daytime running/dome lights

[youngnwiaguy]

I just bought a 2002 Monte Carlo SS. I have a warranty on it, so they'll be taking care of it, but place I bought it from wasn't sure what is wrong and is going to call around to see if they can figure it out. The daytime running lights do not come on. and when you open the doors, the dome light doesn't come on, no lights come on inside the car actually. If you turn the dial on the headlight switch for the dome light, it does come on then.

Does anyone have an idea of what would be going on with this? The person that I talked to at the dealership wasn't the smartest and didn't think it had daytime running lights, but I am almost positive that they do, as I've seen others driving down the road with them. Thanks

[edson4433]

My first thought, since it involves the daytime running lamps, is that the light sensor located on top of the dash by the defroster vent has malfunctioned. Easy to replace, just have to remove the dash cover. Next thought would be a fuse but you say that you can get the dome light to come on when you start the car. Power is getting to the light. The car does have daytime running lamps. Check and see if the high beams work. If they do I would rule out a fuse since those are also the DRLs. If they don't, you have a clue. You can find the interior lamp fuses in the pasenger side fuse panel. They are clustered together starting with the TRK/ROOF BRP (trunk lamps, headliner lamps). Underneath should be I/P BRP fuse (instrument panel footwell lamps, glovebox lamps). Check and see if the fuse band is broken. Under the hood there is an upper and lower fuse block. The upper block has the DRL Relay. It may be as simple as replacing that. The car's system actually relied on the factory stereo to function properly. Since you have an aftermarket system it will be a little more difficult to trouble shoot. Do you have dash lights? Also, in case you are wondering the RED plastic looking lenses on the doors that look like they should be lights are actually not lights at all. Just reflectors.

[youngnwiaguy]

Thanks for the reply, I will try some of that. First though, I do not have an aftermarket stereo, It does have the original radio. The highbeams do work. And the sensor for the automatic lights is on the dash by the defroster, but that seems to work to since it turns the lights on when it starts to get dark. I talked to a guy from a different dealership this afternoon, he says it may be in the headlight switch itself, but I'm not sure.

Thanks for all of your help though, I'm definatly up for trying something.

[youngnwiaguy]

I just wanted to let you know that I took the car back to the person I bought it from (very small dealership) He couldn't figure it out so he had me take it to a GM dealership. They told me it is the Body Control Module (BCM) and that it will cost about $400 to fix with parts and labor. I did look this up online and it seems that they do have alot of problems with the BCM, but according to them it shouldn't be anymore that a couple hundred bucks. Oh well, I'm not paying for it, so I guess I shouldn't have to worry right?