Hi all,

I've noticed for some time now that when I unlock the car the cabin light comes on. But then, when I open the door, the cabin light intensity drops. Is this normal?

Also when the engine is running and I open the door the cabin light is not as strong as when you use the switch on the light to turn it on.

I am a bit worried because yesterday I had to get a new battery for the car, and I suspect the car does not charge the battery properly and finally the battery dies. Could the cabin light behaviour be a sign?

Michael

 

This is normal dome light operation.

When you leave the vehicle and lock the doors with the remote, the light will not come on. If you unlock the doors with the remote, the light will come on bright to illuminate your vehicles interior (maybe so you can find it easier in a parking lot). Once you open the door the light will dim since it would be assumed that you already know where your vehicle is and you don't need a brighter light to see and screw up your night vision any further. The same dimmer brightness will happen if your doors are unlocked and you open the door.

 

Actually, the dimming of the map lights is due to the way Honda designed the circuit. Ingenious little buggers that they are, a couple of diodes are in there to allow several operating modes (dependant upon map light switch position). Diodes aren't perfect and tend to drop about 0.6V, so when you switch from one part of the circuit to another (opening a door, etc.), you swap the diodes in and out. When the diodes are swapped in, the lights see less voltage and dim a bit.

 

Thank you for your quick replies! I guess the lights and the battery are not related and hopefully my new battery will last longer.