Cargo light - how is turned on please?
 

Good evening,
Quick question - how is the cargo light activated 2008 Fit Sport?


My wife just bought a 2008 Honda Fit Sport and loves it. The only problem we have is that the interior light in the trunk area does not work. I thought simple enough, just change the bulb, but it turned out the bulb is fine, I think. It is marked as 12V, 5W. It showed 3.5 ohms resistance and a careful examination showed the filament was intact, I also noted what looks like a resistor soldered onto the bulb holder. I then checked voltage at the wiring harness where it connects to the bulb holder and saw just a few millivolts so I'm thinking the problem is that the light is not being turned on. I don't have the manual yet so can't find how the light is activated, I opened the drivers door, tailgate etc. Thanks for any advice.
Tony

Hey Tony, there is no actual switch. the light turns on whenever you open the trunk. you can instal one with a switch ( from an Acura MDX) direct pnp

Thanks
 

it's helpful to know how it's supposed to work...the problem I'm having is mine doesn't work at all. I looked around the tailgate area and didn't see a microswitch or anything in the frame so maybe there's a motion sensor or tilt switch of some sort, do you happen to know exactly where the activation switch or sensor is located?


I was told that the car had some rear-end damage, which was repaired before we bought it, and I'm thinking maybe the repair may not have been completed correctly so I'd like to eliminate that possibility.


Thanks again.

On my 2012, at least, the switch that turns the light on seems to be built into the latch mechanism on the tailgate. The light is on when the latch is unlatched. If the tailgate is wide open but the latch is shut with a screwdriver shank or whatever, the light turns out.

It sounds to me as though there's some minor problem with the repair work...maybe they merely forgot to plug the wire in on the latch mechanism.

My 2010 is that way as well. You could start with WD40 on the latch mechanism just in case it's not fully engaging/disengaging. This trick always worked on my truck when the dome light would periodically stop working.