fixing the dreaded 4th gen cup holder with a paper clip

[IALuder]

This is for all those who are lucky enough to have the cup-holder in their Prelude console, but the pin lock went somewhere and now the lid stays open constantly.

As long as you have the original cup-holder and the small metal pressure plate that holds the now missing pin lock in place, you can make your own replacement pin lock. This isn't rocket science people. You can do this. It works. I did it. I just did it again and it still works.....and I just did it one more time.

You will need:

One LARGE metal paper clip. (NOT the cute, colored, plastic coated ones) (A small paper clip will work but it's not real sturdy)
Needle-nose pliers.
Tape measure or ruler.

Measure the paper clip to 1 & 1/8ths inches. Score it or mark it at that measure. Using the cutter part of the pliers, cut the paper clip at the mark.

Put about 1/16th of the end of the paper clip in the pliers, while holding the pliers closed on the end of the paper clip, push the paper clip straight down. Do the same for the other end until you have a clip that looks like the one in pic (#1)

Put one end of the now bent paper clip in the hole (#2) and the other end in the track groove (#3)

Put the pressure plate on (#4) and tighten the screw. (This plastic strips out easy, so don't over tighten)

If you did it right, your cup holder should stay closed when you push it down and should open when you push it again.