Honda Car Forum

I recently bought a 1998 Honda Civic DX and discovered that my brake
lights are not working.

I began troubleshooting the problem by first replacing the brake light
switch (under the brake pedal) which didn't help and then replaced the
third brake light bulb (which was burnt out) but that didn't help
either.

I then started looking at the brake light bulbs and discovered
something a little odd. The actual brake light bulb has two filaments
in it - the first is for the running lights and the second gets
illuminated when the brake pedal is pressed. What's happening with my
car is that if the headlights are on, both filaments are lit for some
unknown reason. I should add that the turn signals still work so I
know that there is power in the circuit.

Any ideas or suggestions on where I should look to fix the problem?

Thanks in advance,
Christopher

<syclone98@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bd38c9d1-d429-4f40-a853-9663604a67f0@n58g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>I recently bought a 1998 Honda Civic DX and discovered that my brake
> lights are not working.
>
> I began troubleshooting the problem by first replacing the brake light
> switch (under the brake pedal) which didn't help and then replaced the
> third brake light bulb (which was burnt out) but that didn't help
> either.
>
> I then started looking at the brake light bulbs and discovered
> something a little odd. The actual brake light bulb has two filaments
> in it - the first is for the running lights and the second gets
> illuminated when the brake pedal is pressed. What's happening with my
> car is that if the headlights are on, both filaments are lit for some
> unknown reason. I should add that the turn signals still work so I
> know that there is power in the circuit.
>
> Any ideas or suggestions on where I should look to fix the problem?

You have a grounding issue. Both filaments are on when the running lights
are on because the running light filament is getting grounded through the
other filament.

Fix the ground issue and both should work as they should.

On Apr 4, 11:37*am, "Seth" <seth_ler...@NOSPAMhotmail.com> wrote:
> <syclon...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:bd38c9d1-d429-4f40-a853-9663604a67f0@n58g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
>
>
> >I recently bought a 1998 Honda Civic DX and discovered that my brake
> > lights are not working.
>
> > I began troubleshooting the problem by first replacing the brake light
> > switch (under the brake pedal) which didn't help and then replaced the
> > third brake light bulb (which was burnt out) but that didn't help
> > either.
>
> > I then started looking at the brake light bulbs and discovered
> > something a little odd. *The actual brake light bulb has two filaments
> > in it - the first is for the running lights and the second gets
> > illuminated when the brake pedal is pressed. *What's happening with my
> > car is that if the headlights are on, both filaments are lit for some
> > unknown reason. *I should add that the turn signals still work so I
> > know that there is power in the circuit.
>
> > Any ideas or suggestions on where I should look to fix the problem?
>
> You have a grounding issue. *Both filaments are on when the running lights
> are on because the running light filament is getting grounded through the
> other filament.
>
> Fix the ground issue and both should work as they should.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -


Sorry about the multi-post.

Are there any known trouble spots for grounding issues in these cars
or could it pretty much be anywhere in the circuit?

"Seth" <seth_lerman@NOSPAMhotmail.com> wrote in
news:hzuJj.333631$Gl5.128619@fe02.news.easynews.co m:

> <syclone98@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:bd38c9d1-d429-4f40-a853-9663604a67f0@n58g2000hsf.googlegroups.com.
> ..
>>I recently bought a 1998 Honda Civic DX and discovered that my brake
>> lights are not working.
>>
>> I began troubleshooting the problem by first replacing the brake
>> light switch (under the brake pedal) which didn't help and then
>> replaced the third brake light bulb (which was burnt out) but that
>> didn't help either.
>>
>> I then started looking at the brake light bulbs and discovered
>> something a little odd. The actual brake light bulb has two
>> filaments in it - the first is for the running lights and the second
>> gets illuminated when the brake pedal is pressed. What's happening
>> with my car is that if the headlights are on, both filaments are lit
>> for some unknown reason. I should add that the turn signals still
>> work so I know that there is power in the circuit.
>>
>> Any ideas or suggestions on where I should look to fix the problem?
>
> You have a grounding issue. Both filaments are on when the running
> lights are on because the running light filament is getting grounded
> through the other filament.
>
> Fix the ground issue and both should work as they should.
>
>



Bet there is corrosion in the sockets or connectors.


--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Tegger4/4/08 16:00Xns9A76A2683C2ABtegger@207.14.116.130

> "Seth" <seth_lerman@NOSPAMhotmail.com> wrote in
> news:hzuJj.333631$Gl5.128619@fe02.news.easynews.co m:
>
>> <syclone98@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:bd38c9d1-d429-4f40-a853-9663604a67f0@n58g2000hsf.googlegroups.com.
>> ..
>>> I recently bought a 1998 Honda Civic DX and discovered that my brake
>>> lights are not working.
>>>
>>> I began troubleshooting the problem by first replacing the brake
>>> light switch (under the brake pedal) which didn't help and then
>>> replaced the third brake light bulb (which was burnt out) but that
>>> didn't help either.
>>>
>>> I then started looking at the brake light bulbs and discovered
>>> something a little odd. The actual brake light bulb has two
>>> filaments in it - the first is for the running lights and the second
>>> gets illuminated when the brake pedal is pressed. What's happening
>>> with my car is that if the headlights are on, both filaments are lit
>>> for some unknown reason. I should add that the turn signals still
>>> work so I know that there is power in the circuit.
>>>
>>> Any ideas or suggestions on where I should look to fix the problem?
>>
>> You have a grounding issue. Both filaments are on when the running
>> lights are on because the running light filament is getting grounded
>> through the other filament.
>>
>> Fix the ground issue and both should work as they should.
>>
>>
>
>
>
> Bet there is corrosion in the sockets or connectors.
>
Check the simple things first. Does it have the correct bulb? Do this first.
Check the contacts inside the bulb holder. When does each one get power? Use
a test light or multimeter to do this. Get somebody to work the brake pedal
for you. Is there corrosion anywhere? Did somebody try to wire up a trailer
and botch the job? If you can read schematics, Honda puts out an electrical
troubleshooting manual for most of their cars. There are wiring diagrams
which show which circuits share a ground and where that ground is located on
the car.
--
Pickleman
halfsour@roadyourpantsrunner.com
Please remove "yourpants" to reply
1998 Civic HX MT with 142K
2000 CRV EX MT with 98K

<syclone98@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:e469b351-a9bc-4325-96f6->
9c5b5300ac15@a70g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
> On Apr 4, 11:37 am, "Seth" <seth_ler...@NOSPAMhotmail.com> wrote:
> > <syclon...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> >
> > news:bd38c9d1-d429-4f40-a853-9663604a67f0@n58g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> >
> > >I recently bought a 1998 Honda Civic DX and discovered that my brake
> > > lights are not working.
> >
> > > I began troubleshooting the problem by first replacing the brake light
> > > switch (under the brake pedal) which didn't help and then replaced the
> > > third brake light bulb (which was burnt out) but that didn't help
> > > either.
> >
> > > I then started looking at the brake light bulbs and discovered
> > > something a little odd. The actual brake light bulb has two filaments
> > > in it - the first is for the running lights and the second gets
> > > illuminated when the brake pedal is pressed. What's happening with my
> > > car is that if the headlights are on, both filaments are lit for some
> > > unknown reason. I should add that the turn signals still work so I
> > > know that there is power in the circuit.
> >
> > > Any ideas or suggestions on where I should look to fix the problem?
> >
> > You have a grounding issue. Both filaments are on when the running
> > lights
> > are on because the running light filament is getting grounded through
> > the
> > other filament.
> >
> > Fix the ground issue and both should work as they should.- Hide quoted
> > text -
>
> Sorry about the multi-post.
>
> Are there any known trouble spots for grounding issues in these cars
> or could it pretty much be anywhere in the circuit?

I can't speak specifically to that car, but usually the issue will be
somewhere near the lights in question. Any rust back there? Start at the
socket and trace the ground wire to it's destination, or run a fresh ground.

On Apr 4, 1:23*pm, "Seth" <seth_ler...@NOSPAMhotmail.com> wrote:
> <syclon...@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:e469b351-a9bc-4325-96f6->
>
> 9c5b5300a...@a70g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Apr 4, 11:37 am, "Seth" <seth_ler...@NOSPAMhotmail.com> wrote:
> > > <syclon...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>
> > >news:bd38c9d1-d429-4f40-a853-9663604a67f0@n58g2000hsf.googlegroups.com....
>
> > > >I recently bought a 1998 Honda Civic DX and discovered that my brake
> > > > lights are not working.
>
> > > > I began troubleshooting the problem by first replacing the brake light
> > > > switch (under the brake pedal) which didn't help and then replaced the
> > > > third brake light bulb (which was burnt out) but that didn't help
> > > > either.
>
> > > > I then started looking at the brake light bulbs and discovered
> > > > something a little odd. The actual brake light bulb has two filaments
> > > > in it - the first is for the running lights and the second gets
> > > > illuminated when the brake pedal is pressed. What's happening with my
> > > > car is that if the headlights are on, both filaments are lit for some
> > > > unknown reason. I should add that the turn signals still work so I
> > > > know that there is power in the circuit.
>
> > > > Any ideas or suggestions on where I should look to fix the problem?
>
> > > You have a grounding issue. Both filaments are on when the running
> > > lights
> > > are on because the running light filament is getting grounded through
> > > the
> > > other filament.
>
> > > Fix the ground issue and both should work as they should.- Hide quoted
> > > text -
>
> > Sorry about the multi-post.
>
> > Are there any known trouble spots for grounding issues in these cars
> > or could it pretty much be anywhere in the circuit?
>
> I can't speak specifically to that car, but usually the issue will be
> somewhere near the lights in question. *Any rust back there? *Start atthe
> socket and trace the ground wire to it's destination, or run a fresh ground.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

It turns out the majority of the problem was caused by the brake/horn
fuse being blown (the one under the hood).

The reason I said "majority" of the problem is that the third brake
light and the two outer ones work now. The ones in the trunk are
still acting up but at least I have functional brake lights again.

Thanks to everyone who replied.

Christopher