'00 Accord SE Clock

Just bought a 2000 Accord SE today, on the drive home I noticed that the
digital clock isn't illuminated. Do I have a burned out bulb or does it not
illuminate?

Thanks in advance

Brian Drake
Charlotte, NC - USA

 

Pull the whole clock and change the little bulb (circular). cost: $4.50.

alain

 

Alain,

Are you sure about this? I own a 2000 Accord LX 4-Dr, bought it new
and the clock was *never* illuminated right from day one. It bugs the
h*ll out of me that they would design a car like this and I always
switch on the map light at night to see the time. Most accessory
clocks I saw in stores that said "back-light" also required a button
press for light so I never saw the point of getting one of those.

Recently I same across a post in some forum saying that a lot of
Accords have a defective clock bulb, so I called a friend who owns a
2000 Accord LX (same as mine) and he said his never illuminated
either. And he always thought it is supposed to be like that (just
like me).

And when I tried to investigate it DIY style, I could not pry the
clock out with a flat head screw driver. There is no "clip" under the
hazard light button as written in the manuals. I have looked with a
flashlight. If I try to slide a business card under the clock, it goes
in maybe 1/4 inch and then hits the solid plastic after that.

Believe me I have spent alot of time and energy on it this weekend but
I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get the d*mn clock out
so I could see if there is a bulb. I have looked at several set of
directions (for stereo removal -- they begin by removing the clock)
and all of them say just in one sentence to remove the clock by prying
it from bottom with a flathead screw driver. One post in this NG
mentioned a clip under the hazard light button and another on the
other side. But there ARE no clips whatsoever in my car. It looks
like, and I know it sounds crazy, that it is fixed. My only option
seems to be to pay a Honda technician $40 to fix that bulb.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.
BC

 

Drive into the Dealer Service door, and ask them to get it off for you.
A good service writer would be happy to help you. bob

 

I have one and the clock is illuminated the moment you fire up the car.

Randy

 

Thanks for the post Bryan... I spoke to my sales guy today and he admitted
that he didn't know if it was supposed to illuminate ! (he's new so I'll
cut him some slack).... I am going to call the service dept and see what
they say, if I get anything decent from them, Ill post.

thanks again

bd

 

fyi Bryan, I called the service guys and they walked me through it, the
clock popped right out of the dash... I just gently placed a flat head in
the seam between the bottom of the clock and the dash, then twisted gently,
I then finished it off by doing the same at the seam closest to either air
vent.... it took like 10 seconds....

bd

 

Absolutely 100% positive. Pry the clock out from the bottom with a
small straight blade screwdriver. Disconnect the two connectors. Pull
the tiny light out from the back. Replace with a new one ($2 at my
dealer). Reverse the procedure. Done.

Yes, the clock light is supposed to be on all the time when the ignition
is on.

 

The clock on my 98 accord LX used to be illuminated and then it
stopped. A few weeks ago it lit up again(for a few hours) after
having been off for months. Go figure...

 

You are welcome!

Meanwhile.. the battle continues. I know I have an oil change
appointment for this Saturday and I am gonna get help from the pros
but I tried to pry out the clock again today. Of course, The Clock
won! <Sigh>

I used the small screwdriver in an eye-glasses repair kit to pry it
from the sides. The screwdriver goes in the place where the clock
meets the dash but lifting it gives me the feeling that the plastic
face is going to break or chip (of course there is the overriding
concern of getting the dashboard scratched too) so I cannot use a lot
of force. But I am getting frustrated. If Saturday does not come soon
enough I am afraid I might break something. SOMEBODY PLEASE STOP ME! I
have never been defeated at this game before!!

 

The screwdriver from an eyeglass repair kit is way too small. You need
something bigger. Get the biggest one you have that still has a thin enough
blade to slip into the crack. Wrap your screwdriver in a piece of old
t-shirt to keep it from scratching anything.

 

Thanks but a couple of questions:

1. What size screw driver did you use? I have tried 1/4 and (IIRC) 3/8
bits but they seem too big to me.

2. Did you place it (first) directly in the middle of the clock?

3. When you twisted, did it move out a little?

Thanks, gonna try it again in a few minutes
bc

 

Thanks but a couple of questions:

1. What size screw driver did you use? I have tried 1/4 and (IIRC) 3/8
bits but they seem too big to me.

No idea, sorry but bigger than the eyeglass repair tool

2. Did you place it (first) directly in the middle of the clock?
yes, directly below

3. When you twisted, did it move out a little?
yeah, but the trick is getting it to pull 'out' towards you, not 'up' (or
it will break / mar the unit). When you start twisting (gently), start
pulling the screwdriver towards you, using the pressure of the twisting
motion to in effect 'pull' the clock towards you..... let me know what
happens

 

It's a good idea not to pry out plastic things in your car if it is cold -
the plastic is much more brittle. If it's cold outside, run the car a bit or
go for a drive to warm up the interior before you try to pry the clock out.

 

The best way is to take out the center trim piece. there are a couple of
phillips screws on the bottom. Then it should come out pretty easy

 

Thanks again, Brian. But mine is probably stuck. I tried exactly as
you said -- however, I might add that I did not use too much force. So
it could just be me. Since a Honda service person knows how it comes
out, he may go all out and pop it out in a second. But I could not do
it. When I try to pull the screw driver towards me, it seems to lift
the clock up and looks like it might damage the dash but the clock
stays put right where it was. I have so many little marks on the dash
now that I am kicking myself in the back for being so obsessed with
it. And yes, I did use a business card to protect the dash. The marks
are despite that.

I am going for an oil change tomorrow so I will ask for help. Thanks
and take care.

bc

 

No, it's not. In fact, you CANNOT take the center trim piece out
WITHOUT taking the clock out first!

Just put a thin screwdriver underneat the bottom of the clock, and pry
gently. voila.

(Once the clock is out, there's a screw behind it. If you unscrew that
screw, and take out the two vertical screws at the bottom of the trim
piece, you can then yank that trim piece off. This is how you get
access to the radio.)

 

IT WORKED FINALLY!

For the record, I was using the wrong type of screwdriver. I was using
those round changeable-bits type with a flat head (of course) 1/4"
bit, but that was causing more damage to the dash than it was doing
anything for the clock. Of course prying on the sides with the
eyeglasses screwdriver didn't help either.

Finally, I stopped at a Target and picked up a really flat 4" long
with a 1/4" head for a dollar. About 3 minutes with that puppy did the
job.

The clock bulb was about $2.50 at the local Honda dealer and changing
it was real easy. The clock lights up really beautifully -- can't
believe I used the car without the clock light for more than 3 years.

Thanks everyone.
bc.

 

The truth about it is, is that for some reason, and maybe it is because of
cheap bulbs or something, or like too much exposure to heat to the bulbs
but, almost all Accords 1998 to 2002 are affected .
And I should know, as I am a service advisor here at a local Honda service
center. Should Honda do something about it? Maybe. Will they? Probably not.
Funny thing about it though, all the ones that come into our shop with that
problem with the bulb burned out were built in America! Hmmmmmm?

 

Thanks for sharing that. A few searches in the newsgroups told me
pretty much the same story (as far as problems are concerned). My
friend who bought the same Accord I did (and on the same day) also had
the same problem. That basically said to me that it was a very common
problem. However, rather than being mad at Honda engineers, I feel
good that at least they neglected only a small light bulb and not some
crucial expensive part.

IOW, I forgive them ;-)

The service teams OTOH, could have been alot nicer about this. Since
it is a common and easy to fix problem, they should not be asking for
$25 to fix it.

bc