headlight switch

[IL3GL'88]

sorry guys i didnt know where to post this. so i posted here cuz this car is a prelude. my tail lights dont work. when i turn on my headlights, they work but my tail lights do and my brake lights work as well. I checked the fuses and the bulbs. I had a friend of mine that works at an autoparts store, tell me that he thinks that it is the headlight switch and that u can only get them from the dealer but i think i might be able to find it online somewhere.

 

so I guess my question is

 

1. What do you guys think the problem could be and

 

2. where can I get this part.

 

 

 

thanx

[Col]

I am not exactly sure what you are saying. They don't work, but when you switch them on they do??? Are you trying to say that they work under one condition, but not another?

 

I am not a car expert, but from experience it's a short in either a bulb, a light cluster or the wiring loom (if I don't make sense it's because I still call some things by their English names). The light switch is usually on or off - if it fails, surely the lights are stuck either on or off?

 

The way to check the bulbs is to remove one at a time, try the lights and replace if they work (until you find the broken one). I had a disco-effect on my rear lights in an old GM once - switch on the indicators and all lights flashed. It turned out to be a short in a brake bulb (go figure). I haven't looked to see if my Prelude uses a rear light cluster yet (only had it for 42 hours ) - but if does try unplugging each one at a time and see if the other one works. If it's in the wiring, pray then find someone who is good at tracing shorts.

 

Of course, knowing my luck I have misunderstood your post and it's a headlight switch - I don't know how your breaker yards work over here, but back in London I could find one who would let me try a switch and refund it if that wasn't the problem.

 

Good luck, whatever you try.

[IL3GL'88]

I meen when i turn on the headlights, my tail lights don't come on like they are suppose to. My head lights work but my tail lights don't. My brake lights work however.

[Frankthetank88]

I meen when i turn on the headlights, my tail lights don't come on like they are suppose to. My head lights work but my tail lights don't. My brake lights work however.

i had this problem about two weeks ago in my 1999 lude. My cluster and tail lights went out. So i took it to my uncle who does wiring for bmws and when he went to look at it everything worked fine, he said there is probably a short somewhere and that it might be posible that water could be getting into the lights and shorting it out. Mine has only gone out once and then came back on the next day it has been fine ever since. but you most likely have a short somewhere in the wiring.

[Col]

I meen when i turn on the headlights, my tail lights don't come on like they are suppose to. My head lights work but my tail lights don't. My brake lights work however.

Yeah, that doesn't sound like the switch. Check the rear cluster for corrosion at the plugs (presuming that the wires actually plug into it). If just one is shorting out the system, the other should work in theory - so test by having only one connected at a time. IF that provides positive results, it's either the connection, a fault bulb in one cluster or a short in the cluster itself. If not, sorry for getting it wrong :-

[IL3GL'88]

I all ready changed all the bulbs i could find, pretty sure i got all of them, and checked every fuse, both by the drivers side door and under the hood, replaced a few and nuthin. no damn tail lights. this sucks.