Dash lights???

[Nospeed]

Ok...i have a 88 Accord DX, and for some reason, my dash lights dont work!!! I checked the fuses, and the relays, and they are all good...but still no dash lights...not even lights for the console. i recently added a cd player, and i had to check for illumination lights, which i found, but there wasnt a short...so im kinda at a loss here. the stock stereo worked fine, and there was no illumination on that or the dash then either...any pointers??? any known problems???
:wtf:

[My 89 Accord Lxi]

YEAH!!!! that same thing happend to me i dunno what it is. i know i cut the radio wires that were connected to those cylinder looking fuses and after i put it in it stoped ....this happend to you right?..what im gonna do is buy a new dash...oh yeah and my tach stopped working also

[Nospeed]

Yeah, this really sucks...im probably just gonna wire up some leds to the dome light and put em in the dash till i can figure it out...but thanks.

[carobotics]

hmmm, are you sure you checked all the fuses. Every single one. I was playing with that little clock in my dash and shorted out the wrong leads and pop! blew a fuse, but it was a different fuse that was blown than I thought would be. Anyway, when the fuse blew both the dash lights went out and the tach stoped working. Replaced the fuse, and boom, it's all good. Oh ya, just had to ask, did you check to make sure that scrolling thingy, to the right of your steering column, is turned all the way up?

[Nospeed]

Yeah i checked all of em...under the hood, and under the dash. See, you two have had your tach go out also, but mine works just fine, just the dash lights and the console lights. It might just be the lightbulbs, but there would be way too many to just blow like that...right?

[offthahook]

Dash illuminator/amplifier?? It's a small black box on the "plate" below your steering lower cover. It also the chime for the headlights being on after you turn off the car. Try that.

[My 89 Accord Lxi]

what does the chime do? and carobotic's where was the fuse? was it somewhere else besides in the car or under the hood? oh yeah i forgot to metion i took my dash thingy out and i looked at the back and there is a line of the metal stuff that looks like it is burned or shorted out.. i think that maybe the problem

[Nospeed]

ok...well, i went home last night, and i found the illuminator under the dash, is there a way that i could check it?? the chime doesnt come on at all, so i think its shot...thanks offthahook

[offthahook]

Originally posted by Nospeed
ok...well, i went home last night, and i found the illuminator under the dash, is there a way that i could check it?? the chime doesnt come on at all, so i think its shot...thanks offthahook

If your dash lights do not work, but your tail light do work... I'd hit the salvage yard and get a couple of those black boxes (illuminator) and see if one of them works. To test that chime-- leave the headlights on, remove the key from the ignition, open the door. You should hear a series of dings that remind you your headlights are still on.

[startersgirl]

Check fues 14 under the dash again to be sure.

[Nospeed]

yeah...i looked at it at lunch today, and some of the wires have been spliced under my steering column too...(hmmmm). well, i checked for shorts, no shorts, checked the fuses again, no blown, and i dont hear the dings...so i think its shot. im going to go to the yard this weekend to try to fix this. thanks for all your replys all, i appreciate it.

[ELM'sLX+CHL'sDX]

Guys:

Don't forget there is a dimmer control unit that is attached to the panel that is directly under the steering column. I've run into the same problem as you have. Dash lights and all other interior lights would not come on. Couple of bangs to that little control unit and everything was restored.

Claude

[Neuspeed007]

check ur bulb.

[Nospeed]

Yeah, i tried to jiggle the connection on the controller, but nothing, i also tried the banging thing...didnt work. but as far as burnt light bulbs...dont you think that it would take more than one to light up the whole console, even the heater controls??????????

[mig88lxi]

its not 1 bulb its a bunch of them, i had the same problem with my old 87 accord. Best bet i would say is to go to the yard and get a new dash unit, the one u have might be fried. I remember i connected the battery wires wrong and smoke came out of my dash, so i figured that was the cause. Of course i never found out since i fried my engine later on :(

[HostileJava]

Originally posted by ELM'sLX+CHL'sDX
Couple of bangs to that little control unit and everything was restored.

Claude

Ah, yes. Impact calibration, the highest, most elegant form of repair work.

[My 89 Accord Lxi]

Originally posted by mig88lxi
its not 1 bulb its a bunch of them, i had the same problem with my old 87 accord. Best bet i would say is to go to the yard and get a new dash unit, the one u have might be fried. I remember i connected the battery wires wrong and smoke came out of my dash, so i figured that was the cause. Of course i never found out since i fried my engine later on :( hey thats exactly what happend to mine

[Whitehonda]

Man replacing those little dash bulbs is a pain ih the ass!! I had to replace the bulb for the red/blue (hot/cold) selector, and for the fan speed. Big pain in the ass to change (2) $.99 blubs. Oh but let me tell you, It is so much cooler with working dash lights....:lol

[Nospeed]

Well, i went to the junk yard on friday, and i found a couple of the illumination controllers that offthahook was talking about. i grabbed a couple of them, and the first one worked...thanks guys.