I recently purchased a 91 Honda Civic and gave it to my son. I then purchased a 93 Honda Civic to drive myself and eventually give to my daughter. Problem with BOTH vehicles is when it is cold outside, the running (tail) lights and dash lights won't light up until the car is warm. The colder it is the longer it takes. The brake lights and blinkers (rear) still work, it is just the running lights and dash lights. I have seen it take a few seconds (55 F) to 2 minutes (25 F). It is common problem between both cars, and slightly more pronounced on the 91. Any help? Easy fixes? Any fixes? Thanks, Mike.

Interesting question. I have seen what you are talking about with garage fluorescent lights in the winter. Have you tried replacing the bulbs with new ones in one vehicle, to see if it makes a difference. You might be experiencing greater moisture in the sockets, as the temperature drops, which has caused micro-corrosion to form. Try removing the bulbs and spraying WD-40 in the sockets, to displace moisture and retard corrosion. Applying silicone dielectric grease to the tips of bulbs might also help. Let me know if these suggestions make any difference.

Yes, I tried replacing all the tail lights in the fashion you mentioned. It still didn't seem to make a difference. Thanks.

Since the easy solution wasn't meant to be:

A control circuit is built into the dash lights brightness controller.

1. Carefully pry the switches out of the dashboard, then disconnect the 3-P connector from the dash lights brightness controller.

2. Inspect the connector terminals to be sure they are all making good contact.
. If the terminals are bent, loose, or corroded, repair them as necessary, and recheck the system.

. If the terminals look OK, check for possible poor grounds, an open in wires, a blown under-dash fuse, or a faulty combination light switch. It will be just you and your DMM to figure out appropriate tests.

. If everything appears OK, replace the brightness controller.

Locate the daytime running lights control unit under the dash and check connections. If following the basic tests above doesn't indicate a problem, replace the control unit. There may also be a daytime running light resistor under the hood. This could prove very challenging.

I have the same problem on my '91 Civic DX, only it takes up to 10 minutes for my running/dash lights to come on in cold wather. Any answers for this problem will help me too.

How do you remove the dash light brightness control switch in a 93 honda civic