desolateboosted
15+ Year Contributor
- 192
- 5
- Jan 20, 2005
-
Twin City,
Minnesota
Ok guys I'm at a dead end. I've checked the forums and read some good info on parking light/dash light issues. Problem started out of nowhere. It was while I was driving the car normally. Dash lights just started to flicker until they went off completely. Car is a 1999 GST.
My parking lights/dash lights has died and has not able to come on ever since. I checked the basics, fuses, looked for wires, etc. All the fuses (especially the ones around "lights") and even the good ones were swapped out for others. All the fuses are good inside the interior fuse box. All the fuses are also good in the engine bay fuse box. There are only two fuse boxes? Next I checked the engine bay fuse box for any wires that might have been worn out or cut going into and out of the fuse box, but they are all good. No wires look damaged or cut from the fuse box leading right into the solid shielding/wrapping.
Next, dimmer switch. I went straight for it and bypassed the dimmer switch all together. There's three wires, trick is to connect two wires and I should get full power to the dash. I forget which two I connected but I read up before trying it and made sure to correctly connect the two. Still no dice, hell I even tried to connect all the possible combinations just in case I didn't get the correct pair. Just in case I didn't blow any fuses at this point I double checked and all fuses still looked good.
Then I decided to send 12v signals right into the dimmer switch wires. There are three of them. I forgot the colors right now so I'll call them wires A,B, and C. If I send a 12v power source to wire A the dash lights will come on. If I send a 12v power source to wire B, it blows the engine bay 10amp light fuse (positive to positive?). Lastly if I send a power source to wire C the parking lights come on. Here's the kicker, if I send a power source to A and C only the parking lights come on, when in theory the dash and parking lights should come on. Sending power to both wires only turns the parking lights on. So while both wires are being powered, as soon as I subtract power to the parking light wire the dash lights come back on. This really confuses the F**K outta me.
To see if there is any voltage from these dimmer wires I use a volt meter and test all three. After checking, there is no voltage from all three, but I'm assuming one of these wires has to supply power. If I turn the switch all the way on (to headlights) the headlights come on just fine. High beams work, and so does turn signals, but still, no parking/dash lights.
Maybe the switch is bad. Contacted a local and got a used switch in previously working condition. I made sure it was for my year as well (1999). Still after swapping out switches, no dash or parking lights.
To make sure my radio wasn't shorting anything out I also took it out while diagnosing all of this. Radio wires look good. No wires are open and touching a ground source, and there shouldn't be any reason they would be.
The car did have an aftermarket alarm installed previously, but when I bought the car most of the alarm stuff was taken out. I removed most of what was left and double checked each wire going in and out. They all looked fine.
Alright where do I go from here? I've tried looking at the shop manual as well, but the wiring diagrams look confusing. Anyone know this lighting system inside out? HELP.
My parking lights/dash lights has died and has not able to come on ever since. I checked the basics, fuses, looked for wires, etc. All the fuses (especially the ones around "lights") and even the good ones were swapped out for others. All the fuses are good inside the interior fuse box. All the fuses are also good in the engine bay fuse box. There are only two fuse boxes? Next I checked the engine bay fuse box for any wires that might have been worn out or cut going into and out of the fuse box, but they are all good. No wires look damaged or cut from the fuse box leading right into the solid shielding/wrapping.
Next, dimmer switch. I went straight for it and bypassed the dimmer switch all together. There's three wires, trick is to connect two wires and I should get full power to the dash. I forget which two I connected but I read up before trying it and made sure to correctly connect the two. Still no dice, hell I even tried to connect all the possible combinations just in case I didn't get the correct pair. Just in case I didn't blow any fuses at this point I double checked and all fuses still looked good.
Then I decided to send 12v signals right into the dimmer switch wires. There are three of them. I forgot the colors right now so I'll call them wires A,B, and C. If I send a 12v power source to wire A the dash lights will come on. If I send a 12v power source to wire B, it blows the engine bay 10amp light fuse (positive to positive?). Lastly if I send a power source to wire C the parking lights come on. Here's the kicker, if I send a power source to A and C only the parking lights come on, when in theory the dash and parking lights should come on. Sending power to both wires only turns the parking lights on. So while both wires are being powered, as soon as I subtract power to the parking light wire the dash lights come back on. This really confuses the F**K outta me.
To see if there is any voltage from these dimmer wires I use a volt meter and test all three. After checking, there is no voltage from all three, but I'm assuming one of these wires has to supply power. If I turn the switch all the way on (to headlights) the headlights come on just fine. High beams work, and so does turn signals, but still, no parking/dash lights.
Maybe the switch is bad. Contacted a local and got a used switch in previously working condition. I made sure it was for my year as well (1999). Still after swapping out switches, no dash or parking lights.
To make sure my radio wasn't shorting anything out I also took it out while diagnosing all of this. Radio wires look good. No wires are open and touching a ground source, and there shouldn't be any reason they would be.
The car did have an aftermarket alarm installed previously, but when I bought the car most of the alarm stuff was taken out. I removed most of what was left and double checked each wire going in and out. They all looked fine.
Alright where do I go from here? I've tried looking at the shop manual as well, but the wiring diagrams look confusing. Anyone know this lighting system inside out? HELP.
