Clearing The Rear Turn Signals on a 4th Gen Prelude
Re-written by: Michael Garofolo (a.k.a. Wide Mouth
Lude)(File Created November 12, 2002)
Original Author of Procedure: Honda Prelude Member Audex (real name
unknown)
Special Thanks to:
Kevin Warkentin (a.k.a. slo mo) for posting the original instructions on
PO.com. Since I decided to take this project on after HP.com closed, Audex's
write up was gone too. If it weren’t for Kevin's post, this write-up would have
died.
If you are looking at this write up, chances are your car's rear end looks
like this:
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to enlarge
This write-up will tell you how to make it look like this:
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to enlarge
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to enlarge
I have since replaced the turn signal bulbs with red ones. The bulbs I bought
have a grayish mirror tint on them so you can't see the red through the lens. I
was going to take pictures this morning but something happened with my digicam.
I hope its just the memory card that’s messed up and not the camera. I should
have that picture up as well as the others I promised by next year (2003)
Suggestion: Purchase a set of taillights from a junkyard and use them as a practice set. I'm not sure what kind of prices they would charge, but if you get them for cheap and your practice set comes out nice, hey, now you have two sets of taillights. Maybee you could clear both sets and sell the second set, whatever you want.
Tools/Materials Needed:
· Phillips Screwdriver
· Flat head screwdriver (as thin as possible)
· Panel Popper (flat head screwdriver can be substituted but it is not recommended as it can cause damage.)
· Wrench (I believe a 10mm…I used "Robo grip" as well as the wrench)
· Heat gun (if you don't have one, u can substitute a hairdryer, the hotter the better. It will get the job done, but it will take longer.)
· some small nails
· Light Diffuser material (I used the cover of a fluorescent light. You know, the kind they install in suspended ceilings.)
· Dremal with sanding bit and a cutting bit
· Circular Saw (dremal can be substituted for cutting diffuser but it tends to crack it)
· Flat File (obviously not a nail file) OR Sand paper OR circular sander (or all three if u have them)
· Silicon caulking
· Small weights
· A Sharpie (those thin magic markers with the pointed tip)
· Exacto knife
· Lots and lots of patience (and a spare car, this may take you a couple of days if you want to do a good job)
Step 1
Read this write up all the way through BEFORE starting. Don't assume you know what to do. I made this mistake and when I got stuck, I read through the original write up and found something I needed to do.
Step 2
Ok, First we have to remove the taillight from the car. Go in through your
trunk and open the panel in the trunk lining for the taillight and you should
see this:
(Pictures are of left taillight)
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to enlarge
Disconnect the wiring harness.
Remove the screws labeled in green.
Remove the white piece. CAUTION: The three bulbs are attached to this so be
careful not to break them.
Using the wrench, remove the nuts labeled in red.
The screws at the bottom have orange pieces that clip to a wire bundle, which
secures it. Use the panel popper to pop off the orange pieces to remove the
screws.
It should now look like this
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to enlarge
Step 3
Now come to the visible half of your taillight and pull it
out a little ways to create a gap.
Put a little muscle into it because there are snaps holding it into the body.
You can see where the snaps are in this picture.
click
to enlarge
There are also one or two at the bottom.
Once you have created a small gap, take your panel popper and wrap it in thin
cloth (so it doesn't scratch the paint) and pry off the taillight.
This should be easy, but be careful not to let the taillight fall, it WILL
crack.
Now that you have the tail light housing removed get yourself a comfy chair at
a workbench of some sort (I used the kitchen table covered with newspaper).
Step 4
Set your taillight on the table along with your nails, heat
gun/hair dryer and flat head. Start heating the bottom edge of the taillight
(shown in the picture).
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to enlarge
This heats the epoxy holding it together and allows you to pull it apart.
Do not hold the heat in one place for more than 8 seconds or it will melt the
black housing and/or the red shell.
The method that worked best for me was a slow sweeping motion over the whole
side.
There are some caveats to this step. In the picture above, I have labeled
places (in green) were the red shell kind of
clips into the black housing which prevents them from separating.
I used the flat head to raise the black housing up after heating up the side
and I placed straightened paper clips in the gap. (See picture below)
click to enlarge
once you have done all that to the bottom edge, you can then pry apart the
taillight.
This will be hard so don't be afraid to put some muscle into it. Reheating will
make it easier.
Once it starts coming apart, you can use the flat head to get more leverage,
but be careful not to crack the red shell.
Once you have the two halves completely separated at the bottom half, place
nails in the gap to keep them from coming back together.
Also cut any strings of epoxy with the exacto knife.
Step 5
Now work on this side. (Green arrow)
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to enlarge
Again we have the problem with the clips but they aren't as hard to deal with
as you have some more flexibility because one side is separated already.
So heat this side up and pry it apart as well.
You can use the screwdriver on this side as well.
Again, place nails in the gaps to keep it separated.
(While you do this, nails may fall out of the bottom. Don't worry because by
this time the epoxy in that section has already cooled and it will stay.)
Now start heating up the last edge.
DO NOT use the screwdriver on this side because if you crack the red
housing, everyone will see.
Suck it up and pull that sucker apart with your bare hands.
Step 6
Now take a short break. By now your arms should be a bit tired, maybe your fingers hurt (I know mine did). The hard part is over.
Step 7
Now take the black housing and flip it over into this position.
click
to enlarge
Using the handle of the screwdriver, pop out the white/amber lens from the back
of the assembly.
Don't be afraid to use some force, it doesn't crack easily.
If you do crack it, however, you will have trouble making a new light diffuser.
Step 8
Once you have the lens out, lay it on top of the new diffuser material and
push down on it to flatten it out.
Then trace its outline with the marker. (You don't have to trace around the
little pieces that jut out of the sides. You'll see what I mean)
Get the line as close as possible to the edge of the lens.
The closer the better fit your new diffuser will have.
(Picture for this step coming soon.)
Step 9
Now take your diffuser material to the circular saw (or take your dermal).
Note: This creates a lot of plastic shavings, so don't do it in the house.
If you are using the circular saw, you can easily make the straight cuts.
Try to leave a little extra with the marker still on it and be careful not to
cut anything inside the outline because it will leave a gap in the taillight.
If you don't have the saw, use the dremal's cutting bit to achieve the same
results as described with the circular saw.
Now that you have all your straight cuts, use the dermal cutting bit to cut
around the corners.
Again, try to leave a little bit of marker on there. (Picture for this step
coming soon.)
Optional Step
This gives your custom taillight an even better look. Use your Phillips
screwdriver to remove the metal reflectors in the turn signal and reverse
light.
Now use the cutting bit of the dermal to remove the black housing that divides
the two lights.
Remove enough so that when you re-install the reflectors, you can bend the
adjacent flaps flat.
Doing so allows the light from either bulb to illuminate the entire lens
instead of just a section.
It also eliminates the slight appearance of a sectioned lens (noticeable only
up close) that will still exist if you do not do this.
This gives your custom look an even more custom appearance but it is not
necessary to make an awesome looking taillight. (Picture for this step coming
soon.)
Step 10
Once you have the basic shape cut out, use the file/sandpaper/circular
sander to shave away to excess.
The circular sander works the quickest.
While doing this, make sure you hold the material as close to the area you are
sanding to prevent it from cracking.
Also take your time. Patience will pay off big time here.
Make sure the edges are even and smooth, and that there is no more marker left
on the material. (Picture for this step coming soon.)
Step 11
Now since I forgot to take the picture of the light with it taken apart, use
your imagination here.
I have outlined in green a black housing for
the turn signal/reverse light lens.
click
to enlarge
Place your taillight on the table with that part facing up.
See if your new lens fits. If it does, GREAT. If it’s too big, try sanding in
the spots that keep it from fitting. If it’s too small, try again.
When you have a lens that fits, take your silicon and apply it around the edge
of the new lens you made.
Place it into its spot and puts some weights on top of it so it adheres to the
curved surface. (Picture for this step coming soon.)
Step 12
While you are waiting for this to dry, take the red shell and clean off the
excess epoxy by heating it and scraping it off with the exacto knife.
You can see all the excess I got here (the epoxy is the gray stuff):
click
to enlarge
once the lens is done drying, do the same to the black housing.
DO NOT remove all of the epoxy. You
need some to hold the taillight together.
Keep some of this extra epoxy around because you may need it later.
If you do not perform this step, putting the taillight back together will be
difficult.
Step 13
Now put the two halves together heating up the epoxy as you go until it
looks the way it did before you started.
Now there are going to be some gaps where those little red clips are.
Take some of the extra epoxy, heat it up and stick it over top of them to seal
the taillight.
This prevents moisture from getting in and making for a foggy taillight.
Now you can admire your work, but you are only half done.
Go back to step 1 and repeat for the other taillight.
This one should be easier and come out better than the first because now you
have experience.
If you would like to view the original write up (does not include pictures) you
can view it in this thread on PreludeOnline.com's discussion board: Original
Write Up