License plate lights not working civic 2005
 

My license plate lights weren't working so I though to solve this problem replacing the bulbs. There not working still. All the other lights (trunk, headlights, stop, reverse)are working fine. I don't know where to start but need to be quick because I don't want the police to stop me again for the same light problem.

Check your fuses.

double check the the bulbs are installed correctly and use electrical grease on the ends to create a good contact.

I checked the fuse on the fuse box under the hood and it is good.
The bulbs are little and they are all glass. Can I use grease on them?

You don't put the grease all over the bulb. :punch:
Just apply the grease to the connectors. The grease is just to keep moisture out, and keep the metal from corroding.

The bulbs probably look something like this:
http://www.worldimpex.com/assets/partimages/043635.jpg
Just a tiny little bit of grease on the metal contacts should do the trick.

Yes, the light bulb look just like those on the picture. I wasn't planing on greasing the whole thing I just didn't know that was ok to use grease on them. I'll try that trick. Thanks

Put the grease on bulbs but they are not working :(

time to pull out the old multimeter and find out where your short is. Check your fueses in and the car and under the hood and make sure they are all good.

You said in an earlier post that you checked the fuses in the box under the hood. Try checking the fuses in the box under the drivers side dash. I think that the license plate fuse in the interior fuse box.

ha ha. :D Sounds like you were thinking the same thing I was.

Yes I was :D

I checked all the fuses, under the hood and under driver side dash as you recommended. They are all good. It is kind of weird that all the other lights work but not the two license plate ones....

Then as Shameinator said, you've got to get out the multi-meter and start testing the voltage at every point all the way back to the actual sockets. I'm guessing that the short is in a ground somewhere in the trunk lid.

I checked the voltage coming out of the sockets. It reads 0.000 when lights off and 0.001 when they are on. The voltage is not getting there like on the tail lights.

What did you expect? If the lights don't come on, then there isn't going to be any voltage at the sockets. :rolleyes:

You need to figure out exactly where the short is in the line going back to the sockets.

I'm trying tofollow the cables but there is so much tape....

That'll happen. But keep following it, testing it at any junctions or splits, and you should eventually come across the problem.:shrug:

Yeah, its tricky finding the junctions where you are using voltage. What I do sometimes, is hook up a battery charger at spots tracking back from the resistor(the light bulb inyour case) That helps sometimes. With older cars, wires get corroded and dont assume that nobody has messed with those wires before you, because they probably did.

BTW, if you would have a short (a wire grounding itself), you would be blowing fuses, check the fuses with a test light.

I printed the diagram of the fuse box that said that the fuse for dash lights, front parking lights, taillights and license plate lights is the same and uses a 15A fuse. The fuse box they mentionned is the one located under the hood . If I take the fuse out the taillights go out when I replaced the taillights worked again. I replaced the fuse anyway.

Ijust quit for today. The only thing I found out was that the taillights located on the lid of the trunk are not working either. The one working are the ones located on the outside corners of the car. :confused:

This is good info.. The short has to be between the car, and the trunk lid. I'd bet money that the bundle of wires that goes to the trunk lid is rubbing somewhere whenever you open the trunk. Try looking in that area for signs of stretching, rubbing, or corrosion.

I have a 2005 Honda Civic with the same problem. I discovered it when a cop was kind enough to pull me over and tell me about it. As others have done, I replaced both lights and checked all the fuses. Then I discovered a few websites mentioning wiring shorts. I was able to get my light working for a little while by pushing the cables at the arm of the trunk towards the front of the car. That lasted a few weeks before it went out again (not a huge surprise), then I did the same thing again, and got it to go for another week or so. It's been out for a few weeks, and Honda wants $90 to start to look at it. I suspect the proble is at the junction between the wires that run along the trunk deck and toward the outside rear lights. I was hoping that someone had solved this problem and could give me a good place to start looking rather than going crazy with the box cutter on all the casing covering the wires.

Interestingly, my reverse lights still work.

SOLVED! For me anyway. My boss had me replace his license lights, but it did nothing. Long story short, i discovered that the curved arm of the trunk lid mount was abraiding the trunk liner carpet, folding it away from the passenger side trunk wall, causing it to stress the wiring harness. Right about at this point in the harness's run (near the curved arm) I opened up the tape and found a union of the taillight wire (3 on forward side mating with one rearward) that had become disconnected due to the strain. I reconnected it with a butt connector and now all is well. Easy location to check first, and likely the cause. Shoddy trunk liner retainers likely leading to a lot of this issue. Hope that helps.

This happened to my moms 2005 civic earlier today. After opening the wireloom I saw the problem. Honda didn't solder any wires at the junction instead there is a 4-1 crimp. After the repetitive opening and closing of the trunk the uncrimped portion of the wire eventually breaks. Solution is to first extend the wire (Red w/yellow stripe) at least 6" to relieve stress on the crimped portion. I also decided to solder the wires together and use heatshrink as well.

I had exactly the same propblem. Reading all these comments allowed me to go directly to the point where one wire became disconnected on my 2004 Honda Civic. Following the wire bundle along the trunk hinge to the first point at which it was attached to the body of the car, I found that point to be a stress point when the trunk was opened or closed. Opening the sheath around the wires at this connection point exposed the disconnected wire. Thanks to all who commented on this problem. You saved me a lot of work.