foglight problems

[bigballer8526]

hi guys, i have an 09 sport. my foglights don't work and i dont have a warranty so i was wondering if anyone can chime in. when i turn my foglights on, the dash has the foglight light on, however they aren't really on. the fuse is not blown and i changed one of the bulbs and that doesnt fix the problem. any advice?

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[manxman]

Unless you have a volt/ohm meter and know how to check continuity of the entire light circuit, it sounds like you have no choice but to go to a dealer or independent service shop that deals with automotive electrical problems. Your problem is most likely a bad ground connection in the fog light circuit, but it could also be a bad switch.

[tomii.dc-5]

Originally Posted by manxman

Unless you have a volt/ohm meter and know how to check continuity of the entire light circuit, it sounds like you have no choice but to go to a dealer or independent service shop that deals with automotive electrical problems. Your problem is most likely a bad ground connection in the fog light circuit, but it could also be a bad switch.

yup i agree go to the dealer if its still under warranty dont try to fix it yourself cuz youll end up voiding your warranty

[manxman]

Originally Posted by tomii.dc-5

yup i agree go to the dealer if its still under warranty dont try to fix it yourself cuz youll end up voiding your warranty

As the OP said, he does not have a warranty. If he does not have the ability to trace down the electrical short or bad switch, he has no choice but to pay a professional to fix the problem.

[bigballer8526]

How much does the dealer charge to diagnose the problem? It's probably not a bad switch since the fog light light shows on the dash.

[manxman]

Originally Posted by bigballer8526

How much does the dealer charge to diagnose the problem? It's probably not a bad switch since the fog light light shows on the dash.

I stay away from dealers as much as possible, so you'll have to answer that question yourself by calling a Honda dealer or auto electric shop. I have read other posts where owners paid around $100. as a diagnostic charge.

Try buying and using a continuity tester from your local auto parts store- looks like a fat pen with a sharp steel point on one end, and a wire with a spring clip on the other end. The barrel of the "pen" is clear, or red colored, with a fuse inside that lights up when the clip is grounded and the sharp tip is pushed into a "hot" wire.

If you attach the clip to bare metal, and push the sharp tip through the insulation of any wire that has 12V running through it, the tester will light up.

On your fog lights, there should be two wires that connect to the bulb. If your fog light indicator is on on the dash, and you push the probe into each wire going to a fog light and the tester does not light up, you have a broken ground. If the tester lights up and the fog light bulb does not, the bulb is either dead or not seated properly in its socket. Another fault could be corrosion on the metal contacts inside the bulb socket. Along with buying the continuity tester, I suggest that you also buy a small tube of "conductive grease". Both the tester and the grease can be found at any Radio Shack store. The conductive grease will keep moisture from causing corrosion between the bulb contacts and the socket, and may cure a corrosion-caused lack of continuity. However, it is not very likely that this condition would exist in BOTH fog lights at once. Your most likely problem is a broken ground in the fog light circuit between the switch and the lamps.

Maybe the previous owner burned out a wire due to a dead short? All that you can do is keep looking for any reason that prevents power from getting to a good, functional bulb, after making sure that the bulb is good and functional. Just like any repair shop would do.

If you have an '09 Fit without a warranty, this suggests that you may have bought a salvaged car. Floods give birth to a bunch of salvaged cars, and floods cause a bunch of shorted wires. Good luck!

[bigballer8526]

Naw, it was iust an accident. I bought a new fog light bulb and put it in one of the fog lights but no go

[manxman]

Originally Posted by bigballer8526

Naw, it was iust an accident. I bought a new fog light bulb and put it in one of the fog lights but no go

Well, it's good that it didn't go through a flood, but it still sounds like a salvaged car. Somebody didn't do a good enough rewiring job on the harness that has the fog light circuit in it. For less than the price you would pay a dealer service dept. for the diagnostic fee and the actual repair, you could buy a Fit Service Manual from Helm Inc. and use the book to trace the whole fog light circuit. Some connection between the switch and the bulbs is not connected, and I am betting on a ground. Then, you would have the manual to help with any other repair or modification you would ever want to do in the future.

[bigballer8526]

It was all rear end damage. Front wasn't even touched.

[Jazz GD3]

did you take out the foglight housing? maybe the bulb clip to the wire harness is loose, has messed up pins, or isnt connected right.

did you use the right foglight bulb? there could be a possibility you got one similar but not h4.

I would suggest you to take off the fog cover, housing, bracket, and the foglight itself with the bulb and check. Since your fuse isnt popped, and theres a signal from the switch that the fogs are on, its probably the ground for the foglight, or the bulb clip that is messed up. Thats MOST likely my guess.

Hope you figure out the problem. Yeah I would suggest getting a voltage tester thingy. Dealer is gonna bs/exaggerate your problem. They almost voided my warranty, when I checked that my audio was off for just a blown fuse not categorized as audio but back up.

!!OH yeah, check if any other fuses, not just Lighting or foglight is blown. I sometimes forget to check the either the underdash, or the under the hood fusebox.

[bigballer8526]

Connector looks good to me. Both of them. I definitely think it's a bad ground. One of my local dealers is charging 54 dollars for the diagnostic fee which comes out of the invoice when it gets fixed. Should I just go there? Other places were charging 120,80,105 etc.

[Jazz GD3]

Hmm, depends on you. I usually work on my own car, until I tried everything and cant find the problem, ripping my hair out. Then I pay.

[UCLAKoolman]

Originally Posted by bigballer8526

Naw, it was iust an accident. I bought a new fog light bulb and put it in one of the fog lights but no go

I noticed today that my 03 RSX passenger side fog lamp just went out. Is it possible to replace the bulb myself? If I remove the fog lamp, is it easy to get to the bulb?

[manxman]

You will get faster answers if you ask in the right forum. This forum is for FITs. I know Fits- I don't know RSX's, but my guess is that the answer to your questions is YES. The Fit fog lamp is removed from the lower grille by a screw, and the bulb is unscrewed from the back of the lamp after you remove the electrical connector.

Yours probably works in a similar way, but you really ought to ask the RSX forum next time you have a question.

[jrzy2nR]

lol well sounds like a similar story to this week at the honda dealership i work at... a guy with a 07 fit got "sammiched" between 2 other cars the trunk was bashed in and the front well MISSING lol thats right no bumper just all open space for the front end..

anywho he came in and said his low beams are out so i drove it into my bay while me and other techs laughing out asses off about this car i took out the bulbs and they were all good checked the fuses for the perhaps one is blown...nothing..took out the actual trouble shooting book not the hds and tested everything....

the guy needs 1000 something worth of parts for harnesses alone! i was like holy crap..

but low and behold its going to be a interesting claim with insurance and honda warranty....

ill find out monday any who just to let you know harnesses are not cheap...and since your out of warranty....shit rewire your fog lights

[salogcl]

i have a similar issue with my fogs. tested fogs , both work, tested circuit to switch, seems to be good, tested relay, works. switch works, lights up and all. im out of ideas, seems like power goes into the relay and to the switch but somehow doesnt make it to the harness line to the lights.. so no light. am i looking at grounding issues and connections?, the relay connections were pretty gunked up and corroded.