[mmdepace]

Back-up (Reverse) Light Sensor in Transmission may be bad(Gen 1)

Hello,

I seem to have lost my reverse lights, while the fuse is still good.

I tapped 12V of power on to the reverse lights at the housing. They lit up. Bulbs are good.

I found the back-up light sensor in the transmission. I want to try completing the circuit on those wires and see if it is a bad sensor. I hope shorting the wires together might work.

(Found location of sensor on Majestic Honda under "Transmission Housing". It is parallel with the ground...toward top of trans.)

 

[mmdepace]

....and that did not work. Reverse lights did not turn on.

If anybody happens to have any input...it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mudder]

Howdy and welcome to the forums. This isn't a common problem, so I recommend tracing the wiring diagram with a meter to see where the power isn't working. You can download the complete service manual here.

 

[mmdepace]

Many thanks to you for the deep document repository. These will certainly be of help in the future in other areas as well.

I will post an update for others' future reference once I resolve.

 

[Rainsux]

Do we know whether the backup light wires go through the connector under the passenger side seat belt molding? The one that corrodes and keeps the hatch latch from working?

Sam

 

[ZX1206]

What was the cure to this problem? My bulbs are good but won't light up too.

 

[mmdepace]

I hate to admit it, but I never pushed further on this. Shortly after, I got rid of this rust-belt vehicle and picked up an AZ car. Now driving a CA car and have never encountered similar issue.

 

[Gasoline Fumes]

It's a pretty simple circuit to troubleshoot.

 

[ZX1206]

It's a pretty simple circuit to troubleshoot.

That's not the manual I've been using. Where is that from?

I've got 12v at the switch. Switch OHM'ed good. Passenger side bulb has 9 volts and a good ground. Driver side bulb has zero volts and a good ground.
The manual I downloaded shows the bulb power also goes to the ECU. I jumped the switch with a paperclip. Same results. My next try is unplugging the ECU to see if maybe something in there is grounding power away from the bulbs. I can't explain why the passenger side has some power and the driver side has none. The rear harness is discontinued and out of stock so maybe it was a common problem. Maybe I'll see if the driver side plug OHMs to the switch.

This car has been fighting me so hard. First the brake line rusted through. Then the new rubber hoses I ordered were wrong. Then the e brake wire was broken and had to be custom made. I had to put a new windshield in it. The EVAP line rusted through and probably hurt the ECU. There are cars in junkyards that don't require this much effort to get back on the road.

 

[Gasoline Fumes]

That's not the manual I've been using. Where is that from?

Electrical Troubleshooting Manual

 

[Gasoline Fumes]

I would look at connectors C103 and C601 for corrosion.

 

[ZX1206]

SOLVED Updated for anyone that might have this problem later.

I wish I'd have seen the post above this one, this morning. I just spent about 2hrs pulling interior out and stringing jumper wires.

The C601 plug behind the driver's seatbelt must have corrosion because wiggling the plug made the lights come on. I need to clean it up because I think C601 corrosion is also causing my weak power door lock problem.

Thanks for the assist Gasoline Fumes. Does that manual have a part number?