I was rapidly flashing my brights on the nsx bc some idiot didn't have their lights on the other night. All of a sudden I heard a click and the brights remained on. I pulled over dropped the headlights and shut the car off. Turned the car back on, popped the headlights. Now the brights won't go back on and the blue illumination bright lights indicator on the dash remains on when the lights are on. Any ideas on what I can do to troubleshoot? Possibly a blown fuse?
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Brights won't go on. Blue brights indicator on dash is constantly on. Blown fuse?
- Thread starter Kidblast
- Start date
Not likely a fuse problem.
You have not specified the model year of your car; but, I am not aware of any changes to the lighting system over the production run so I am using the wiring diagram for the 1991 model year (which I happen to have on my laptop). The first thing you should do is go to the NSX Shop Manual tab on the red header at the top of the Prime page and get a copy of the manual, or at least the wiring diagram. Following my suggestions is going to be difficult without the road map provided by the wiring diagram.
The blue hi beam indicator light is connected directly across the right headlight high beam bulb. According to the diagram, it is pretty much impossible for the indicator light to be on without the right side high beam being on. Switch the headlights on low beam. If the hi beam indicator light remains illuminated, go out and check the right side headlight and confirm that the high beam is not illuminated. If it is not illuminated, turn stuff off and pull the high beam bulb and confirm that the bulb is not burnt out. If the bulb is burnt out, replace it. Does the hi beam bulb light up when the lights are on? If it does not light up; but, the hi beam indicator still lights up when the headlights are on low, switch the lights off and pull the #49 fuse in the main relay box. Pulling the #49 fuse should completely kill the right side headlights including the high beam indicator. With #49 fuse pulled, switch the headlights on low beam. The desired outcome is that the right side headlights should not light and the hi beam indicator light should not light up. If the high beam indicator remains lit up with the #49 fuse pulled, you have some kind of sneak circuit which could indicate a wiring short circuit. Diagnosing wiring short circuits in the NSX vehicle harness is a vey bad thing.
With luck, when you pulled the #49 fuse the hi beam indicator light went out. If that is the case, then I think the most likely cause of the problem is a partially failed dimmer relay. The dimmer relay is also located in the main relay box. I suspect that the contact in the dimmer relay is now permanently stuck in the 'sort of' closed position. It is providing a high resistance path that provides enough current to light the hi beam indicator light; but, is not able to light up the actual hi beam bulb. I suggest that you pull the dimmer relay and if you do not know how to test a relay, do the tests described in the service manual. Also, check the socket connections for the relay. It is possible that the relay may be fine; but, you could have a loose or burned connection in the socket creating a bad connection.
If the dimmer relay tests out OK, then the next candidate might be the lighting switch. However, the lighting switch is a whole other level of hurt in terms of effort and cost compared to the dimmer relay and your symptoms don't really line up with a lighting switch problem.
You have not specified the model year of your car; but, I am not aware of any changes to the lighting system over the production run so I am using the wiring diagram for the 1991 model year (which I happen to have on my laptop). The first thing you should do is go to the NSX Shop Manual tab on the red header at the top of the Prime page and get a copy of the manual, or at least the wiring diagram. Following my suggestions is going to be difficult without the road map provided by the wiring diagram.
The blue hi beam indicator light is connected directly across the right headlight high beam bulb. According to the diagram, it is pretty much impossible for the indicator light to be on without the right side high beam being on. Switch the headlights on low beam. If the hi beam indicator light remains illuminated, go out and check the right side headlight and confirm that the high beam is not illuminated. If it is not illuminated, turn stuff off and pull the high beam bulb and confirm that the bulb is not burnt out. If the bulb is burnt out, replace it. Does the hi beam bulb light up when the lights are on? If it does not light up; but, the hi beam indicator still lights up when the headlights are on low, switch the lights off and pull the #49 fuse in the main relay box. Pulling the #49 fuse should completely kill the right side headlights including the high beam indicator. With #49 fuse pulled, switch the headlights on low beam. The desired outcome is that the right side headlights should not light and the hi beam indicator light should not light up. If the high beam indicator remains lit up with the #49 fuse pulled, you have some kind of sneak circuit which could indicate a wiring short circuit. Diagnosing wiring short circuits in the NSX vehicle harness is a vey bad thing.
With luck, when you pulled the #49 fuse the hi beam indicator light went out. If that is the case, then I think the most likely cause of the problem is a partially failed dimmer relay. The dimmer relay is also located in the main relay box. I suspect that the contact in the dimmer relay is now permanently stuck in the 'sort of' closed position. It is providing a high resistance path that provides enough current to light the hi beam indicator light; but, is not able to light up the actual hi beam bulb. I suggest that you pull the dimmer relay and if you do not know how to test a relay, do the tests described in the service manual. Also, check the socket connections for the relay. It is possible that the relay may be fine; but, you could have a loose or burned connection in the socket creating a bad connection.
If the dimmer relay tests out OK, then the next candidate might be the lighting switch. However, the lighting switch is a whole other level of hurt in terms of effort and cost compared to the dimmer relay and your symptoms don't really line up with a lighting switch problem.
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