My 2003 Honda Accord EX has a problem with the backlighting on the radio and the ac controls. All the lights have gone out, but everything else on it seems to work still. I have looked for a blown fuse but could not find one. Any suggestions?

snoopbert

I have an '04 EXL Coupe with 29k miles on it. My radio display just went out today. I researched online and found the most recent 04-027 to be dated Feb 5 2008 and my VIN is outside of the range. I also noticed that the VIN range had increased at least on my make and model. I have a call in to my dealer's service manager and am awating a response. Does anyone know if there is a more recent TSB out there?

jpbenco

Just want to add my experience with the Radio (actually the 6 CD changer radio) "going dark" on my 2003 Accord Ex (133,000 miles). Three days ago (Friday) my display went dim, then several hours later went out completely (shining a flashlight into the display I was able to see the graphics / alphanumerics). Searching the Internet I came across this web page and read for a few hours.

I called my local dealer and explained the situation along with the bulletin on this issue. She was very nice, put me on hold for a few minutes then told me there is nothing they can do for me because of the high mileage. Tried a few angles to get them to help me out, but they wouldn't budge. I did not call Honda America, because I figured it was a lost cause with my mileage.

I printed out the pages for how to take out the radio and how to modify the radio. Took me about an hour to get to the point where the radio was sitting on the bench. Took me another 20 minutes to figure out how to get the radio apart. Getting to R797 is a challenge! I couldn't even get the VOM probes on it to measure the resistance. I threw caution to the wind, fired up the soldering iron, and attempted to unsolder the resistor. Was able to get the easy side up, then with a little effort, got the other side up. I tined a (very) small piece of wire (14 gauge) and successfully soldered it in place of the resistor.

With some effort I got the radio put back together (trying to figure out which screws go where). With some skepticism I connected the cables back up to the radio to give a quick test before putting my dash board back together again. My biggest fear is that the entire radio/cd player would not work. I turned the radio on and ...


IT WORKED! Display nice and bright (as advertised). Car put back together and I'm back in action. Many thanks to all that posted instructions and pictures; it helped immensely!

pete12126

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vo_danh

Thanks mystified88 your solution was the exact thing I was looking for. My 03 Accord was a salvaged title. The back light went out about 3 days ago. I called my local Honda dealer and they said the service had already been done on my VIN before so they wont do it again unless American Honda approved it. I called AH and they told me the same thing that it exceeds 7 years/150k miles warranty clause and they wouldn't cover it. They refused to acknowledge that its the same problem, if they replaced it before they should have replaced it with a fixed model of the radio, not the same model with the same damn problem. I have a friend that works at a shop that might be able to replace it for me if he can't Im definitely going to open it up and fix it myself since its in my line of work anyways I Just don't have a lot of time to do it myself right now unless I have to. (the information I got here was so useful I had to register and post my case and my thanks)

vo_danh

I also forgot to mention my mom's 07 accord had the same problem and had to get it replaced as well. Now that I know there are pictures im definately scouring back to find them, and fix her old unit just in case the replacement goes out again.

smeeker

My 2005 Honda has had a problem with the radio. It started with the backlight, then started coming on during the middle of the night, (key not in the ignition) or sometimes just opening the car door would cause the radio to come on by itself. Honda says its the radio which needs to be replaced at a cost of $500 for just the radio.

Unfortunately, my car is long out of warranty so I'll replace the radio before it again drains my battery.

Cowboy7987827

I just finished reading all that has been posted about the 2003 Honda lighting problem problem. My radio light and center console light just went out two days ago. Of course the fuses were good, so I called the Honda dealership. It turns out there is a service bullenton on that problem. Even though the warranty is out, the dealership or Honda will fix the problem if your car is less that 7 years old or has less than 107,000 miles. The dealership I used is Honda of Slidell and they are GREAT to deal with. People are very nice.

John Plaza

I had the same problem. My wife told me the radio light just went out.
I found a warrantee extention from Spring 2007. It covers 2003-2004 Accord audio unit display to 7 years or 100,000 miles. My car will be 7 years old in 3 weeks. My wife is going to the dealer tomorrow.
I states; if the audio display becomes dark or dim, or if the HVAC buttons do not illuminate when the headlights are on, take your vechicle to any Honda dealer for inspection. If the dealer finds a problem to be the audio unit display, and your vechicle is within the extended warratee time/mileage limits they will replace the printed circuit board (PCB) inside the audio unit, free of charge. Please plan to leave your vechicle at the dealer for half a day to allow flexibility in scheduling.
I called the dealer before I found this warrantee extension and they said they called the factory to perhaps split the cost of the repair and the factory refused. I got lucky as I save everything. My wife thinks I'm nuts.

dlawson13

12/17/09 Called Honda (800-900-1009) and quoted Service Bulletin 04-027. She told me that my 2003 Honda Accord LX V4 4-door DOES NOT qualify for a goodwill repair. They've modified the original SB from 2004 three times... and now mine is no longer covered. I'm ticked! I even paid for an extended warranty, which just expired, but not even that would cover it-- she said only the original 3 yr warranty would cover this or the SB-- but mine is EXCLUDED! Doubt I'll ever buy a Honda again considering how UNHELPFUL they were with this.

Pete_Texas

Liberte: Thanks for posting the latest 04-027 Service Bulletin. I have a 2004 EX four cyl sedan, and the radio and heating lights went out last night. After unsuccessfully searching for a blown fuse, I googled the problem and found this forum. My Accord only has 59,000 miles, so I am hoping my local dealer will fix it for free. Will post later with the outcome. If it turns out to be bad news, I will attempt the resistor fix described in this thread, because there's no freaking way I"m paying $700 to fix this.