Boggles the MIND February 09, 2013, 09:34:09 AM Well as usual i got a call from a customer last week before the snow storm. The customer asked me if i could fix his head lights? I asked him what was wrong?? He explained that a shop repaired his car and the high and low beams were not working correctly. The customer explained when they were on for a while they would shut off. The car was a CRV. So as you know me i wanted this job to see what was UP. I have fixed numerous CRV Honda's for this issue. The multi function switch corrodes quite nicely. So the pride of the puppiesanese vehicle was dropped off. To my surprise the MFS was already replaced according to the invoice from the other shop. Along with all the LAMPS??? So what was up?? I pulled out the electrical connectors and checked for battery and ground. Presto the connector had both battery and ground??? What the HELL!!! Well with closer investigating this issue i figured the lamps were the cause. But then reality hit me as i was going for a new lamp. All Four of them RENZO i said to myself!!! Cant be!! Lost my mind for a few seconds. With that i checked all the lamps and as stated by the invoice they were new and replaced? What the HELL is going on. Well turns out that the Honda has an adapter. And it relies on it being firmly compressed in the housing to complete the ground. But once the headlamps housings become heated the lamps sink in a little and the ground does not cut through to the rim of the lamp. And they went out, With that i looked closely at the assembly and came up with a fix. As the headlamps and housings on these cars cost BIG BUCKS. So here is the FIX. Thought you would like it. This is especially for you JAY. Check this out.So i put a slight bend on the pr0ngs of the adapter to contact the ground side of the lamps.BINGO It worked beautifully. And all is good in the land of puppiesanese faulty designs and the raved about and JD Powers champion of the roads CRV. Now if only someone can tell HONDA not to bank on a pressure situation to obtain good grounds. WHEE!!!And away the CRV drove in to the night with it's headlights blaring at every step of the way. Hope you like this as it kind of made me think i was going NUTS for a second. Thanks. Quote Selected
Boggles the MIND Reply #1 – February 09, 2013, 09:49:29 AM I'll go you one even worse: A Honda-humping kid at work (the lot boy) had a really nice early 90's Integra. By "Really nice" I mean not rusted all to hell and tastefully modified. He traded it even-steven for a '92 Civic Coupe with an H22 swap (Prelude engine). I looked under the hood at this "swap", and it looks like somebody drove up to the car with an H22 in a front-end loader and just dumped it into the engine compartment, and tack-welded it wherever it touched. Poorly home made mounts, bits and pieces of different radiator hoses scabbed together, a "header" that looks like it was made by a monkey with a welder and some pipe, the lower parts of the front struts ground out to allow the larger Prelude axles to fit through, and scabbed-together shift cables that break nearly every time he drives the car. It is one of the worst engine swaps I've ever seen. What made your headlight thread remind me of this car is that the alternator bracket was too far ahead and hit the back side of the driver's side headlight. The person that did the swap overcame this not by fabricating a new bracket and relocating the alternator, but by cutting the back side of the headlight housing out and covering the 6" diameter hole with masking tape (not even duct tape... MASKING TAPE) that he painted silver. Quote Selected
Boggles the MIND Reply #2 – February 09, 2013, 11:46:18 AM Honda: Holding On Nicely Despite Anything. LOL Quote Selected
Boggles the MIND Reply #3 – February 09, 2013, 12:12:00 PM Thunder that lamp assembly shocked the hell out of me. NOT LATTERLY. Normally The Honda is a fairly good car with there electronics. I double checked the part number of the lamp and it was correct. I also checked it with a lamp assembly i had from a previous wreck. Same thing the lamp socket was not compressing the lamp enough for a good ground. I called the dealer and they said i had to change the lamp assembly. SCREW that those Units are quite expensive. Well I am happy with the fix but wanted to pass it on to the guys. This can save a lot of trouble shooting if someone has the same issue. ThanksI have seen many an engine swap that you describe. Not to mention when they do the job it actually propells the car down the road. Some guys as you explained do not have a clue. Masking tape. I cant beat that one. You got me beat. Thanks Quote Selected
Boggles the MIND Reply #4 – February 10, 2013, 09:33:17 AM I once replaced a headlight on my daughters Escort (due to a minor mishap) with an aftermarket unit to help her save some money. After replacing it in the cold and doing the quick 'garage door headlight adjustment' I noticed something was definitely wrong. No way could I align the headlights. I thought there was no way they could be that far off so I switched to hi-beams and they were way out of whack too! Figured out the new headlight was wired backwards, Low beam = Hi beam but how could that be since I just plugged in connectors. Come to find out, it was wired wrong from the factory in China and after some later research found out this error was known for a long time and the vendor was notified but never cared to fix the problem. Lovely....oh yea, Happy Chinese New Year!That Boggled my mind! Quote Selected
Boggles the MIND Reply #5 – February 10, 2013, 10:54:14 AM Some of those aftermarket HID kits are wired wrong, too - the low beam is a regular bulb and the high beam is the HID bulb, exactly the opposite of how they should be... I hate those HID kits that have a small halogen bulb for high beam sitting next to an HID tube for lows anyway... They really screw up headlight aim. Low beam is in the wrong position and high beam is even worse Quote Selected
Boggles the MIND Reply #6 – February 10, 2013, 12:25:02 PM Seems like everyone I know with aftermarket HIDs has problems with them, and you can't just go to the local parts store to get replacement parts. To me its not worth it. Quote Selected
Boggles the MIND Reply #7 – February 12, 2013, 04:33:01 PM Quote from: Thunder Chicken;409038I hate those HID kits that have a small halogen bulb for high beam sitting next to an HID tube for lows anyway... They really screw up headlight aim. Low beam is in the wrong position and high beam is even worseYou are right, these kits (I think they call them H4-3) suck the most. I bouht one kit to see, how they are made and as you mentioned, HID lamp is somewhere between Lo and Hi fillament of standard bulb. And the Halogen bulb is completly away from focus point. I have some pictures of the light output, but I can't find them at all :-( (but it was total rubbish). Quote Selected
Boggles the MIND Reply #8 – February 15, 2013, 01:58:49 AM thats a good find!!those tabs on the adaptor housing should be shaped out with tabs that spring towards eachother to "keep" contact. the bulb should be a friction fit with tabs that move further apart when the bulb is inserted.you fixed it as economical and practical as possible.gotta love thermal switchs especially the ones we didnt know was there. Quote Selected
Boggles the MIND Reply #9 – February 15, 2013, 02:01:41 AM Quote from: bryan163;409046Seems like everyone I know with aftermarket HIDs has problems with them, and you can't just go to the local parts store to get replacement parts. To me its not worth it. yeah, im trying to steer my son away from them,, thanks for the post because it gets me thinking... Quote Selected
Topic: Boggles the MIND (Read 826 times)
previous topic - next topic
