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Correct. One wire goes to the light and the other goes to the ground I showed you a picture of. When the trunk is opened, the two wires are electrically connected together, which provides your lamp with a ground. By jumping the two wires together, you are bypassing the internal switch to determine if it is the cause of your problem. Short the wires together!
Wait, did you mean to say three wires? I believe the third wire is for the trunk release solenoid (becomes activated using your keychain). Hold on and I'll tell you which two you want to short...
No biggie if you touch the black to the yellow. You'll hear a click, which is the latch solenoid engaging. To turn on the lamp, short the white to the black like I said.
I don't know the exact functionality of the latch, but I can say with certainty that there are two contacts internal to the latch that connect together and turn the lamp on. Does the lamp turn on when you touch your test light to the white wire? If not, faulty wiring, if it does faulty latch.
We know when the OP grounds one side of the lamp, that it lights up.
What we are trying to find out if that same wire makes it all the way to the trunk latch with no breaks in the middle.
Mossman77's drawing says the wire in question is white on the lamp, and also white at the latch. Therefore connecting the white wire to ground should light the lamp the same way it did when you connected the one side of the bulb to ground. You didn't actually do this, but you connected the white wire to the black wire, which should be a ground point. When you did this the trunk opened.
There is always a chance that the trunk latch is no longer grounded properly due to corrosion or a loose bolt, so try connecting the white wire at the latch connector directly to ground the same way you did before.
If that doesn't work verify what the actual color of wire it is, that is connected to the side of the bulb that caused it to light up (should be white and the other side of the bulb is light blue). If it isn't white (say for example it's yellow) then connect the yellow wire at the latch to a ground point. If grounding the proper colored wire at the latch does not light the bulb, then the wire is broken between the bulb and the latch. Since it was working before you started and you only worked on the area near the bulb, the wire/connection is broken in that area.
I tried grounding all the wires and touching them with each other and nothing seems work. My last resort is to use the new ground and wire in a small rocker switch to control it from there.
We know when the OP grounds one side of the lamp, that it lights up.
What we are trying to find out if that same wire makes it all the way to the trunk latch with no breaks in the middle.
Mossman77's drawing says the wire in question is white on the lamp, and also white at the latch. Therefore connecting the white wire to ground should light the lamp the same way it did when you connected the one side of the bulb to ground. You didn't actually do this, but you connected the white wire to the black wire, which should be a ground point. When you did this the trunk opened.
There is always a chance that the trunk latch is no longer grounded properly due to corrosion or a loose bolt, so try connecting the white wire at the latch connector directly to ground the same way you did before.
If that doesn't work verify what the actual color of wire it is, that is connected to the side of the bulb that caused it to light up (should be white and the other side of the bulb is light blue). If it isn't white (say for example it's yellow) then connect the yellow wire at the latch to a ground point. If grounding the proper colored wire at the latch does not light the bulb, then the wire is broken between the bulb and the latch. Since it was working before you started and you only worked on the area near the bulb, the wire/connection is broken in that area.
Exactly.
OP...you haven't told us whether you've touched your test light to the white wire (with your test light ground connected to the chassis). If your test light and the lamp light up, you've narrowed the problem down to the contacts inside the latch and/or a bad ground to the latch.
If you're willing to go through the trouble of wiring your own toggle switch to the lamp, you might as well just run a new wire (if that's the problem) to the latch. If it's the latch at fault, you may be able to open it up and clean the contacts.
OP...you haven't told us whether you've touched your test light to the white wire (with your test light ground connected to the chassis). If your test light and the lamp light up, you've narrowed the problem down to the contacts inside the latch and/or a bad ground to the latch.
If you're willing to go through the trouble of wiring your own toggle switch to the lamp, you might as well just run a new wire (if that's the problem) to the latch. If it's the latch at fault, you may be able to open it up and clean the contacts.
Yes I grounded my test light and touched every single contact onto the latch wire harness. If I am able to rewire it, the thing I'm not sure about is where the wire is located throughtout the body, and whether if the wire is connected to something that controls it is difficult to rewire it to.
Unless you have a family of squirrels living in your trunk, I would be extremely surprised if the wire leading from the lamp to the trunk latch is severed. It is more likely that the connection is loose at one of the connectors. I wish you lived closer because I'd have it figured out in 5 minutes.
If I am able to rewire it, the thing I'm not sure about is where the wire is located throughtout the body, and whether if the wire is connected to something that controls it is difficult to rewire it to.
It doesn't matter. You can run a new wire directly from the lamp negative (white wire) and splice it to the white wire at the latch. You won't screw anything up (just make sure you are actually connecting to the negative wire at the lamp and not the positive). Use your test light to confirm (test light doesn't come on = negative, test light comes on = positive). Get some 18 gauge speaker wire, peel off one of the conductors, run the new wire behind your trim panels, and splice it on both ends. Done. I would do it temporarily first to make sure that fixes it, then tuck the wire away permanently.
Again, the chances that white wire is severed is pretty minimal. I still think you have something going on with the latch, the latch connector, or the lamp connector.
Have you tried reversing the bulb in the socket while you are probing the trunk latch? The LED "bulb" is uni-directional and therefore needs to be installed in the proper direction. Disconnect the latch electrical connector, probe the white wire with your test light, then reverse the LED bulb in its housing. Does it now come on?
It is more likely that the connection is loose at one of the connectors.
Do you suspect it would be the connector at the latch, that had been covered with plastic trim when the problem first occurred, or perhaps the connector/socket of the bulb which underwent considerable tugging and twisting just before the problem began.
The OP has not replied to the question of "do you see a light-blue and white wire connected to the lamp?". From his photo it looks like a blue and light-blue wire, which doesn't match the diagram.
Yes my lamp only has a dark blue and light blue wire.
And I believe my polarity is correct as the light turns on when I ground the negative side.
Okay, good. So back to finding out where along the line your ground connection is broken. My bet is either the connector at the lamp or the connection between the lamp prong and connector. Does the lamp turn on if you stab your test light into the back of the connector? If not, there's your answer.
Okay, good. So back to finding out where along the line your ground connection is broken. My bet is either the connector at the lamp or the connection between the lamp prong and connector. Does the lamp turn on if you stab your test light into the back of the connector? If not, there's your answer.
The light does turn on whenever I touch the back of the connector.
The light does turn on whenever I touch the back of the connector.
To be clear, when you say "light" are you referring to your test light or the LED?
If you touch the back of the connector (where the wire enters) with the connector attached to the lamp housing and the test light AND the LED light up, then your lamp housing is fine. If you then touch your test light to the other end of the same wire (light blue?) at the trunk latch connector and neither the test light nor the LED light up, then you have a break in the wire. If they DO light up, then it's your trunk latch.
Perhaps you could take a short video and post it so we can see your troubleshooting steps?
This is what you have. Just a matter of finding where there's a discontinuity in the circuit. Either a broken wire, bad connector, or dirty switch contacts inside the trunk latch. If it isn't obvious, the schematic shows when the trunk is in the closed position (no path to ground, LED is off). When you open the trunk, the switch changes over to the other position, thereby completing the circuit to ground and illuminating the LED.
Just occurred to me that there is a multi-pin connector between the lamp and the trunk latch, which is located on the trunk floor. This could be where the break is. Check the blue wire on both sides of connector C601 using your test light.
Actually, the connector is behind the rear seat. Not sure if you can access it by just removing the bottom cushion. You may have to remove the seat back. I would exhaust all other avenues first, then check this connector. I still think it's the contacts inside the latch.
Thanks for the help. I wired in a switch so I can manually turn it on and off whenever I need to. I'll try finding a new latch in the future and see if that's the problem.
Thanks for the help. I wired in a switch so I can manually turn it on and off whenever I need to. I'll try finding a new latch in the future and see if that's the problem.
Can you humor me and connect the ground side of your custom switch to the black wire on the trunk latch connector and see if the light comes on? Leave the latch connector connected and stab your wire into the back of the connector.
So I'm having a similar issue as I must have shorted something while replacing bulb. I took my circuit tester and touched both ends of the bulb like OP did but instead of the bulb lighting up, the circuit tester lights up on both ends. What could this mean? I'm taking it to Acura this weekend.
Just to update on my issue, Acura had to replace driver's side under dash fuse box which has the "MICU" module. What a pain. Good thing I was under warranty. Now I'm just afraid to install my led bulb.
Oh wow! Did you have any other LED or aftermarket lights installed? Just curious as that might be my issue too, but I'm afraid they may not warranty it since I have LED's as my DRL's, and LED's as my rear turn signals.
I don't have any wires split, just the plug in play resistors.
And how long did the dealer have your car?
Also, did the dealer give you a hard time? Any tips that might help? Thanks!
installed an LED bulb. probably a cheap knockoff. it lit up for a sec then dimmed. put the oe bulb back in... and nothing. purchased an oe bulb... nothing.
installed an LED bulb. probably a cheap knockoff. it lit up for a sec then dimmed. put the oe bulb back in... and nothing. purchased an oe bulb... nothing.
what does the multimeter say? Me thinks it's less than 12V which means it could be a bad ground wire.
installed an LED bulb. probably a cheap knockoff. it lit up for a sec then dimmed. put the oe bulb back in... and nothing. purchased an oe bulb... nothing.
Same thing with me. Did you install the new bulb while the light assembly is in tact or you unplugged it first? I got a good quality bulb and this happened, I ain't touching it again. Stock it is.
09-20-2016, 03:02 PM
