I just purchased all the parts to install the road lamps on my 2003 CLS. Will installing & wiring these road lamps void any parts of my warranty? Would this be something I should have the dealer do so that there wouldn't be any issues with my warranty? I'm really new at Acura's and I don't know how well the dealerships/warranties take to doing a lot of aftermarket stuff or installing stuff on your car. Any help is appreciated.

 

Only if the wiring you did caused damage or a malfunction in other parts of the car. That damage wouldn't be warrantied (depending on dealer), but it won't void the overall 4yr/50k.

 

The best thing to do is to talk to the dealership that will service your vehicle. I have talked to my dealership before each and every modification to make sure they were OK with it.

 

That sounds good. I'll talk to the Acura dealership here and see what they say. What is the worst they could say? Since I did just buy this car (at another dealership in south florida), If I just installed them as close to looking factory as possible and just acted like they were installed before I bought it....would that work? I'm just running ideas past you guys.

 

On paper it shouldn't effect the warranty unless the mod is a direct cause of a failed part. The dealer has to prove that also.

In reality, depends on the dealer. Some will have strict rules about doing warranty work on a modded car. Other's will not care. Depends on the dealers in your area. My area of South FL they hate modded cars.

On a plus note. installing the stock road lamps is really a minor cosmetic thing. Most any dealer shouldn't have a problem with that.

 

I dont think it is a problem...

 

It is my understanding that it is OK if "you change your blinker fluid" at the same time. YMMV

 

I found the thread that had the installation instruction and they seem pretty good. I'm just wondering if I should wire it off of the headlights or the corner lights. I like the idea of having the road lamps on with the corner lights and the head lights but I don't know if the wiring will take it. Someone said I should use a fuse too...I guess each side would have a fuse inline with the power wire then? Any suggestions here?

 

Anyone help or comment on the wiring info??

 

Use an inline fuse and relay and you should not run into wiring issues, use 16ga wire. Try to make the inline fuse within 6 inches of the power source. You can use the relay to tap into your headlight or corner lights for an extra wall of protection.

 

I was figuring on running an inline fuse with this on each side but I wasn't thinking of doing a relay. Couldn't I just tap into power from headlights or corner lights and just have the inline fuse between that and the wirinng going to the road lamp? All I will be running is the stock bulb or at most the PIAA 19224 bulbs.

 

Yes you can do that, but a relay wouldn't hurt to have. a 4-pin relay:
Power /w inline, HL switch, grnd, wire to lights (split into Y using tap connectors)

That way, you're running a double wall protection incase something happens.

Running dual inline fuses does nothing really, it's like overkill without killing anything. You want to kill power to the main power line should something decide to fry, and that main power line should be + on your battery.

Should you decide to go your route... just split power from ONE HL, and run a fuse that way. Less mess, less fuses to replace.

Either way, it will work.

 

Just note which lights flash (corner lights) when you lock and unlock the car. Excessively flashing the road lamps may cause the bulbs to blow faster. By wiring into these lights, the road lamps will obviously flash as well.

 

You think you got problems..my piston return springs are worn out.

 

For running the relay, where do I tap into the headlight switch wire? Is it a wire that is also running to the plug on the headlight or is it a wire I have to search for in the harness? Remember, i'm new to Acura's so be nice. =)

 

Ok, my last post and this one will have my last question. If I do just decide to wire the road lamps into the head lights and make it simple and painless which is what i'm thinking of doing)....will it take any brigtness or power away from the head lights since the road lamps will be pulling power as well from the same wiring??

 

if your dealer hassles you over lights find another dealer...

 

This is exactly what I suggest using a relay, the power issue is there. As for taking power DIRECTLY from the brightness of the headlights, NO. HIDs use a ballast to convert 12V into 50,000 then stabalizing it to 35V, so the brightness is not affected at all. You can tell you are drawing power from HID components when HIDs flicker, which is a bad thing. IMHO, I would never tap into electrical components that require such a specific power to operate.

Since you want it simple. Tap into the city light portion of the headlamps, NOT the blinker! You don't want your roadlamps to be blinking ! It's the portion of orange below the blinker, that is your safest bet.

As for wiring the relay, you must find the switch wire under the dash; someone with the electrical schematics in the Helms manual can help you find that, it's easy. Use an in-line tap, if you are doing so, so you don't mess with the stock wiring.

OR, I forgot Use a TL switch that some people have incorporated, you can by it from the dealer, no tapping, no troubles! Just simple plug-n-play!

3 available options...

Good luck, post pics when you are done!

 

If I do the first option and wire it to the city light portion...don't they flash when the car is being locked or unlocked from the remote...so won't that mean my road lamp/fog lights flash as well? Is that bad?

 

My aftermarket fog lights have a relay. 1 wire was ground, +power I connected to the battery, Switched power I tapped into the drivers side marker light, last wire went to switch. I haven't had any problems at all. I can turn them on or off as I need them, but only if the lights are on.

Side note...If I leave them on & turn the lights off, they do blink when the alarm is armed. No big deal to me as I never leave the fogs in the on position.

 

Honestly, what I want to do is just wire the fogs to come on with the road lights & headlights...I don't want to use a switch. I was going to wire a relay as follows:

87--------- Positive side (+) of both Fog Lamps
86--------- Ground
30--------- Fuse ---------- Positive side (+) Battery
85--------- Power wire (+) Marker lights

Would this work for what I want it to do. The relay should click over once I turn on either the head lights or marker lights and give power through the relay to the fog lights, right. Please correct me if i'm wrong or if this will cause problems.

 

That should work. They might flash when you lock/unlock the car. Not sure though.

 

:lthumbsup: Looks good, though they may flash. You can always try a delayed switch, meaning if constant power is not given in x seconds, the relay won't sense the power, hence, no blinking. Some capacitors do this. OTHO, this is just too much work, haha. Just wire 'em up and see if they blink, then go from there.

 

And if you find a dealer that won't warranty your car because you have modded it, report them to SEMA