'92 Headlight/Taillight Problem

[AssDust]

Hi,

My '92 Cavalier has a problem. A big problem. Basically, my tail lights no longer work. When I trun on my lights with the switch to the left of the steering column that handles your lights, turn signal, and cruise..it turns the headlights on no problem. The tail lights however, do not turn on. The brake light/turn signals still work. I have daytime running lights, but I do know that when I turn on my lights there is a big difference. I checked the fuse, nothing wrong there. Also, theres a green light icon on the gauges that generally stays lit until you turn on your lights. Well, when I do turn them on, the light still stays there.

Is there any suggestions on this problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Cold_Silence]

There was another thread on this earlier, If im not mistaken, if your green headlight icon stays on even when your lights are on [not daytime lamps] then there is some electrical problem, id say wiring or fuses of some sort.

[OverAllComa]

I had the same problem in my 92. I'm guessing you're canadian if you have DRL's for some reason. A quick fix is to find the fuse that controls the lights in question and wire it up to a power source that's controlled by the car's ignition, so its only on when your car's on.

Real fix is to find yourself the right parts out of a donor cavalier and replaced the inside the column and probably the actual lever itself.

My $0.02

[AssDust]

ok, so I know where the fuse is, so how would I hard-wire that to the ignition...can I just jump a wire from both fuses? Is that even possible, lol? Thanks

Any more suggestion on troubleshooting this issue?

[OverAllComa]

Originally Posted by AssDust

ok, so I know where the fuse is, so how would I hard-wire that to the ignition...can I just jump a wire from both fuses? Is that even possible, lol? Thanks

Any more suggestion on troubleshooting this issue?

You could theoretically do that, but I would suggest that if you're going to do that as a temp fix you should pull down that part of the dash underneath the steering column. From there, find the appropriate power lines that run to the light's fuse, then jump that with the fused end of another power line that's dependent upon the ignition. You'll probably have to add around 10 amps or so to the fuse you're piggybacking off of so you don't blow it.

I sold my car 2nd gen about a year ago and I do believe that this type of fix is still working for the guy I sold it to (who in turn recently sold it).