I'm probably adding door courtesy lights to my DX hatch...

Yeah, got me some door panels from an LX and they got the little puddle light that light up when you open the door. Of course, the base Accord isn't prewired. I want to be careful on this one... I will passing through a set of speaker wires and a set of door courtesy wires to each door. Any hints on getting it through the boot between the door and the dash/frame are appreciated. Can I use a wire fisher?

I have to connect each courtesy light to the switch on each B pillar right? Or, at least where each door switch ends near the fusebox. If I just hook the courtesy lights into the dome light wire, then both door lights would come on if I only opened ONE/EITHER door or they wouldn't light up if the dome light was set to "OFF"?. It should be straightforward (I hope)... Find the color coded wire for each door jamb switch and connect the respective courtesy light wire into that doorswitch wire. I do not want to have to run a wire into the door shell to the door jamb switch itself. nor, do I want this to be a situation where the LX had a totally different wire harness and it would be a job to separate the two doors to be independent. Hope that all made sense. :rockon:

to get the wires through just use a coat hanger and pull them all through at the same time just tape the wires to the hanger

Don't those boots pop out of the door and the body of the car on each side like a grommet? I thought you could pop it out of each side, compress it, slide the wire through.

Also, yeah I would hook it up to those switches, and not the dome light. Though, there ARE other cars out there that I've been in that activate all of the courtesy lights when one door comes open. So I doubt that most people notice the detail taken by Honda to have each open individually.

Also, you have those little lights up in your dash... That show when the door is open. Maybe you could tap the wiring up in the dash, so you don't have to tap the switches directly... Just an idea... :)

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Originally Posted by 2ndGenGuy

Don't those boots pop out of the door and the body of the car on each side like a grommet? I thought you could pop it out of each side, compress it, slide the wire through.

Also, yeah I would hook it up to those switches, and not the dome light. Though, there ARE other cars out there that I've been in that activate all of the courtesy lights when one door comes open. So I doubt that most people notice the detail taken by Honda to have each open individually.

Also, you have those little lights up in your dash... That show when the door is open. Maybe you could tap the wiring up in the dash, so you don't have to tap the switches directly... Just an idea... :)

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Yeah, I have that little car icon that shows door, trunk, and brakelight is out red lights. It's cool how Honda engineered that picture to show WHAT door is open as opposed to just a generic icon of a car with all doors open (like the newer stuff). On the 81 Accord, it even shows which brakelight is burned out-- not just "a brakelight is out." That was freaking sweet to do that! Those boots for the door wires may pop out, good idea I'll have to check out. I'm thinking I'll tap into the door switches OR the dash icon warning lights. I assume it's all one circuit since the dash "door is open" light(s) come on whenever the switch is activated on the door jamb(s). I figure the dash icon light and the switches on the door jambs wires all meet up eventually. I'll get out the Helm's and hopefully be able to get the INDIVIDUAL wires correct. I would hate to go to all this trouble, then open one door and both doors show as being open on the dash and both courtesy light are on. Not fatal, but I know there is a right way to do this in my opinion.

One time I had a stereo/alarm/remote start/keyless entry installed on my 91 Lude and I told the guy the "door is open" lights on the dash were side specific. I get my car back and guess what? I open one door and both lights lit on the dash. I took it back and he said it needed a diode and fixed it right quick. Thing is, I told him they both do not light up when one door is open. Little shit like that pisses me off. It's like I spoon feed the guy to make it easier and he pukes it all up.

Yeah, some people just don't get it. It's not the the 'merican cars with the generic "door ajar" warning. It's nice, especially on a 4-door you can tell which buddy left his door open and give him a ration of crap. :D

You know, you're going to have the most highly-modified "stock" Accord on this website.

Can you just hook up the ground wire from the light to the door switch and the positive to live wire so that whenever each door is open the circuit is complete?

I remembered while back when I look at this 81 Accord for sale. Damn the under dash wiring is a mess! It has alarm installed and guess what? All 4 door lights up when 1 door is opened. I won't and never trust those stupid shops to touch my wiring.

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Originally Posted by Hazwan

Can you just hook up the ground wire from the light to the door switch and the positive to live wire so that whenever each door is open the circuit is complete?
I remembered while back when I look at this 81 Accord for sale. Damn the under dash wiring is a mess! It has alarm installed and guess what? All 4 door lights up when 1 door is opened. I won't and never trust those stupid shops to touch my wiring.

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Makes sense, but can't I pretty much grond the ground wire anywhere there is bare metal or any of the many ground wire clusters that end up on bare metal on the chassis? I feel ya on the alarm shop hacking up the wiring and getting all kinds of signals crossed.

Anywhere on the body is ground. But what he means, is that I think the switch on the doors just completes the ground circuit, and that's how it turns the light on. So circuit goes like this:

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+12v >---------> +(light)-  >----------> (door switch wire)

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Then theres really always hot going to the light, but it won't light up until the ground connection is made via the door switch. Just tap that wire, and use it as a switched ground.

as for fishing wire - i just pulled apart a couple harnesses for some odd reason. The LX's are a pretty tight fit where all that wiring runs.. when I run wire for work, we use fiberglass rods, and electric tape about ten inches of wire to the ends, then pull it through.. this is smaller wire, with less free space.. a clothes hanger may work to 'fish' with but you're not going to want to have any hooks or sharp ends.

In the end you might just want to take everything apart and re-wrap it, as much of a hassle as that could be.. everything from the doors wires into one plug, if I remember right, and then routes into the dash. It's a little easier to run all the wires through at once than it is to pull a couple wires through the bundle that's already there. And yeah, the wiring boots pop off each side (door and body) like a stubborn grommet.

If you do unwrap all the wire - honda used the gooiest tape i've ever seen or handled. took me a long time to get all the crap off my hands. and the little wire connectors that go into the final plugs, they don't all come out reliably, so be careful with that too.

I would think it an advantage to include the door lighting into the door switch/dome light circuit so that the light didn't come on unless the dome light was switched to come on -sometimes you want to leave things open without such lights being on all the time. -I must put a switch on my Preludes boot light like the Accord (hatch) has so I have the chioce !.

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Originally Posted by 79cord

I would think it an advantage to include the door lighting into the door switch/dome light circuit so that the light didn't come on unless the dome light was switched to come on -sometimes you want to leave things open without such lights being on all the time. -I must put a switch on my Preludes boot light like the Accord (hatch) has so I have the chioce !.

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Not a bad idea actually, but how would I separate it so only one side (door courtesy light) would come on at a time? It would be cool to have the switch on the lens like the cargo light.

And Honda does use some of the gooiest tape ever and after years on the car, the tape always seems so much nastier!

it's easy,you need a couple of diodes rated for the wattage of the bulb in the light,the wattage for one of them,because you need two diodes. both lights get a wire going to constant hot,you could tap into the circuit for the dome light,if you want to keep it simple,or any other constant hot will do. you will need a wire tied into each door switch,this is your ground. the diode will go between this wire coming from the switch and the light. I can't remeber right now which way the diode has to face,but it will only work one way with the door open. just get a meter or a test light, try and see if you have ground when the door is open,then it's facing the right way. the reason for the diodes,is it keeps current from going backwards through the other switch,and causing both lights to come on. this is exactly the way honda does this at the factory. it's a very simple circuit to wire. as far as fishing wires, i would pull the grommet off,it's hard to get back on,but just takes patience. I ran wires for my digital fuel pressure gauge,wiring for an AF gauge,wires for the power mirror,and some extra ones for future use,in dx looms. you shouldn't have trouble running a couple of extra wires. oh if you look at the back of the factory honda courtesy lights,there might already be a diode attached to it. if it is,this is the side that goes to your switch.