Ok....I need a push in the right direction here. A few days ago I relize I no longer have running tail lights on my 88se. The head lights work fine as well as my brake lights. A day later I notice my turn signals are no longer working. I've checked the fuses (all are good) and I've been looking through the Hayes manual for some help.

It seems the turn signal is a common problem typical to cold solder points in the CPU. Could this also be affecting my tail lights?

I just wanted some reassurance that this could be my culprate before tearing into my electrical issues. Thanks for any help.

 

check your bulbs. If theyre good, then its probably a cpu thing. Do the turn signals in the car blink when you flip the switch? If not then check the solders in the switch.

 

the turn signals and rear lights have a common point, though i am unsure exactly to where it is. check and see if youre parking lights are out, too. my rear lights went out once, which take the parking lights with them. that was a fried wire from the gauge switch (RED/BLK). turn signals still worked, i believe. another time my rear lights and turn signals went out, but that was a blown fuse. i forget all the exact properties (i should have written them down); sorry. hope this helps some bit. feel free to ask more questions based on these experiences.

common problems i know of:
-bad switch (on gauges surround for lights); &
-fried wires (in my case the wire was fried on a connector on the harness from the switch down to the floorboard by CPU; somewhat of a bitch to get to)

 

I had that problem in my old GXL, I accidentally switched the fuse for the taillights and put it in the ABS slot in the engine bay.....long shot but try it.

 

check the fuse. there are no real common points other than fuses and grounds for the parking lights and the turn signals

 

Thanks for the replies! Turned out it was a burned wire (RED/BLK) in the light switch harness. I pulled the harness and resoldered the burnt connection. I also checked my tail lights and sure enough there was corrosion. I cleaned the bulbs and connection with a wire brush (that will do until I can get some dielectric or replace the bulbs).

All lights are working now. Thanks again for the help and I'll be sure to check the archives from now on so the same question isn't answered 10 million times.

 

Thanks for reporting your findings and fix. Some folks don't and that makes searching more difficult, when there *isn't* a clear final answer.

 

The turn signals are not related to the red/black wire at the light switch.

You said the turn signals were not working as well as the parking/running lights

 

Yes...Icemark is correct (as he often is I'm finding out). The (RED/BLK) wire has nothing to do with the turn signals. Looks like I jumped the gun when I checked all my lights (meaning like an idiot I forgot to put the key in the ignition....hey, it happens). My turn signals were NOT failing.

To recap....

The problem: the park/tail lights were not working.
The cause: burned light switch harness (the red/blk wire)
The fix: tested the switch for continuity, switch still good. Resoldered the red/blk wire in the switch harness.

Thanks again for the help. I will be sure be more accurate in future posts.