Confusing Electrical Gremlin

[Crazyjoker77]

okay folks i got a new set of taillights i installed them they use the exact same bulbs that where in my stock taillights. I also have Indigo gauges+3 apillar gauges+halos hooked up to the ILLUMINATION wire in the stereo harness now after i installed the tailights when i turn on my lights my indigo gauges turn on but are about 1/10 the brightness also my volt gauge doesnt lite up at all yet my other 2 apillar gauges do( all the same brand) also my halos are somtimes bright and sometime they fade out.

NOW if i disconect the harness for the tail lights (those little white clips that control the 2 middle bulbs one each side everything works normal. Now i have no reason as to why this is happening as i havent changed any of the electrical work its still in the same stock configuration... all other accesories work like normal.


FYI the illumination wire is hooked up to the tail lamp fuse in the engine bay so all coming from the same power source...

 

[dsmclipse97]

Those stereo wires are pretty tiny... might not flow enough juice. I personaly have a 4 gauge wire running to the trunk for my speakers that everything runs on. This works perfectly because everything i have hooked up only turns on when my Amp turns on, which only turns on when the key is turned. If you dont have subs in the trunk try running a designated wire through the firewall that all your gauges and halos hook up to. Then just leave the taillights the way they are and that should work peachy.

 

[bluetlr2001]

Its probally like you think. You may be drawing too much power from the tail light wire. You may try moving your gauge wires to the drivers kick panel were there is a green/white wire that i use for the parking light wire when i install alarms. I have euro tail lights and have three gauges installed also but none of them run the the illumiination wire on the radio they go to that wire in the kick panel. Also the one that isnt working you may have a blown bulb so i would check that then check the wiring to make sure you dont have a pinched wire or one pulled loose.

 

[Crazyjoker77]

Its probally like you think. You may be drawing to much power from the tail light wire. You may try moving your gauge wires to the drivers kick panel were there is a green/white wire that i use for the parking light wire when i install alarms. I have euro tail lights and have three gauges installed also but none of them run the the illumiination wire on the radio they go to that wire in the kick panel. Also the one that isnt working you may have a blown bulb so i would check that then check the wiring to make sure you dont have a pinched wire or one pulled loose.

Hey bro thing is ive been running it like this for the last year now i didnt change anything other the the housings still the same bulbs pulling the same power. if i undo the clips for the taillights my all my gauges work normal even my volt gauge glows again and my speedo/tach go back to full brightness. Also i went over the wiring and it all seems to be fine but when i plug in the bulbs for the tailights my volt gauge loses illumination indigo gauges dim drasticaly and my halos dim yet my other two gauges still glow full brightness...

 

[dsmclipse97]

Well im not sure how replacing the taillight housing would effect your electrical system but something must have changed and it really sounds like your just drawing too much from those puny wires. Try hooking your gauges to the kick panel like Bluetlr2001 said and see if that works. I didnt think about it before but you could have a partialy blown fuse... that happened to my stereo once and i dont know how it happened but it would just shut off randomly.

 

[luv2rallye]

Sounds like your new set of taillights may not be wired the same as the stock ones (even though they use the same bulbs). For proper 2g gauge light wiring see here: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=241353. Also I would trace that stereo illumination wire to see where it really goes (if it is a positive instead of a negative wire, then you can't use it on your gauge lights since they are almost always negative). A negative wire connects one side of the lights to the dimmer switch or through a switch to ground, while the other side of the light is connected directly to +12V. A positive wire is used to go through a switch to +12V while the other side of the light is connected to ground.