Auto lights turn off when blower motor turned on

[Pontisteve]

My 98 Regal has weird electrical issues.

#1 The auto headlights shut off when the blower motor turns on, in the 1 - 4 position only usually. Sometimes position 5 too. Turn the fan off, and the lights come back on. Also sometimes turning on the Rear Defrost turns the lights back on. I'm thinking a body control module, or possibly a cicruit breaker?

#2 Can't seem to get the right rear brake light to work no matter what. The turn signal lights work, and the bulb is definitely good. Tried several. No corrosion.

#3 Keep burning up the 194 bulb in the front orange Daytime Running Light, one side only. Only lasts a few days at best.

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by Pontisteve

My 98 Regal has weird electrical issues.

#1 The auto headlights shut off when the blower motor turns on, in the 1 - 4 position only usually. Sometimes position 5 too. Turn the fan off, and the lights come back on. Also sometimes turning on the Rear Defrost turns the lights back on. I'm thinking a body control module, or possibly a cicruit breaker?

Ignition switch and harness assembly is bad!!

BTDT.

[Pontisteve]

Originally Posted by BNaylor

Ignition switch and harness assembly is bad!!

BTDT.

Makes sense... I think the car used to have intermittent non-battery related starting issues too.

Where exactly is the switch located? And do you feel 100% that's what the problem is? What's basically involved in replacing it? Is this one of those cars that's hard to swap it because you have to impossibly snake the harness down thru the column? Thanks so much!

[stripe]

turn signal switch too.
also there is a connector in front signal that can go.(58$ ripoff)

Cheers
Stripe

[Pontisteve]

Originally Posted by stripe

turn signal switch too.
also there is a connector in front signal that can go.(58$ ripoff)

Cheers
Stripe

What do you mean about the turn signal switch too?

And tell me more about the connector in front signal!! This car has always had a problem burning up the bulb in one of the Daytime Running Lights! The one side only lasts a couple days. I want to say I already replaced a bulb harness connector on that thing. As I recall, it's made to be replaced independent of the whole wiring harness. At least GM got that part right, but something causes that DRL to get very hot and burn up the connector. It was somewhat melted looking when I pulled it. What causes all that?? The bulb does not appear to be staying on when the car is off.

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by Pontisteve

Makes sense... I think the car used to have intermittent non-battery related starting issues too.

Where exactly is the switch located? And do you feel 100% that's what the problem is? What's basically involved in replacing it? Is this one of those cars that's hard to swap it because you have to impossibly snake the harness down thru the column? Thanks so much!

I had similar symptoms but the headlights would flash on and off. You may get varying symptoms or other accessories affected. In my situation the rear defogger would act up and the cruise control would drop out or disable on top of that. See pic below for what it looks like. You will not need the key tumbler -cylinder part of the ignition switch.

Switch is not that difficult to replace but still a tedious job. Steering wheel does not need removal. For safety disable driver's airbag by removing the fuse. About a 1 hour job. See procedure below.

BEFORE BEGINING THIS REPAIR REMOVE THE NEGATIVE TERMINAL FROM THE BATTERY. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO DO THE REPAIR WITHOUT DOING THIS.

Look inside the slot where the tilt steering knob is located. There is a black metal piece where the knob inserts into the tilt mechanism. Pry it back slightly with a small screwdriver. One from an electronics tool set will work. While you have it pried, pull the knob out and it should release.

Remove the two screws from the bottom of the steering column cover and remove the cover.

Remove the two screws that hold the top steering column cover in place.

Insert the ignition key into the key cylinder and turn the key clockwise to the start position. Nothing will happen because you have disconnected the battery prior to starting this project. Lift the top steering column cover being careful not to break it because it is still held in place by the ignition key cylinder. You will see with your mirror near the back end of the cylinder housing a small hole. Stick a small allen wrench in the hole, this will release the key cylinder so that it can be pulled out. Once the key cylinder is removed the column top cover is free to be removed.

The black box below the key cylinder with all of the wires coming out of it is the ignition switch that you are changing. Look at the switch you have purchased for this repair. Notice that the small white plug with two wires attached has a tab on the side that can be pushed down, this is the release for the plug-in. Using your mirror you will see that plug-in against the ignition switch housing where it plugs in. Using a small screw driver press the release tab in against the plug and rotate the plug 90 degrees to the right to remove it. To do otherwise may break the plug.

Remove the plug from the white key release device by inserting a small screw driver and pressing the release tab on it.

Undo the two screws holding the ignition switch.

Undo the plug at the opposite end of the ignition switch by unscrewing the bolt in the center of the plug and unplugging it.

There is a black wiring plug on top and a gray one on the bottom of the ignition switch plug that need to be removed. This is done by prying the center of the plug case where it meets the ignition harness plug while sliding it forward.

Cut any tywraps holding the wire harness in place and feed it out of the dash.

To install do the reverse of the above, and tywrap the new harness into place. Be sure to properly align the key cylinder when replacing it in the housing and if the key will not come out of the cylinder there is a silver key release button at the bottom of the white device in front of the ignition switch. Press it and the key will come out. Also when replacing the ignition switch make sure that the slot in the switch is properly aligned with the corresponding part on the steering column that fits in the slot.

Notes:

For 2002 models. To get the top cover off, you will need a E-5 socket (Female T-30 driver) and there is a bolt just in front of the ignition cylinder that holds on the top cover. You cannot reach the hole to remove the cylinder without removing the top cover first. other than that it is the same directions.

[Pontisteve]

Thanks to this forum, and other threads about the same topic, I was able to find out (before ever touching the car) that the Ignition switch was the problem. And that the contacts inside that switch are actually hi quality (silver?) contacts, which don't really go bad. They just get carboned up and block conductivity. I also found out exact which tools were needed, and ordered them (the precision nutdrivers that worked to remove the torx screws) before I ever did the job.

Then, another user informed me that I could clean the switch and not replace it. He even outlined how to reassemble the switch (a 2 man job), and realign the clock spring correctly. I also found that using a pencil eraser works wonders for cleaning contacts. Don't scrape the coating off the contacts with a wire brush!

All said and done, I fixed it in about an hour, and didn't even have to buy the switch! The cleaned switch works like new, and saved me about $75 on that, plus any labor of doing the job. Thank you all!