Just recently my tail lights, parking lights, dashboard lights and console lights all went out, but the head lights, turn signals, curtousy light, liscense plate light, ashtray light, glove box light, brake lights and back up lights all still work. I checked all the fuses, and replaced them all regardless if they looked blown or not. I'm a newb to mobile electrics, but I don't think those lights run off of any relays so I didn't try that (there's also only 3 relays under the dash I believe, and one of them is for the turn signals). I bought a new light switch, didn't solve the problem. Since it's my only car, I tried hotwiring them and it worked - one wire from the red power wire to the yellow headlight wire, and one wire from the power wire to the brown tail light wire - but it eventually fried that brown wire, luckily though I don't think it fried anything else because everything else all still works. So now I have a fried wire to deal with. I started to rip the dashboard apart, but quickly figured out that that was way easier said then done. Postponing that, and hoping that I don't have to do it, I'm looking for some help/advice/diagrams. You'd think it would be easy to trace a fried wire, but not in that mess.
Is it possible for me to just rewire the whole tail light situation with a diagram, or is where ever that brown wire from the switch harness leading not working? Is it something simple? i.e. some sort of relay or chip or something? Regardless, I'm still going to have to rewire that brown tail light wire, so I'm going to need a diagram or something. I don't know, besides stereo systems this is my first encounter with more then minor electrical problems. ANY help/advice/input would be GREATLY appreciated.
P.S.: Are those $18 dollar car wiring CD ROMs worth the money? The ones that say they have all color codes from 70 - 05, and over 7,500 vehicles? Maybe I need some sort of book?
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16+ years I've survived in this world, and I've come to believe cars are the only thing worth living for.
Ouch man! Hey, are you a member of V6Z24.com? If not, I suggest you try there, as the guys there are 100% Cavalier/Sunbird oriented!
Im on there with the same name as here...
This happened with my 92 Cutlass Supreme. It was the headlight switch on the dash. $2 Junkyard repair.
Oh, it's worse now... I finally fixed the tail lights, I don't even know how, but I did. Either it was Autozone's junk and when I got a Napa switch it fixed it, or it was just the fried wire all together that I rewired. Anyway the TAIL LIGHTS work, but after I did all this and put it back together... Guess what! >=( The friggin' vents/heater/defrost NONE of that will work, no power to it at all. Um... The driver's side parking/turn signals do not work, although when I turn the hazard lights on they work for the driver's side.... Oh, to top it off when I turn the high beams on the headlights just go off all together. I'm about ready to unload AR-15 rounds on the peice of shhh. -_- But I'll check that site.
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16+ years I've survived in this world, and I've come to believe cars are the only thing worth living for.
Sounds like you got yourself some gremlins...