1989 Buick Park Avenue Opera or Coach Lamps

Hello people. I have just recently purchased an '89 buick park avenue with only 90k miles for only $600. The car is fully loaded with every option except the moonroof and the lumbar power seats. When I got the car, some things were not working correctly, and was going to ask you guys if you had any ideas for me. Next, my opera or coach lamps are not working. My '83 Pontiac Grand Prix has opera lamps that has a light bulb behind it, but I noticed when I took the panel out, the light is part of the panel, and that the bulb cannot be changed, or its an LED bulb. Whatever the case, any ideas would greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I had a 95 Roadmaster with opera lamps that are of the same ilk as those you have in your Park Ave. That is to say they are electroluminescent. They have a very thin "tape" behind the lens and some form of inverter either built into the back of the lamp or it may be separate.

When I belonged to a Roadmaster message board (not on Auto Forums :uhoh: ), the opera lamps were a very popular topic of discussion. Essentially, the problem with this type of opera lamp (versus the sort that uses a light bulb) is that when it goes out, it is out. But often, they don't go out completely. For instance, my passenger side had about half that was "grainy" and no-longer illuminated. Eventually, the grainy part took over the remainder of the lamp and I replaced it with a lamp from a salvage yard. Nobody has found a way to revive them. There was talk about a company that sells a similar tape, but trying to find it with the electrical leads and in the size/shape necessary wasn't possible, and cutting it to size seemed to lead to failure of the tape.

GM used this sort of opera lamp in several of their cars (Roadmasters, Park Avenues, Cadillac Brougham and others). Others on the message boards checked out their forums to see what fixes they may have found and it appeared there wasn't any other fix but to replace the lamp. One guy on CarDomain had converted his Park Avenue's opera lamps to using small (a la side marker lamp) light bulbs (but he used red :confused: ). That involved him building his own base, though. It worked, but did not have the same "elegance" that the electroluminescent blue light that the original lamp gave.

I would check the local salvage yards, but you will likely find a few duds amongst those that work. Look for good, solid-looking lamps and hope for the best. You can also check eBay, as I have seen them from time to time. Usually, the seller will say whether they work or whether they are unsure of their state.

Good luck. Sounds like you got a nice car, though. I think you'll enjoy it :grinyes: .