Adding cornering lamps

Apparently some PA 91-96 models were equipped with cornering lamps and some were not. Does anyone know where I can tap in a socket to add cornering lamps? I assume they're not to be rigged into the blinkers for the obvious reason that cornering lamps aren't supposed to blink!

I have had quite a few cars (about 6) with cornering lamps and have added cornering lamps to 3 other cars that did not have them (2 of the cars never even had them as an option). It is definitely possible. And you're right, they are not directly rigged into the turn signals, but should be activated by the TS (turn signal) switch. When you use a turn signal, the corresponding cornering lamp will light and stay illuminated (not blink) until the turn signal is cancelled.

I have seen two ways that they can function, either by the TS switch (which is usually the case with GM cars) or some use a separate relay (I've only encountered that on mid-70's to late-80's Ford/Lincoln/Mercury cars). I liked the relay type because they stay activated for 1-3 seconds after the turn signal is cancelled (helps if the signal cancels during the turn to keep the cornering lamp active as you complete the turn). But your PA should have the capability in the TS switch.

Before I had my Park Ave, I had a 95 Buick Roadmaster (std sedan, not Limited), that did not have cornering lamps. I wanted to add cornering lamps and started poking around. I found that the wiring was nearly all there, just not being used.

This is where I found it on the Roadmaster...obviously, it may differ somewhat in the PA, but I hope it will be very similar...

On the steering column, there are the set of wires coming down from the TS switch. One was a gray/black wire that goes up to the TS switch. That was the wire that provided the power to the cornering lamp function (NOTE: the power in the Roadmaster's cornering lamps comes from the parking lamps, however, I know that the PA's w/ cornering lamps have power to them even with the parking lamps off). Coming back down from the TS switch were an orange wire (left cornering lamp) and a black wire (right cornering lamp). I found that the wires were functional. I found that the same wires were in the main bundle of wires under the hood going toward the front of the car and included all the headlamp wires, etc. However, the orange and black wires ended somewhere under the hood, but I tapped into them near the driver's side fender well and ran one wire from the orange wire to the left side and ran another wire from the black wire clear around the front to the right side. (you have to test the wires to see which ones are the correct ones). I got sockets from the junk yard (you can also buy some at an autoparts store). The sockets have two wires, one from your lead and the other will go to a ground point. You can get cornering lamp housings from a junk yard or you can drill a hole in the housing you already have and insert the light socket.

Hope this helps. Again, this was how it was on the 95 Roadmaster. I hope that the PA from the same era were similar in that most of the wiring was already there and functional, just waiting to be tapped into.

Thank you for the info, Topher! I read in the Ford forums that the later model Crown Vics without the option have the sockets but no bulbs, and a simple bulb placement is all that's needed. I wish the same would be for the PA, as you know, no socket in sight! And you're right on with having to drill the back of the cornering lamp lense assemble..that part should be easy. I even resorted to checking the wire diagram in the Chilton manual, but unfortunately it only pictured the turn signal/ headlight circuits. I'll look more underhood to see if the car does indeed have the wires installed like your Roadmaster did. A local boneyard has the sockets still installed, so I'll try to get a good look at where the wires lead to in the harness. I'm bidding on a factory 92' PA electrical manual on Ebay. If I win the auction, this manual should definitely include the wiring for the cornering lamps to save me a little time from searching!
Thanks again for the help!

No problem. Personally, I think that every Park Ave should have come with cornering lamps. Just like Cadillac, the Park Ave has always said "classy" to me...and Buick should have put the lamps in as standard equipment. I'm glad that the 97-05 models all came with them...saved me the trouble. I've wanted to add them to my wife's Rendezvous, but I can't figure out how to add them without it looking like a tacky add-on. Oh well...

You can get a head start on your work, though. I would start at the wiring under the dash, by the steering column. You will have only a limited number (less than 10, I think) of wires to fish through (with the circuit tester) to determine which wires are which. Hopefully, you'll find that the wires are there and if they're live. Grab a circuit tester (the kind with the pointy sharp end). Turn the car to ON, turn on one of the turn signals and see which wires coming down the steering column is live (not flashing, but constant). Turn the signal off. If one of the wires that was live is now not, that is probably your cornering lamp wire for that side. Then work with the other turn signal. Make a note of the color of the wires and start looking in the bundle of wiring for those wires. As I found in the Roadmaster, they simply end somewhere about 2/3 way toward the front of the underhood area. If your local junkyard has the sockets, I recommend taking the whole lamp, too. Drilling the holes is not terribly hard, but adding in the spaces for the tabs on the socket was more of a pain than anything. I understand that the LeSabre marker/cornering lamps are interchangeable, but I'm not positive about that. Good luck!

Thanks a bunch! You're right, 92-96 LeSabre lenses are interchangeable with 91-96 park Avenues. Then the later models got their own unique body lines and different headlamp housings. Luckily I've got the dash torn apart because I'm working on a blower airflow issue, so I can kill two birds with one stone. I'll post back with the results!