HELP! i smell burning plastic when healdights are on

[benkieboy]

yesterday when i was driving wiht my headlights on, i can sort of smell burning plastic. i thought it was from the A/C so i turned it off but nothing happened.

then i found out that the smell is coming from under the steering wheel. the headlight switch is somewhat warm. also the small black plastic cover (between steering wheel and cluster)

so before going home yesterday, i disconnected my foglamps thinking that this would cause an overload and heats up everything under. then nothing happened.

so this morning, i tried to drive with just the parking lights and the smell was gone. halfway going to work, i turned on the headlights and there goes the smell again.

what could this be? i am using O-Nex 4300k HID kit and have been using this for quite some time now. any input would be very appreciated. i am really frustrated now. thanks in advance!!!

[1fast03ep]

Are you using a relay for those headlights?

[oldschoolimport]

there is a TSB on the headlight switch/plug in the steering column. they may balk since you have aftermarket lights. if it was me, I'd slap some regular bulbs in, but not remove the balasts, and try to get it covered.

[benkieboy]

Are you using a relay for those headlights?

no relay

[benkieboy]

there is a TSB on the headlight switch/plug in the steering column. they may balk since you have aftermarket lights. if it was me, I'd slap some regular bulbs in, but not remove the balasts, and try to get it covered.

sorry but i dont know what a TSB is. and i didnt undertsand when you said to slap regular bulbs but not remove the ballast. can i use the ballast for regular h4 bulbs? and get what covered? sorry i dont know know much.

i'll try to put back stock bulbs later and i'll keep you guys posted. i hope this is nothing serious. it's already hurting my lungs.

[oldschoolimport]

undo the HIDs, but just don't totally remove the ballast so you can reinstall them easily after you get the work done. you will have to use the factory headlight sockets on regular bulbs.

TSB is "technical service bulletin". its an acknowledgment of a non-lethal problem, that will be taken care of at the dealership, free of charge. its one step under a recall.

[benkieboy]

oh thanks a lot!! i'll try to undo the HID's later and i see what happens.

[oldschoolimport]

simply undoing the HIDs won't help. thats just so honda doesn't try to say that you caused the problem. you still need to take it to the dealership and have the cluster switch changed under the TSB.

[benkieboy]

oh i see! well here's another concern, my car's an 02 and i bought it last year. i now have 115k miles and i am not sure if i am still under warranty. i hope this is nothing expensive.

[oldschoolimport]

warranty has nothing to do with a TSB.

[benkieboy]

oh cool cool!! thanks a lot!

[oldschoolimport]

no problem. good luck.

[Chad]

Was that an actual recall or just a TSB? I was thinking it got moved up in priority but it has been a LONG time!

[Kodeen]

Not directly on topic, but is there a thread or site where all TSB's are listed for our car?

[BobSassafrass]

I was wondering the same thing, I thought we had a sticky with all the TSB's but that might have been lost.

[benkieboy]

i knew nothing about the TSB when i created the thread so. i just really need help with my problem. i was hoping it was an easy fix.

[benkieboy]

i checked alldatadiy.com and found out that it's a recall.

[benkieboy]

thanks a lot guys! i brought it to honda for the recall but they're giving me crap that my VIN is not eligable for the recall. so i just brought it to a local shop. i downloaded stuff from alldatdiy.com and had it fixed. a bad wire is overheating so we replaced the wire.

[Chad]

What's wrong with your VIN?

[benkieboy]

they say that though it's a recall, my VIN is not included in the recall list.

[1fast03ep]

they say that though it's a recall, my VIN is not included in the recall list.


That blows! be sure to put a relay between the factory switch and the new lights so that the lights will pull current directly from the battery.

[benkieboy]

oh cool! i'll check on that! thanks! im loving your foglamps on that avatar! i have something similar but a bit further apart since i have a license plate

[mustclime]

I think it is your vtec trying to escape.....

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t252/yods/vtec.jpg