[huludicidal]

So about a month ago I hit a deer on the interstate. My poor baby sustained about $6k in damages which included the driver's side headlight and everything behind it. They told me that they had to re-wire the headlight because the wiring harness was pretty badly damaged but reassured me that they had an Acura tech do the job. I was out on the freeway during the daytime and attempted to use the flash-to-pass and noticed that the HIDs fired up along with the high-beams. I have never noticed this before and in fact I am almost certain that when the headlights are off and you pull the flash-to-pass switch, only the high beams should flash. Can anyone confirm this for me? As in, can you run out to your car and check it out?

I am looking over the wiring diagram but it isn't clear what should occur since the "control block" and "combination switch control unit" are depicted as black boxes. Thanks in advance!

 

[tottenham12712]

So about a month ago I hit a deer on the interstate. My poor baby sustained about $6k in damages which included the driver's side headlight and everything behind it. They told me that they had to re-wire the headlight because the wiring harness was pretty badly damaged but reassured me that they had an Acura tech do the job. I was out on the freeway during the daytime and attempted to use the flash-to-pass and noticed that the HIDs fired up along with the high-beams. I have never noticed this before and in fact I am almost certain that when the headlights are off and you pull the flash-to-pass switch, only the high beams should flash. Can anyone confirm this for me? As in, can you run out to your car and check it out?

I am looking over the wiring diagram but it isn't clear what should occur since the "control block" and "combination switch control unit" are depicted as black boxes. Thanks in advance!

Both Highs and lows come on if you turn your highs on without the head lights. They work together, Lows fill the lower section of the road, and the highs fill the higher portion of the road. Completely normal.

 

[JTrix215]

He is talking about daytime high beam flash when the low beams are not on. In this case the low beams are not supposed to flash with the high beams. This is bad with the HID low beam setup our cars have.

 

[huludicidal]

He is talking about daytime high beam flash when the low beams are not on. In this case the low beams are not supposed to flash with the high beams. This is bad with the HID low beam setup our cars have.

Yes, this. I didn't think it would be good for HIDs to have such intermittent activity. I have read that bi-xenon systems flash HIDs but they're designed for it.

The flash-to-pass has nothing to do with illuminating the road during the daytime, only to signal other drivers. I have never noticed the HIDs also coming on when I pull the flash-to-pass lever prior to them "fixing" my wiring. That is something I would definitely notice especially because they look really weird since they have that split-second warm-up delay versus halogens when turning them on.

 

[miskywhisky]

They told me that they had to re-wire the headlight because the wiring harness was pretty badly damaged but reassured me that they had an Acura tech do the job.

First mistake, they didn't restore your car to factory condition. Go back to the insurance co and tell them it wasn't fixed properly and you are going to the dealership to have it PROPERLY repaired. This is what you pay for insurance for so **** them for screwing you when you actually need to use it.

 

[huludicidal]

First mistake, they didn't restore your car to factory condition. Go back to the insurance co and tell them it wasn't fixed properly and you are going to the dealership to have it PROPERLY repaired. This is what you pay for insurance for so **** them for screwing you when you actually need to use it.

I'm insured through Liberty Mutual and they have this "preferred repair" program where you can choose one of two options:
1. you can take it to any shop and they'll pay the bill
2. you can take it to a "preferred shop" and they'll pay the bill and give you a lifetime warranty on the repair and all parts will be original from various sources.

I chose option 2 because I hate the stealerships. Anyways, I verified the parts order list and they did in fact get most of the parts straight from the dealership. That doesn't change the fact that something is messed up but that's where the lifetime warranty comes in I guess. Once they're done fixing it again, I am going to Acura to get the ECU recall service done and I will have them look it over.

 

[JTrix215]

Just so you know for next time, I would have done option one. Most reputable shops warranty their work for life as well I believe. And if they painted your car and the color is a bit off, I doubt insurance would pay for someone to repaint your car again vs having a reputable shop do it right the first time.

 

[BluLabelCL9]

:scratch: Weird, they both light up on mine when I pull the stalk to flash. I know on my cousin's 2011 Accord, only the high beams turn on when you flash. Can someone else test this out?

 

[huludicidal]

:scratch: Weird, they both light up on mine when I pull the stalk to flash. I know on my cousin's 2011 Accord, only the high beams turn on when you flash. Can someone else test this out?

Are your lights 100% factory?

Now I'm curious if it's dependent on the year...

 

[huludicidal]

Come on everyone! I'm looking for some data.

 

[tottenham12712]

He is talking about daytime high beam flash when the low beams are not on. In this case the low beams are not supposed to flash with the high beams. This is bad with the HID low beam setup our cars have.

:scratch: Weird, they both light up on mine when I pull the stalk to flash. I know on my cousin's 2011 Accord, only the high beams turn on when you flash. Can someone else test this out?

I have 4 cars on my driveway and every single one does the same thing, with the lights totally off, if you pull the stalk, the high and low beams come on. This is normal.

 

[huludicidal]

Thanks Tott, what years are they?

 

[tottenham12712]

Thanks Tott, what years are they?

01 Toyota highlander
09 Honda fit
13 Mazda CX5
05 TSX

I've honestly never seen a car not behave this way.

Asked a few friends to try as well:

06 scion tc
94 240sx
Mkiv gli (don't know the year)

 

[JTrix215]

Oh wow I stand corrected. Sorry for the misleading info. I need to see this for myself now.

 

[lilaccordrider]

my 04 tsx flashes high and low when the lights arent on...i thought that was normal

 

[huludicidal]

Thanks everyone for the responses. The wiring diagram is ambiguous because although there are separate relay symbols for the high-beams and low-beams, as there always will be, the control block is really a black box so there's no way to tell definitively without really going into figuring out how the control block works.

I have just concluded that this is normal and I have just never noticed it for one reason or another.

 

[whatsanacura]

Yup normal, my 06 does it.

 

[Manae]

My 06 does it as well. Both come on. I was curious at first but figured it was normal.