Hey everyone, I was trying to replace the door courtesy lights with some LEDs and when I installed them, the passenger side is really bright as expected but the driver side is really dim. And when I put back in original incandescent bulbs, the driver side is completely out while the passenger side is fine. Anyone know what may be going on - a blown fuse or anything else? My next option is going to the dealership and have it checked out in the morning.

I replaced the license plate, trunk, and vanity bulbs and they are all great with LEDs.

Thanks so much!!!

 

if it was a fuse, other things would be out. There isn't a fuse for every single light. Are you sure you got the bulbs reseated in real good?

 

Yeah the bulbs are back in there pretty tightly. I hope it's not some sort of electrical problem...just read on the forum that another TL owner had to have a junction box (whatever that is) replaced because the driver side courtesy light was out...yikes...

 

wow....a similar thing happened to me in my accord....i would say its most likely your junction box thats shorted,or maybe just the bulbs.....but good news is that you might be able to BS your way to get a new one by warranty....good luck

 

The courtesy light is a 3.4W light. System power is 12V that equates to 283 mA of current draw stock. If your aftermarket LED's pulled more than that amount of current then there is a good possibility that you fried the drivers side MICU. The passenger side MICU is not connected to as many components so it is different and could be more robust to overcurrent. Have fun changing it. MSRP is $194 from the dealer.

 

Man, the same damn thing happened to me! I know it's not the bulbs because I switched the passenger side bulb that was bright, with the driver's side bulb and it was dim too. Being that my TL is being kept in storage while I am away, I can't check it out to see what's wrong, but I know it's not the fuse, because all my lights had went out and I took it to the dealer and they fixed everything except the courtesy light. The fuse was blown, which caused all my other lights to go out. I hope it's not too expensive to fix this junction box thing!

 

I was thinking of changing out the license plate bulbs to a more white light, any suggestions on the type of LED I should use? Installation advice? Caveats?

 

These are the ones I used...although after my little fiasco (1st post in the thread) I am not sure if I want to put them back in //

http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED/C...-p4481133.html

 

if you put in a bulb and it touches the housing the same time as the power is on, you can short out the multiplex. This is what i did, the dealer had my car for 3 days to get the part in and fix it.

 

Yeah if you can, have it checked out soon. Sounds like the MICU/fuse box...Good luck!

 

Big1128z...when you say 3.4w is that the total draw between BOTH sides (L/R) courtesy bulbs? I lost my Passenger side power feed....everything else is fine. Bulbs I was using was 2 watts each so x2 = 4 watts total draw. Since I lost the passenger side only, any idea what it might be? Couldn't find any fuse issues so is the passenger door courtesy run to the passenger side Multiplex (fuse box)?

 

Big1128z...when you say 3.4w is that the total draw between BOTH sides (L/R) courtesy bulbs? I lost my Passenger side power feed....everything else is fine. Bulbs I was using was 2 watts each so x2 = 4 watts total draw. Since I lost the passenger side only, any idea what it might be? Couldn't find any fuse issues so is the passenger door courtesy run to the passenger side Multiplex (fuse box)?

 

Pic of installed license plate bulbs:

http://images2.powerreviews.com/medi...44057_full.jpg

Here's the link to the bulbs:

http://www.v-leds.com/Exterior-LED/C...viewsTabAnchor

 

it happened on my 2010.. its a blown junction box... put back your original bulb back in and bring your car into acura to tell them to fix it.


next time you install it, disconnect the battery first!

 

I'll bring it in to Acura this week. Since it's the passenger courtesy light is it the passenger side fuse box? Seems crazy that the fuse box would get damaged instead of a fuse tripping.

After it's fixed, couldn't I simply pull the connector off the fixture housing then do the swap and then plug the housing back in or is disconnecting the battery a must? I assume radio settings and others get wiped out with battery disconnect?

 

I installed license plate bulbs, front door bulbs, vanity mirrors, and trunk led without disconnecting the battery. I had no issues. All bulbs were bought from v-leds.com.

 

the reason why i say you should disconnect the battery is because 4g is a very complex car. if you put led bulbs that drain less power than OEM bulbs, this will cause the car to trip out. so with disconnecting the battery, it will force the car to re-read the power that is going out to everything on the car. this will stabilize the entire car to do so. this is what i was told from acura technician. and on the side note.. its always best to disconnect the battery anyways. no harm in doing that.

 

I'm thinking about changing my interior lights to red. Anyone know how many bulbs/what kind of bulb types i need?

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...highlight=bulb

 

Hey venom550pm, I did this exact thing and had to replace the MICU. Now I want to disconnect the light fixture then put the LED bulb in and plug the whole thing back but I'm scared it might short the MICU again. I'm thinking of just leaving it stock lol What did you do?