I am having some problems with my 1994 honda accord ex. I recently took it into a shop to have it worked on for a inop temperature indication. They replaced a sender I believe they said. I got the vehicle back and now I have the following problems. They still did not fix the inop temperature indication.

No backlights on instrument cluster.
PRNDL lights only work with headlight selector off.
No top lighting on the instrument cluster.
No PRNDL lights by the gearshift.

I have replaced the illumination control box with the brightness **** with a brand new one and that did not fix the issue.

I am trying to isolate the problem with a schematic. All of my backlights for heater, defogger, moonroof, cruise control , glove box, and passenger vanity light are alright. My clock dims just fine too.

I need to check the cigarette lighter lights when it gets dark here in a couple hours.

Any advice? I really dont want to take it back to that shop. Will a dealership work on electrical issues like this?

 

What about the instrument bulbs? There are 2 located on top of the instrument panel.
Also, this should be in the general tech help section.

 

Sorry move this thread if you can. I thought that was only for non specific help. I have a pretty specific problem.

Thats what I ment by top lights. The two lights inside the top of the cluster. They are out too.

 

I've moved this to General Tech.

Pull the dimmer control.....turn the lights on and test for voltage on the RED/BLK wire going to the dimmer......What does it show.

 

I already replaced the illumination control with a new one. All the other lights that run off that bus work fine.

I took it to a honda dealer. They told me that the temp gauge and circuit board are bad and that the main circuit board is bad for the whole cluster. They also said I need a new intergrated control unit.

They want $1957 to fix.

I bought a new ICU and I have a used cluster coming off ebay. I had it apart before to replace the speedometer but never touched anything else.

 

Yes, I saw that you replaced the dimmer but what I was trying to figure out is "power" getting to it - hence why I asked to test for voltage on the wire. If you were, then we would have tested the "output".

To me, and I hate electrical, the dimmer is kind of in the middle and testing the inputs/outputs of it would tell us which way to go.

Good luck and let us know how it goes......just me but you will be one of the first in a 5th gen where the ICU went bad.

 

Sorry I did not say it directly. There is nothing wrong with the power at the illumination control becuase all of the other lights little lights work in the vehicle. Cruise control, defogger, climate control, etc. This illumination control controls the ground for all them systems. They are on the same ground bus. I have the schematic. The other item on there is the instrument cluser.

Well I am also having a problem with the brake bulb indicator light. Its almost always on. Honda thinks its possibly an ICU. I have already replaced the tail light sensor and cleaned all the bulbs and connectors with contact cleaner. They are not oxidized.

I think these car dealerships need to start employing more people that do electrical work if the car companies plan on having tons of electrical components in there vehicles.

 

I'm begining to wonder if you have a break in the RED/BLK from the headlight switch.

Can you pull the center part around the gearshift and test the RED/BLK.

 

This is what I was thinking too. I am betting that bulb is just burned out.

I bought a spare just in case. I will let you know when I get them.

Thanks
Will

 

hello friend I am facing similar problem with no backlights.. Were you able to solve out the problem? Please help if you can.. Waiting for reply. Thanks in advance