual.
The light comes on when you turn your ignition switch on and it stays
on if you do not release the parking brake. If it comes on when
driving it is probably low brake fluid. Low brake fluid means a leak
or worn out brake pads....get it fixed ASAP.

On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 20:29:50 GMT, Enrique Gonzales
<EnriqueGonzales@verizon.net> wrote:

>We have a 2001 Accord EX coupe with 45K miles. Recently the Brake
>light on the dash stays lit most of the time while driving. What kind
>of problems can this indicate?

It's not a relay Contact in series with each Tail light bulb it's a
relay COIL. A COIL has a voltage drop so I assume 9 volts on the wire
between the relay and the bulb.

This is not new Honda has been doing this for over 10 years.

I remember going in to Kragen's and being told that Honda has
different Brake lights than other brands.

4 of the 5 Brake lights are dual filiment.

I have a '92 Accord wiring diagram in front of me and I can see the
relays.


On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 07:26:28 GMT, "Doug McCrary"
<DougMcCrary@spamcop.net> wrote:

>
>Charlie S <chasa@rcn.com> wrote in message
>news:14tle1dthbehe3fbo44j0a0sqqoiplhqk1@4ax.com.. .
>> Honda installs a relay in series with each Tail Light Bulb so the bulb
>> sees less than 12 volts. I did not intend to say that you have to buy
>> a bulb manufactured by Honda. A bulb intended for other than a Honda
>> would fit, but not have the correct brightness.
>>
>Not.
>Spec'd lamps are standard. A 327 or whatever has a specified voltage, base
>design, current rating, and output (candlepower) .
>Honda can't change that unless they design their own lamp, with their own specs
>(and number). I don't see where they have done that. If you have an example,
>please post it.
>
>> For other than a Honda tail light, if I had a burned out bulb I would
>> look in a box in my garage for a bulb that looked the same and it
>> would work.
>>
>> Cheers
>> Charlie
>>
>
>

Charlie S <chasa@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:lvjoe1pcbcjn2bgbgctmfqc846iudqi0m4@4ax.com...
> It's not a relay Contact in series with each Tail light bulb it's a
> relay COIL. A COIL has a voltage drop so I assume 9 volts on the wire
> between the relay and the bulb.
>
Not a valid assumption. The effective resistance of the lamp would be around 6
ohms for a 27W stop lamp. I'm sure they've made the relay to be around .5 ohm or
less, so the voltage at the lamp would be closer to 12v in a real-world 12.8 -
13.5 volt world. It'd be interesting if you could actually measure one of the
relays, and/or the voltage across it and/or the lamp(s) in your car.

> This is not new Honda has been doing this for over 10 years.
>
I believe it.

> I remember going in to Kragen's and being told that Honda has
> different Brake lights than other brands.
>
I believe this too, but I also believe whover told you that is/was full of it.

> 4 of the 5 Brake lights are dual filiment.
>
Immaterial. As I understand so far, the relays are in the brake lamp circuits.
Presence of a tail light or whatever in the same lamp envelope is of no concern.

> I have a '92 Accord wiring diagram in front of me and I can see the
> relays.
>
No doubt. Probably the other responders misunderstood the discussion so far.
Is there a part number for the relay on your car? Maybe I can find the specs.
Googling is good, but in this case I'm either not coming up with the correct
search parameters, or there's just too much stuff...

Charlie S <chasa@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:lvjoe1pcbcjn2bgbgctmfqc846iudqi0m4@4ax.com...
> It's not a relay Contact in series with each Tail light bulb it's a
> relay COIL. A COIL has a voltage drop so I assume 9 volts on the wire
> between the relay and the bulb.
>
Not a valid assumption. The effective resistance of the lamp would be around 6
ohms for a 27W stop lamp. I'm sure they've made the relay to be around .5 ohm or
less, so the voltage at the lamp would be closer to 12v in a real-world 12.8 -
13.5 volt world. It'd be interesting if you could actually measure one of the
relays, and/or the voltage across it and/or the lamp(s) in your car.

> This is not new Honda has been doing this for over 10 years.
>
I believe it.

> I remember going in to Kragen's and being told that Honda has
> different Brake lights than other brands.
>
I believe this too, but I also believe whover told you that is/was full of it.

> 4 of the 5 Brake lights are dual filiment.
>
Immaterial. As I understand so far, the relays are in the brake lamp circuits.
Presence of a tail light or whatever in the same lamp envelope is of no concern.

> I have a '92 Accord wiring diagram in front of me and I can see the
> relays.
>
No doubt. Probably the other responders misunderstood the discussion so far.
Is there a part number for the relay on your car? Maybe I can find the specs.
Googling is good, but in this case I'm either not coming up with the correct
search parameters, or there's just too much stuff...

Charlie S wrote:
> It's not a relay Contact in series with each Tail light bulb it's a
> relay COIL. A COIL has a voltage drop so I assume 9 volts on the wire
> between the relay and the bulb.

you /assume/ a coil has a voltage drop of 3V??? what's the resistance
of the coil in proportion to the bulb??? the math is real simple.

>
> This is not new Honda has been doing this for over 10 years.

dude, /no/ manufacturer puts a relay coil in series with a high wattage
bulb. period.

>
> I remember going in to Kragen's and being told that Honda has
> different Brake lights than other brands.

no. get the bulb number and cross reference it against all the other
applications - it's just a stock bulb used industry-wide.

>
> 4 of the 5 Brake lights are dual filiment.

so? it's called redundancy. it helps keep the car safe when neglectful
drivers fail to check to see if their bulbs are working properly.

>
> I have a '92 Accord wiring diagram in front of me and I can see the
> relays.

i have two different helm [honda factory] circuit diagrams in front of
me right now, and there are no relay coils in series with any light
bulbs. there must have some sort of problem with the drawings you have
if you think you're looking at relay coils.

>
>
> On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 07:26:28 GMT, "Doug McCrary"
> <DougMcCrary@spamcop.net> wrote:
>
>
>>Charlie S <chasa@rcn.com> wrote in message
>>news:14tle1dthbehe3fbo44j0a0sqqoiplhqk1@4ax.com. ..
>>
>>>Honda installs a relay in series with each Tail Light Bulb so the bulb
>>>sees less than 12 volts. I did not intend to say that you have to buy
>>>a bulb manufactured by Honda. A bulb intended for other than a Honda
>>>would fit, but not have the correct brightness.
>>>
>>
>>Not.
>>Spec'd lamps are standard. A 327 or whatever has a specified voltage, base
>>design, current rating, and output (candlepower) .
>>Honda can't change that unless they design their own lamp, with their own specs
>>(and number). I don't see where they have done that. If you have an example,
>>please post it.
>>
>>
>>>For other than a Honda tail light, if I had a burned out bulb I would
>>>look in a box in my garage for a bulb that looked the same and it
>>>would work.
>>>
>>>Cheers
>>>Charlie
>>>
>>
>>
>

Dude, I have the 90-93 Accord Haynes repair manual wiring diagram in front
of me and there is a device called a brake light sensor which uses what's
called a reed relay. There is a relay in series with each brake lamp, when
the lamp is on the current travelling through the relay pulls in a contact
which tells the monitor that the lamp is working. If the bulb is burned out
(open) then no current flows through the relay and the contact remains open,
indicating a brake lamp is out by the brake lamp on the dash.

"jim beam" <nospam@example.net> wrote in message
news:esWdnZG8kZOrcXHfRVn-qA@speakeasy.net...
> Charlie S wrote:
> > It's not a relay Contact in series with each Tail light bulb it's a
> > relay COIL. A COIL has a voltage drop so I assume 9 volts on the wire
> > between the relay and the bulb.
>
> you /assume/ a coil has a voltage drop of 3V??? what's the resistance
> of the coil in proportion to the bulb??? the math is real simple.
>
> >
> > This is not new Honda has been doing this for over 10 years.
>
> dude, /no/ manufacturer puts a relay coil in series with a high wattage
> bulb. period.
>
> >
> > I remember going in to Kragen's and being told that Honda has
> > different Brake lights than other brands.
>
> no. get the bulb number and cross reference it against all the other
> applications - it's just a stock bulb used industry-wide.
>
> >
> > 4 of the 5 Brake lights are dual filiment.
>
> so? it's called redundancy. it helps keep the car safe when neglectful
> drivers fail to check to see if their bulbs are working properly.
>
> >
> > I have a '92 Accord wiring diagram in front of me and I can see the
> > relays.
>
> i have two different helm [honda factory] circuit diagrams in front of
> me right now, and there are no relay coils in series with any light
> bulbs. there must have some sort of problem with the drawings you have
> if you think you're looking at relay coils.
>
> >
> >
> > On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 07:26:28 GMT, "Doug McCrary"
> > <DougMcCrary@spamcop.net> wrote:
> >
> >
> >>Charlie S <chasa@rcn.com> wrote in message
> >>news:14tle1dthbehe3fbo44j0a0sqqoiplhqk1@4ax.com. ..
> >>
> >>>Honda installs a relay in series with each Tail Light Bulb so the bulb
> >>>sees less than 12 volts. I did not intend to say that you have to buy
> >>>a bulb manufactured by Honda. A bulb intended for other than a Honda
> >>>would fit, but not have the correct brightness.
> >>>
> >>
> >>Not.
> >>Spec'd lamps are standard. A 327 or whatever has a specified voltage,
base
> >>design, current rating, and output (candlepower) .
> >>Honda can't change that unless they design their own lamp, with their
own specs
> >>(and number). I don't see where they have done that. If you have an
example,
> >>please post it.
> >>
> >>
> >>>For other than a Honda tail light, if I had a burned out bulb I would
> >>>look in a box in my garage for a bulb that looked the same and it
> >>>would work.
> >>>
> >>>Cheers
> >>>Charlie
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >
>

jim beam wrote:
> i have two different helm [honda factory] circuit diagrams in front of
> me right now, and there are no relay coils in series with any light
> bulbs. there must have some sort of problem with the drawings you have
> if you think you're looking at relay coils.

doesnt the symbol for "light" look like a coil of wire in a bulb? mebbe
TE cheah has morphed?