OhNoItsMrBill

All-

I was trying to replace my interior lights with LEDs and when working on the driver door, the socket pushed into the panel. I pulled it out by grabbing it with pliers and pushing from behind with my hand in the door panel. Now the light won't work. I tested the bulbs in other sockets and they work fine. I can take it to the dealer but prefer to fix myself. Any ideas?

MrOtocinclus

Not 100% sure but I think something shorted when you used the pliers. A fuse replacement should fix the problem. If you do a search there should be a thread that identifies the problem exactly.

OhNoItsMrBill

Thanks. I did several searches before posting and oddly enough can't find and exact answer. Do you (or anyone reading this) know which fuse is for the driver side courtesy light? The manual is ambiguous about which it might be.

ufmike316

are you sure the polarity on the bulb is correct? try taking it out and putting it in the other way. LEDs have to be wired with the + and - on the correct terminals. if you put it in "backwards" it wont light up.

OhNoItsMrBill

Putting in with different polarity was the first thng I tried. Any other ideas?

ufmike316

if you have a multi-meter or test light, try testing the terminals to see if you have +12V. If you do not, then you most likely have a blown fuse. the blown fuse would most likely be behind one of the kick panels (possibly under the hood, but unlikely). I will say though, that usually all the courtesy lights would be on the same fuse, so it is weird that only one would not work if it were a blown fuse. i would also check that the wires going into the bulb holder are all in correctly and tightly. and we are talking about the light in the bottom of the actual driver's door, right?

levistar

I would suspect you broke or spread the terminals when you grabbed the socket with pliers. You DID NOT blow a fuse. Cars do not individual fuses for each bulb.

russel082581

*sigh*
you too huh? same exact thing happen to me and a couple others on here. to make a long story short, put all stock bulbs back in and take it to dealer.
here is some more info:

(check out post #21 by pdpboy)
https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-2009-2014-123/f-001-changing-step-courtesy-light-727190/

Re: led bulb short
Quote:
Originally Posted by russel082581
hey man, just read a thread you posted in about your drivers door led not working. same EXACT thing happening to me on my 2010 tsx, just got a flicker and now cant get any bulb to work in there..
what was the fix for this?
thanks
It shorted out something in my driver side panel. Fortunately everything the car still works, I took the car back to the dealer and they were able to repair the faulty ground or circuit? Not too sure exactly what was done by my car was in the shop waiting for the part for a couple of days. Just tell the dealer that you tried changing a faulty bulb and is no longer operable. I know I'm not able to offer much of a help here but the dealer was super vague as to what part(s) were replaced.

-Calvin

OhNoItsMrBill

Taking to the dealer tomorrow to get this and a few other things fixed. WIll ask what they needed to replace to fix so we can finally get an answer.

B

russel082581

awesome man, please post results, mine is still out, dont want to take it to dealer

OhNoItsMrBill

So here's the deal. The dealer said the socket was getting power but no ground, and it looks like the remote starter was installed incorrectly. I'm taking it in Monday to get it fixed as they needed to have the sub contractor fix it. I'll let you know if the diagnosis holds true.

OhNoItsMrBill

So it turns out that one of the wires in the group that powers the lights was broken. Dealer said this is somewhat common. They spliced the line with a new one. Problem solved

russel082581

^wonder how it just broke? i noticed that my light is still on but veeerrry dim, and when i push on the "door closed" buttom to my left the light gets a little brighter? wt*? i dunno...
however, thanks again

OhNoItsMrBill

My guess is that the wires themselves are thin and brittle and that when the remote installer put in the system he bent the line too much and it separated.

soupi

I have the same issue with my driver door, but not remote starter was installed... hmm I wonder would it could be because all other three courtesy door lights work just not the driver door...

dont really want to take it to the dealer, any idea guys?

robpp

iTrader: (2)

Have you tested the bulb? Drivers door would br the first to burn out as it used the most/

soupi

yes the bulb isn't the issue, i tried replacing with a led also, and still no go =(

Mangibin_One

I had the same problem with my 2014 Acura TL. I just took it back to the dealer. The dealer ran some electrical test to find out what's wrong with the door lights. They told me it was the MVCI unit.

real_mckoy

does anyone have a link with the diagram location for the 4th gen tl fuse box(es)?

tchoke

I noticed my puddle lights stopped working on my front passenger of my 2011 mdx, what did you end up doing to fix your problem?

soupi

I STILL NEVER GOT IT FIXED. NOT SURE WHAT IT IS.

JTRADAR61

It's a blown fuse either behind change storage compartment or under hood or on passenger side kick panel .

Yamadr6

What solved this problem for you. I have the same issue on a 2009 TL and is driving me crazy. Can't find the source of the problem.

Blk10TL

The similar thing happen to me when i was replacing all my bulbs to LED bulbs months ago.
I will be adding the KP Tech. roll up module and decided to tackle the mystery of driver courtesy light at the same time.
Using my multi-meter I checked the voltage coming out of the two prong connector into the light....it only reads about less than 1V. (So basically Zero Volts)
Second, I checked was for continuity in the wire...everything read OK until the driver door harness connection on the door panel.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ___________________________________
Side Note:
I did notice that the leads on the LED light are not spaced adequately once the bulb is placed into the metal prongs of the housing.
Using my fingers i properly spaced the leads and reinserted the bulb back into place and replaced
the plastic brownish back cover on the light that had popped off when i was trying to install.
Also there is an external "resistance" soldered into the bulb housing that is exposed be careful no to damage that during install.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________________________________

Everything on the door panel was Good to Go.

I proceeded to check the harness coming into the car door that is behind the speaker. (remove the speaker)
Mulit-meter read 1V coming out of the harness. So problem is from the fuse panel.
I did not get to complete the investigation last night when the sun went down because their were too many mosquitos the OFF had no affect on them.
Will let you know the conclusion once I get home tonight from work. Pictures will come soon if you guys need any.