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Old 07-13-2004, 07:21 AM   #16
e2helper
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Re: no lights in dash panel

That is unfortunate

Well if you only moved the wiring going to the rear lamp then as you say maybe something in harness chafed (or still something else wrong with that rear lamp). I know these harness branches could get tangled in the mounting attachment for lamp. So for now I would stay focused on whatever portion of the harness you handled and the rear lamp (which side was it?).

As a test you could completely disable the tail lamp feed to this rear lamp and drive it for a couple days to see if problem goes away which would isolate whether problem is just with the lamp or somewhere else. This would be done by "backing out" the brown wire going into cavity "D" of the rear lamp connector. You would have to put some electrical tape over the terminal to keep it from shorting out when removed.

To remove the wire you would need to temporarily take off the plastic retailer on back of connector which helps retain wires and then depress a tang on the terminal you want to remove from the front in order to back out terminal (need a very small tool to do this). Push the tang on terminal back in place so when you reinstall it snaps back into connector.

The only problem with pulling terminals out of sealed connectors (as well as taking a bulb out your lamp) is that is messing up the sealing of the lamp assembly against water intrusion. So these are things you can only try temporarily.

In regards to the bulb you removed, did it look like a filament was burned open, melted base, heavy corrosion on terminals, or did everything look OK? I think this bulb is a #3057 if you need to get another one

Finally I think you said you were still having problems with headlights and park lights being on during daytime. Since your Service Vehicle Soon light was NOT also on, it somewhat narrows down the problem. Likely it is an issue with Ambient Light Sensor or wiring for sensor have open circuit or short to ground. Take a look at the light sensor

http://www.geocities.com/raj380/mali...bientlight.pdf
There is a potential it might have fallen out of its mounting on defroster duct and is stuck sampling light inside your instrument panel (where it is always dark)

Enough for now
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Old 07-13-2004, 06:11 PM   #17
chvydriver
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OK... I am going to try disconnecting the brown wire. One interesting thing I notice about the socket that housed the bulb I pulled out. I can see and smell burnt plastic. The connector in the socket is also somewhat browned... it appears from burning. So it appears that is where the short is? On the other hand, the bulb appears fine.

One concern I have is your comment on sealing of the lamp assembly... does that mean I eventually have to seal the assembly?

What I meant about the headlights was that it appeared to be working normally (when the fuse is not shorted)... that is, I can turn it on and off including the parking lamps... When I turn it on during the daytime, the radio clock is hard to see.

Back to work now... that is, poking around the car
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Old 07-13-2004, 07:47 PM   #18
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Re: no lights in dash panel

Oh, OK so when fuse not shorting everything sounds like working as expected - I didn't realize you were able to control headlamps in daytime - cool

I kind of forgot what the rear lamp assembly on Malibu looks in regards to how the bulbs and socket work so maybe there is not an issue if you leave a bulb out in regards to sealing. I now seem to remember there is a seal around the whole assembly with bulbs that snaps into the lamp so removing a bulb probably no big deal. However the wire I suggested you remove will cause a leak path into the lamp assembly so this is only a short term test. If that resolves the problem I am sure you could find something to plug the open cavity - however we haven't been having the greatest luck yet so we'll see what happens.

It might be that there was poor retention of bulb in the socket leading to high resistance and heat build-up which caused the damage you are seeing. I know that I have seen an awful lot of this body style that don't have all 4 stop lamps working. Don't know how this could be causing the intermittent tail lamp short but I know there is a network of "metal frets" in this assembly and maybe one somehow is now shorting out against a ground due to this other damage.
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Old 07-13-2004, 08:29 PM   #19
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I couldn't get the brown wire out. I depressed the tang (by this you mean the contact pin for the wire right?) and removed the
plastic retailer on back of connector but when I try to pull out the brown wire, the tang (the side that is not depressed) got caught in the plastic of the connector... it dug right into the plastic so its hard to get it out. So I tried the test with all the wires still in the connector, but the connector is removed from the plastic moulding that houses all 4 sockets for the builds. The first fuse I put in only lasted less than 1 min. I forget how I got the fuse to blow... whether I turned on the lights or stepped on the brakes. The second fuse I put in didn't blow yet. I'll see how long it lasts and pay extra attention when it blows (ie: the Service Vehicle Soon warning light will go on).

BTW... the bulb that is not working and where I see the burnt mark is the left hand side brake lights... the outer most bulb of the 2 brake light bulbs.
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Old 07-15-2004, 06:32 AM   #20
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Re: no lights in dash panel

But you don't want to drive around with your rear lamp disconnected because then the turn signal, back-up and remaining stop lamp on that side doesn't work. I could send you something (a small wiring jumper) next week that would give the same effect as backing out just the brown wire (although I am starting to doubt this lamp is causing this problem now based on last post). If interested PrivateMessage me with an address to send a jumper to.
Reason is:
If you really had the wiring harness unplugged from this lamp and the fuse still blew anyways then the problem is elsewhere and at this point we might just have to give up finding problem . My next suggestion would have been more invasive (disconnect battery, remove underhood electrical center and individually measure each park lamp circuit at underhood electrical center connectors from it looking for something that has too low of a resistance to ground). This would be more difficult than removing rear lamp assembly (which is supposed to be something a customer can do to replace bulbs) and require use of a tool like a digital ohmmeter.
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Old 07-16-2004, 05:34 PM   #21
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Yep... I found that out when I started to driver. I managed to disconnect the brown wire and the light blue/black wire which is
the power to the left side brake lights now. Actually the brown wire kind of broke off but I guess it has the same effect. I was able to remove the light blue/black wire properly though.

I have a digital multimeter. If you can give me some instructions, I can try to take those measurements.

One observation I have is that the last two times the fuse blew seems to be when its dark enough and the lights automatically turn on. Does that mean anything?
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Old 07-17-2004, 06:51 AM   #22
e2helper
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Re: no lights in dash panel

Well that means that it requires the park/tail lamp circuit to be energized to blow fuse which makes sense but doesn't help.

I looked what I provided you already and you have everything you need for schematics (but as a reminder).
http://www.geocities.com/raj380/mali...buextlight.pdf
The first page is one we are initially interested in.

This shows how the park lamp circuit gets is distributed inside the vehicle. Since this is a little easier to access I would start here rather than underhood for next step.

It might be a good idea to disconnect negative battery cable at battery before proceding. This is the safest way to disconnect battery power from your vehicle (by the way)

Here are more details on what are called pinouts for each of the electrical centers connector in vehicle
http://www.geocities.com/raj380/mali.../becpinout.pdf

This helps you better understand the pinout and what each connector looks like. We are focusing on Fuse Block Right IP, C3 (pages 10-12) and circuit #9

I would recommend first locating the right hand IP electrical center

http://www.geocities.com/raj380/mali...icalcenter.pdf

Just disconnect the one visible connector (C3) -it is bolted on and requires 7 mm driver. You don't need to disassembly any further. Then probe the 3 cavities of that connector for 9 circuit with your multimeter that go to the rear lighting in vehicle for resistance to ground (there should be some ground ring terminal in area you are working in). The cavities are A4 (left rear lamp), B4 (license lamp) and C4 (right rear lamp). I don't know what resistances you are going to see so report back. Anything that is < 1 ohm will be suspicious. It is possible the problem is not in these circuits but somewhere else but check these first. Before you put this connector back in place also probe one of the corresponding blades of the electrical center itself that connect to any of these terminals in the harness connector and measure resistance to ground on it. If you didn't see any low resistances on the wires you measured likely this circuit will show <1 ohm but it is going to rest of vehicle so more diagnosis is required.

The next step will be to remove this electrical center from IP (see instructions) so that you can disconnect connector C2 and probe the wiring in these 4 cavities (A9, B9, C9, C10). Same thing, resistance to ground. Look for something <1 ohm

It is unfortunate the brown wire broke off going to your left lamp cavity D (park lamp). That is going to have to be repaired at some point. You should reinstall the light blue/black wire back into connector cavity A. That wire is used for the Left Rear Turn Signal.
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Old 07-31-2004, 07:11 PM   #23
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I finally have some time to go back to this.

I managed to measure the resistence of the cavities A4
B4, and C4. They all appear normal. Nothing below 50 ohm.

I couldn't measure A9, B9, C9, C10 though. Do I have to
remove the glove compartment to disconnect connector C2
I couldn't figure out how to do it.

I disabled the power at A4 for now to see if the problem
would still occur.

A thought crossed my mind. I was wondering if it is possible
to install 10 Amp fuses at A4, B4, C4, A9, B9, C9, and C10.
If the 10 Amp fuse blows the next time the short occurs,
this will help narrow down the problem. Do you think this is
do-able?
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Old 08-03-2004, 05:59 AM   #24
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Re: no lights in dash panel

Installing inline fuses to isolate an intermittent problem is something dealer techs sometimes have to do.

To access connector C2 you have to remove the electrical center from its mounting bracket. If I remember correctly it snaps in and so there is likely something that you have to release with a screwdriver to pull it out. I haven't worked on one for a while to remember better how it is done.

Take a look at this link again
http://www.geocities.com/raj380/mali...icalcenter.pdf
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Old 09-21-2006, 09:15 PM   #25
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Re: no lights in dash panel

i am too having the same issues with my 2001 malibu my friend
indeed the 15amp fuse was blown due to a tail light problem
that did not occur to me til i read this thread thoroughly
however now i have my exterior lights working again i have a problem still with o dash lights...any ideas on that.
i did take them out last night to test the wiring in the actual instrument cluster and did not realise i had no tail lights til this thread
i knew i had no DRL and that's why i am investigating
had service vehicle light on which went off with replacement of the 15amp fuse
wiggled my tail light bulbs a bit and cleaned...all now work (weird eh)
i'm gonna remove my instruments again @weekend see if i just didn't plug in properly tho...fuses fine by the way
DRL relay fine..(swapped 3 way with othere (ALC) etc)
but still no dash lights..also need to check 12v @ dimmer switch i guess
any help a bonus for me

thanks
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Old 10-09-2006, 12:06 PM   #26
dbowen707
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Re: no lights in dash panel

I to have a 1998 Malibu that the dash lights (back lighting) doesn't work but I noticed that one of my tail lights in the driver side was out could that be the problem. My parking, turn, stop, and interior lights all work as well as my cig lighter plugs.

Please help cause I have to use the light on my camera phone to drive at night...
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Old 10-21-2006, 12:28 PM   #27
astrosurfer
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Re: no lights in dash panel

did you check the fuse mentioned in this thread (the 15 amp in the fusebox in the engine compartment)
worked for me but still had no dash lights
do your lights come on in the daytime m8
i don't know if your car is DRL and ALC equipped???

UPDATE FOR MY DASH LIGHT ISSUE
i managed to get lights in my dash by bypassing the dimmer switch located in the dash
had to patch from the live(brown) wire to the green wire which enters my dashpanel on the multi wire connector
i think perhaps my dimmer is bad but have no real way to test it
so if someone can post up that info...would be grateful
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Old 12-13-2017, 10:10 PM   #28
randalwon
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Re: no lights in dash panel

This is the problem I had too. I have a 1998 Chevy Malibu - tail lights do not work - dash panel dimmer does not work and service vehicle soon light is on. It all went wrong when I replaced a tail light. The brake lights, turn signals, headlights all work. I solved it by replacing the 15 amp fuse in the Fuse Relay Center under the hood labeled 45 - Park LPS. There was a spare amp in the drivers side fuse panel. The Service Vehicle Soon light went off. The dash lights work again (after I turned them up). All but one of the tail lights work again. I'm good with three out of four tail lights working. I fear if I try to get the fourth one working I'll blow the fuse again and have to go through this again.
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