No low beams 96' Honda Accord
 

**updated for clarity***

Ok, let me restate the problem clearly. I have no low beams ever. If it's set on low beams I can press the flip switch in and it turns on high beams while I hold it. I let go of it and my lights go off(no low beams...). Now while it's set on high beams I have my high beams. The toggle switch between low/high sometimes(Always when I start the car) will allow me to switch the high to low, this lasts for about 30 seconds and then reverts back to high beams. So that's my problem, I guess it has to be a relay or the physical switch? Or it's the switch?

**updated for clarity***

Solution: Removed dimmer relay and now the car has low beams on the high beam setting. Good enough solution for me.

Here's a link to the 1996 Honda Accord Factory Electrical Manual. The solution to fix the car is probably in here somewhere but, I for one, am satisfied with my fix.

http://www.helminc.com/helm/product2...1496TN68PDEPA3

Is this something recent...meaning that at one point when you owned the car the lights worked fine.

They have never worked since I owned it. I'm not sure if they ever worked and I have no contact information for the former owner( >_< ). Also let me correct my statement, sometimes the low beams work very very intermittently. For instance, when it's on high beams sometimes it will switch to low beams.

Set on High beams = high beam lights 98% of the time when switched on HB, with occassional 4-5 second blips down to low beams. sometimes blips back and forth switching as much as 4-5 times in a 11 second span. WTF, right?

Set on Low beams = no lights ever. Period.

Turn signals work fine. Once a month thought it blips double-time like the left signal is out, but it comes on after 5-10 seconds never more than a minute or two.(related?) The relay under the hood was replaced. Is there another in the 96' Honda?

For the headlight problem, check the dimmer relay (it should be a 5 terminal relay) located in the under-hood fuse/relay box.

You can also test the headlight relay (a 4 terminal relay). But, my first guess would be the dimmer relay.

Both the relays are new. I think the used headlight switch I got must be defective. Cause really, what else controls the dimmer besides the fuse under the hood and the switch itself?

sounds like a short to power to me. do you know how to read wiring diagrams? lol.

going to need to trace the ppower wires to the switch.

start at the headlight harness.

im in my first of 3 electrical courses at school and we are starting on wiring diagrams. so let me know if you need help

look for damaged or frayed wires

I'm not sure on this, but I believe if it was a power to short I wouldn't have any lights at all, right? One of the guys at auto zone and another place said it was a probably a power to ground issue. Anybody have a diagram or any advice for checking for this? I'd take it somewhere but I already paid one guy who didn't fix it, and so I don't have any more money to throw down the tubes.

Have you tested the dimmer and headlight relay, I see they are new but have to ask.

Test the switch next, I see you replaced it but test the pins.

We tested the dimmer and relay when they were off. They were working fine. Should we also test them while connected? Not sure how to do that.





Also, can a moderator change the title of this topic to: "No low beams 96' Honda accord" High beams always on isn't an accurate description of the problem.

First-changed the title for you :)

So if this is more of a No Low Beam question- At first low works, then you switch to high, after that it will not go back to low????

Sorry I'm getting myself confused here....

short to power causes a component to stay on all the time, for instance your blinker is on and bright, when you turn on your blinker it does not change, just stays bright, that is a short to power.

a short to ground will cause a component to not work at all.

Sometimes when I start on the car, I can press in the switch and switch it to low beams. This works once in a blue moon, I don't think it has anything to do with the car starting, just every now I can press the switch and it actually switches to low beams for a little bit and then revert to high beams... Does that correlate with a 'short to power' issue?

Press or pull?

well, technically, I pull the switch in to me. Although I think everyone knows what I mean

The devil is in the details....IMO. That is why I wanted to be sure.....Have you tested the switch to be sure the outputs are correct?

I think this problem is beyond me. I'm going to contact all the automotive/vo tech schools in the area and see if I can't work out so arrangement where some auto students get a good problem to fix and I get my low beams working when I need them.

I'll report here back what I find if It's solved. It's weird there's like 5 or 6 posts all over the internet with "accords no low beams" but no ones ever reported back how they fixed it...

This problem might be the combination switch.

The two headlights do not share a common ground, they have separate grounds. Additionally, your turn signals works for the most part, so it may not be the grounds. The headlight relay and dimmer were changed and tested good. This would lead me to suspect the combination switch. The service manual (which can be downloaded in the sticky posted above in this forum) has procedures to test the combination switch for continuity.

I replaced the turn-signal switch already. FYI: Forgot to mention, after I bought the car I noticed it was missing the fender skirts for both drivers and passenger side. I don't know, the switch my honda guy replaced it with was used and the same age as mine. Maybe it was bad too?

Update: We took out the dimmer relay and now the car has low beams on the high beams setting. Huzzah, this is a good enough solution for me. If I want high beams I just put the relay back in...problem solved.

I'm thinking maybe somebody funked with the wiring. A guy on the Car talk forum suggested it was an open ground. As we couldn't find the low beam ground(supposedly around the bumper by the driver's side light) we gave up on switching it form inside the car. However, if someone can figure it out I'd still be interested to know as would a lot of other people. No low beams seems to be a pretty prevalent car problem.