Dash Illumination Failure

[DiverDown]

So it's at it again! Electronics and my Civic seem to not get along, especially when the owner screws things up on a regular basis.

I recently bought some #74 blue LED bulb replacements for the cluster in my '01 auto Civic EX. They're from autolumination.com, specifically made to replace dash illumination bulbs. To but sure they would work, I also ordered the twist lock bases to replace the original ones in the back of the cluster.

Anyway, I installed them all, everything seemed to be connected well, I reconnected the cluster wiring harness and turned the twist switch that powers the daytime running lights/headlights to illuminate the cluster/dash. Then everything went to hell.

All the dash illumination lights, other than the cluster, started ticking (like a clock ticks seconds, only much faster). Never even got a flash of light from the cluster. I instantly shut the switch off, and a few seconds later there was a distinct burning smell. Knowing that something was clearly powered wrong, I disconnected and removed the cluster, then the LEDs in their replacement twist lock mounts, and replaced everything that was in there prior (#74 incandescent bulbs with Honda twist lock mounts). I reconnected everything and tried the illumination switch again and, sure enough, exact same sound/effect: lights turning on/off to the tempo of a fast-paced ticking.

I disconnected my cluster and tried the switch, and this time there was no more ticking, but also no dash illumination either. All background lights were off (not to mention I didn't have gauges). Headlights, daytime running lights, radio, map/dome interior lights, and lights confirming a switch was on (such as the green light with you turn on CC) all still functioned normally.

I emailed the company that provided the LEDs and they said it must have been a short. If you'd like to see exactly what they replied with just say so and ill post it. This post is long enough as it is...

I cant find a fuse that is labeled for illumination in either of the fuse boxes, and I'm sort of worried that these replacement twist lock mounts really screwed up my cluster/MCU because of power supply issues. Obviously the biggest concern right now is just getting my gauges back, lighting or not.

For reference, I HAVE installed an aftermarket radio but know for sure that the orange dimmer wires remain insulated. I also have installed a amp for my subs, but it has been wired directly to battery and nowhere in the wiring system. I'm sure this problem is due solely to the installation of these LEDs.

Thank you guys from taking the time to read this! I'm sorry it was so lengthy but I really wanted to give you as much information as possible.

 

[leothelion]

could be that when the wiring freaked out, it burnt some wires, like you said you smelled burning, and since all those wires are really close it might have fused the wires together all along the wire path. This makes sense because you said when you put back in the original bulbs you had the same problem. I think you fused a few wires when that led short, since the leds were taking almost no power, all that extra voltage went crazy when the led shorted. if this IS the case, then it really sucks, cuz your going to have to replace all that wiring, and probably have to get a new under dash harness, which would run you a few hundred dollars.
i would look closely at your wire harnesses and see if any wires are discolored, brown and black. and see if you can pull the wires apart, if they are all stuck together, then they fused when the short happend.
I know how that works cuz it happend to me a while back, i ran some extra leds(wich were thankfully protected by a fuse) and they shorted out and all the wire past the fuse was melted together.

 

[DiverDown]

Thanks for gettin back man.

Do you think I could at least get my gauges back if I just left the lights unplugged? It's really hard driving without a speedo and tach, especially when I have a failing tranny and don't wanna beat it too hard. I know I should poke around, but I'll probably end up taking it to Honda if it's going to need wiring replaced. I'll screw with a lot, but I wont screw with vital electrical.

Anyway, I'm leaving town for almost a week, so please don't take offense if after tomorrow my replies stop for a couple!

Thanks again everyone.

 

[leothelion]

Thanks for gettin back man.

Do you think I could at least get my gauges back if I just left the lights unplugged? It's really hard driving without a speedo and tach, especially when I have a failing tranny and don't wanna beat it too hard. I know I should poke around, but I'll probably end up taking it to Honda if it's going to need wiring replaced. I'll screw with a lot, but I wont screw with vital electrical.

Anyway, I'm leaving town for almost a week, so please don't take offense if after tomorrow my replies stop for a couple!

Thanks again everyone.

yeah i bet you could, did everything work with the light off? you could put everything back in and just not turn it on? anyways you could also not plug in the (facing the front of the gauge) left blue connector, i believe that one has all the light control. but im not sure.

 

[DiverDown]

yeah i bet you could, did everything work with the light off? you could put everything back in and just not turn it on?

Then I wouldn't be able to turn my headlight on at night

you could also not plug in the (facing the front of the gauge) left blue connector, i believe that one has all the light control. but im not sure.

I ended up just removing all the bulbs and for some reason it worked fine. Still no illumination but hey, driving with a speedo and headlights is better than driving with neither. I'm starting to feel hopeful that this situation isn't going to be the "worse case scenario" type that most electrical problems turn out to be. I have everything up and running again except my behind dash illumination. My next step is just going to be checking all the wires, fuses, and voltages to, from, and in the cluster. See what's getting power and where the issue seems to be lying.

Thanks again for gettin' back man. I'll repost when I find something.

 

[leothelion]

Then I wouldn't be able to turn my headlight on at night

lol. oh yeah. i forgot lol. you could live on the edge and not have headlights...but that would mean going into the...(80's rock music starts)..DANGER ZONE!!!!!

 

[DiverDown]

DANGER ZONE!!!!!

Do you watch Archer on FX? Totally cracked me up!

So, improvements! My biggest problem right now is just illumination. Everything on the dash (moon roof controls, cruise controls, climate controls, etc etc) is dark, even when the lighting switch is twisted to on. I luckily still have headlights, taillights, break lights, turn signals, radio, and gauges!!

What I'm looking at as a sign of optimism is that the cluster lights that active when CC, turn signals, highbeams, check engine, etc is activiated still work (i.e., the blue HB light turns on when I turn my HBs on), so my cluster is hopefully ok.

All this together, I'ma stark sorting through fuses and wires in a couple hours!

Wish me luck!

 

[leothelion]

are you kidding me? OF CORSE I WATCH ARCHER!!!!!(though when i said that I was thinking of the intro to top gun, but the archer quote works well there too lol.) I have next-fix so i have seen the first season on istant watch.
hmm....i would look at the back of the cluster and inspect the circuitry, its possible that when the led fused that it messed up the circuits going to the other lights.

one thing i would do is take a +12v and neg from your car battery or something and run it to the back of the gauge. take out one of the bulbs that illuminates behind the dash(the big black (1/2in) one with wires going to the top of the gauge one works well for this) take out that bulb if its not out already and put the positive on the top of the hole, and the negative on the bottom(make sure it connects to the copper) then see if the lights light up. to start just touch the wires to the back of the gauge and then take them off really quick. you dont know if any circuits fused so be careful and if you see smoke stop and find where the circuits fused. good luck man

 

[DiverDown]

I have next-fix so i have seen the first season on istant watch.

same, ftw.

take out one of the bulbs that illuminates behind the dash(the big black (1/2in) one with wires going to the top of the gauge one works well for this) take out that bulb if its not out already and put the positive on the top of the hole, and the negative on the bottom(make sure it connects to the copper) then see if the lights light up.

I might just be missing something, but what exactly will light up if I take the twist-lock base with bulb out? These bulbs obviously aren't wired in series, or else when 1 went out they all would. Do you mean put just one IN and see if it lights up? like trying to trace the error to one bulb?

Good idea, thanks man.

 

[leothelion]

I might just be missing something, but what exactly will light up if I take the twist-lock base with bulb out? These bulbs obviously aren't wired in series, or else when 1 went out they all would. Do you mean put just one IN and see if it lights up? like trying to trace the error to one bulb?

Good idea, thanks man.

after thinking for a while, a better way would be to find where the positive and negative on the blue harness connections(for me, if you are looking at the back of the gauge, its the blue harness on the right, and the farthest connection on the right for +12v, im not sure where the negative is)
since the harness is not there while you are working on it you could put the pos and neg on and see if all the bulbs light up or if it starts smoking or whatnot.

 

[DiverDown]

I'll poke around for the negative. First thing's first, I should see if it's even getting power to that pin. If it's not, then I should be worry about wiring and getting power until I even need worry about lights!

I still haven't been able to find a label for a conventional "Dash Illumination" fuse. If anyone has any clue as to what fuse the dash is on, I would greatly appreciate your input!

 

[DiverDown]

Not to revive a dead dog or anything, but I've created my temporary solution! Best part was it only took half an hour! The LED strip was luckily made for 12V, so I ran the wires out the right side of the cluster, down next to the stereo, and attached the positive and negative to the accessory power port. Didnt even need solder!

I plan on running to radio shack tomorrow and getting a dimmer knob, which wont take more than 15 mins to solder in line.

I've been so busy the last couple months! I finally picked a college, then had to wrap up high school. I just graduated a week ago! But now I started a new job and have been working a TON, I've hardly had any time to look at me car.

I still plan on fixing this the right way and getting REAL blue LEDs INTO the cluster, and not just on it. But now it's when time permits!

 

[leothelion]

Not to revive a dead dog or anything, but I've created my temporary solution! Best part was it only took half an hour! The LED strip was luckily made for 12V, so I ran the wires out the right side of the cluster, down next to the stereo, and attached the positive and negative to the accessory power port. Didnt even need solder!

I plan on running to radio shack tomorrow and getting a dimmer knob, which wont take more than 15 mins to solder in line.

I've been so busy the last couple months! I finally picked a college, then had to wrap up high school. I just graduated a week ago! But now I started a new job and have been working a TON, I've hardly had any time to look at me car.

I still plan on fixing this the right way and getting REAL blue LEDs INTO the cluster, and not just on it. But now it's when time permits!

OMG!!!! I just almost killed you until you said that you were going to fix it lol. if you wanted however, instead of buying a dimmer switch, you could always just solder the pos and neg onto the back of the cluster, then use the factory dimmer to dim the lights, thats what i have right now. also: CONGRATS!!! welcome to the real world where you will have ZERO time to work on your car lol.

 

[DiverDown]

No, theres no way I would leave this. It looks cool from a distance but if you inspect it you can tell its a ghetto $20 LED strip. The dimmer I put in works well and is very discrete. I wish I read this message first, otherwise I would have used that dimmer (though I'm thinking that part of my failure might actually be a bum pot).

CONGRATS!!! welcome to the real world where you will have ZERO time to work on your car lol.

Thanks! I know! I'm so excited!

 

[leothelion]

(though I'm thinking that part of my failure might actually be a bum pot)

wait what?