Honda Car Forum

Hey,
I have an 88 Honda Accord LXi. I bought it used and, according to the
previous owner, it had sat unused for quite some time.

My problem is, the lowbeam headlights are so dim, I have better
visibility when I use my turn signal. Only one light has a working
highbeam, which appears to be at full power.

I checked all the fuses-- they are good.
I repleaced both sealed-beam lamps--

When replacing the lamps, I noticed a lot of flaking and corrosion on
the "plugs." This is the only thing I can think of that would be
causing the problem with the lights.

Is there anyone that can sell me new "plugs" or does anyone have any
tips on how to clean or repair these? (Or, if someone has an
alternate diagnosis, I'd love to hear it)

thanks in advance.

-O'Brien

See if there is a loose or corroded ground somewhere close to the
lamps. bob

Michael O'Brien wrote:
>
> Hey,
> I have an 88 Honda Accord LXi. I bought it used and, according to the
> previous owner, it had sat unused for quite some time.
>
> My problem is, the lowbeam headlights are so dim, I have better
> visibility when I use my turn signal. Only one light has a working
> highbeam, which appears to be at full power.
>
> I checked all the fuses-- they are good.
> I repleaced both sealed-beam lamps--
>
> When replacing the lamps, I noticed a lot of flaking and corrosion on
> the "plugs." This is the only thing I can think of that would be
> causing the problem with the lights.
>
> Is there anyone that can sell me new "plugs" or does anyone have any
> tips on how to clean or repair these? (Or, if someone has an
> alternate diagnosis, I'd love to hear it)
>
> thanks in advance.
>
> -O'Brien

If you have lost the ground on a dual filiment lamp or sealed beam,
you get three filiments in series. That is each filiment sees about
four volts instead of twelve volts and is therefore very dim. Start by
turning the lights on on low beam and looking if both filiments are
glowing. If two filiments are glowing then you have to reestablish the
ground path, to do this, you determine which if the three tabs is the
ground and install a new wire from that tab to the body.The third
filiment is one of the two filiments in the other headlight.

On high beam both filiments in one lamp see no voltage.


On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 21:05:31 GMT, Michael O'Brien
<obrien1984ae@yahoo.com> wrote:

>Hey,
>I have an 88 Honda Accord LXi. I bought it used and, according to the
>previous owner, it had sat unused for quite some time.
>
>My problem is, the lowbeam headlights are so dim, I have better
>visibility when I use my turn signal. Only one light has a working
>highbeam, which appears to be at full power.
>
>I checked all the fuses-- they are good.
>I repleaced both sealed-beam lamps--
>
>When replacing the lamps, I noticed a lot of flaking and corrosion on
>the "plugs." This is the only thing I can think of that would be
>causing the problem with the lights.
>
>Is there anyone that can sell me new "plugs" or does anyone have any
>tips on how to clean or repair these? (Or, if someone has an
>alternate diagnosis, I'd love to hear it)
>
>thanks in advance.
>
>-O'Brien

Also, check the wire harness for broken wires where the wires rotate
when the headlights pop up. i had a wire break on an '86 LX-i that we
owned. The break was inside the taped bundle. Lost low beams on the left
side as I recall. bob