2000 Trans Am electrical problems

[Netskimmer]

Greetings, I have a 2000 Trans Am and I am experiencing some electrical problems.

Turn Signals/Running lamps

Initially one running lamp was unusually bright and the other unusually dim and the turn signals worked but now one of my daytime running lights has gone out and the other one has gotten brighter and my front turn signals no longer work. I have tried replacing the bulbs with no change.

The back and side turn signals work fine, the little green arrows on both sides still blink at normal speed and there is still an audible "click" when they blink so the signal relay seems to be functioning properly. I thought maybe it could be a bad ground connection, what do you guys think?

Radio LED Display

Sometimes when I start my car the LED shows gibberish, it usually corrects itself after a minute or two but sometimes it persists for awhile and on rare occasions it happens while I'm driving. I the dealer replaced the radio when I first bought the car but it didn't help.

Radio Static

I can hear static on my radio that exactly matches the rythm of my engine, It exactly keeps time with the engines rpms. This only happens with the radio, CDs play fine so it can't be the speakers or the wiring to the speakers.

I would normally deal with these questions one at a time but I don't know if they are seperate issues or if they are all symptoms of a larger problem.

Thanks.

[izzydjinn]

hello, the lights thing seems like a short either on the switch or all the way to the bulb sockets. And for the static noise, is it an aftermarket stereo that you installed?......... if so maybe it a filter what you need. Its a little box thingy that goes on the power supply cable that goes to the stereo. keep in mind that these are just opinions, some of the guys here are very good, hopefully you will get a better answer...... good luck

[Netskimmer]

Thanks for your reply.

If it is a short I have no idea how to track it down. The Radio is factory, like the one it replaced. I don't remember if the static was there before they switched them out becuse it was done anly a few days efter I bought the car and I hadn't noticed the static until later.

[sdsniper]

Have you checked all the fuses yet?

[Netskimmer]

Would a bad fuse cause only one lamp to go out? I assumed that the fuse that controlled one would control the other. It's about 1:30am here so I'll check the fuses first thing in the morning.

[Netskimmer]

Ok, I checked the fuses and they were fine. I then decided to start at the bulb socket with a wire tester and work my way to the harness carrage to see if I could find any shorts or power interrupts. I noticed that the socket, which was replaced by the dealership in an attempt to fix the problem had a black mark on it and looked like it was trying to melt. I know this was not there before because I replaced the bulbs a few weeks after the socket was replaced and I would have seen it. I'm assuming that this burn, or rather the short that caused it was the reason it went from one bright and on dim to one bright and one out. I checked the bulb and noticed that it was not making a good connection with the contacts so I adjusted the contacts and replaced the bulb. Now the light and the turn signals work but I can't tell if one is brighter than the other until it gets dark. My biggest concern now is that the short is just a symptom of some larger problem and that it will occure again or worse, cause an electrical fire. I"m not going to run it until it gets dark enough to see if the bulbs are giving off the same amont of light, once I do I'll let you guys know.

[Netskimmer]

It still looks like the passenger side lamp (The one that went out) is dimmer, my turn signals are now working however.

[Netskimmer]

Ok I finally fixed my turn signals! When I first asked the dealer to fix the porblem one of the lamps was not working and they had to replace the socket. When I got the car back one light was dimmer that the other so I assumed that it was part of the same problem. What actually happened was, when they replaced the socket they wired it backwords so that the hot lead from the blinker circuit was on all the time which made the bulb burn brighter. I simply corrected the wiring and now both lights are functioning properly.

Well that's one down. Now I need to figure out whats up with my radio.

[kmdracer]

Sounds like you've done a good job troubleshooting so far. As far as the radio noise, the only thing I can think of is the spark plug wires, but since our cars are Coil on plug, I'm not certain if the plug wires not being RF shielded would cause a problem.
Good luck!