Hey everybody

First off, i just want to say, that I know this thread isnt about a TL, but its a honda accord (same thing) and i figured somebody would be able to contribute some good information for me...

My girlfriend has a 2001 Honda Accord V6 coupe... and as everybody already knows, these cars are NOTORIOUS for having headlight issues....

So basically, her Drivers side headlight will always turn on with a cold start and work for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, the headlight drops down to like 25% power/output, and then her hi-beams will turn on with about 25% power with the headlights still on....

I have changed the bulbs, changed the headlight fuses... i even bought an aftermarket 9006 harness, and replaced her existing harness (spliced the old one off right near the harness/socket).. The only thing i havent done, was replace the entire wiring from the harness, all the way to the fuse box.. i will NOT do this, because i dont wanna f*k around with her main fuse box...

Still.. same friggin issue.... Start the car, turn on the headlights, they work perfectly for 20 minutes MAX... and then, the drivers side headlight, will lose 75% of its power/output (while still staying semi-lit) and the brights will turn on with about 25% of their power.... what the hell is wrong ??

Might ANYBODY have information they can help me with?? Acurazine is my encyclopedia of honda/acura knowledge... i would try the search feature, but this car has halogens, and all acuras use HIDs.

I am about 1 day away from ordering an aftermarket HID kit and running a relay harness off the passanger side headlight, since that headlight seems to work flawlessy.. i dont really want to spend the $300.. but if i bring it to Honda, they will hit us for like a $300-400 bill..

 

This is textbook for a bad ground. I don't know why it wouldnt do it all the time. Possibly heat, like at the low beam connectors? Anyway, check whatever grounds you can find, and wiggle any related connectors. This is a scientific wild ass guess. Good luck!

 

i assumed it was the ground.. but i thought the ground wire on the harness.. so i replaced the harness.... what should i do ?? follow the wire harness throughout the car? where would the two headlight wires ground to? the fuse box ??

 

I just looked at the diagrams for a 00 Accord. There's more to this than i thought. It depends if has daytime running lamps, no drl with auto off headlamps, or no drl without auto off headlamps. It also may differ with 2 or 4 door. I didn't check all the options. I probably won't be at a computer till monday, but if i get back, I'll try to find out more. Meanwhile, which model and system is it?

 

hids is the way to go buddy of mine from nyc had a similar issue and didnt want to tear his car down to trace issue, HID was the route he eventually went. HIDS are not that expensive prices drop dramatically

 

Thank you for looking into this, i couldnt find the diagram

Its a 2001, Accord Coupe, V6 EX

It has Auto-off Headlights... now, here is where it gets interesting...

It used to have some like $5 relay in the main fuse box under the hood, which kept the headlights on 100% of the time... (cheap DRLs). We removed that relay like a month ago, and thats when the problems began...

 

thats the next stop, is to go with an HID system.. i just dont want to purchase one, and still get a similar issue!

 

More than likely its gonna be a bad ground on one side which will require tearing things down to trace where the bad ground is located. With HID systems. a full relay kit only requires one side of the harness to power up both bulbs. Yes its not fixing your problem but at least you can have 2 working headlights until you can figure out whats going on on the other side.

Just my .02

 

I would say use the relay you were using. Just use the silly stock wiring as the switch for the relay, and power the lights directly from the battery. Use good quality wire and terminals.

Many people rewire the supra from alternator to the fuse panel. They have great success with this mod, and most reccomend it. Im going to try it soon actually.

Sometimes the extra work is actually worth it, as much as i agree, all that wiring is a PITA!

Im sorry, i didnt read the entire thread. Test the Voltage at the harness terminals when you have and dont have the problem. Check chassis grounds, check corrosive parts, and pack the harness with dielectric grease, that helped for me a few times on other cars!

Good luck
Take care
Mark

 

I have a related problem that I need to fix. the previous owner cut the wires to the low beam head light sockets and only used high beam. I have a total of 4 wires on each side that are cut. Each side has two wires that seem to have been taped by the manufacturer. Now, I want to put the low beam lights bck in place. Will someone please assist in the instructions and what to look for in locating the correct wiring. Thanks in advance

 

When the problem is present, try grounding the headlight right at the harness. This way you can test whether or not there is a ground issue further up the chain.

 

Blackura, Any progress on this? Did you find the problem?