So the other night I noticed that my interior lights wouldn't work but headlights worked fine. Checked the fuses and noticed the 15A fuse in the "ILLUM" spot was smoked so I threw the spare in but it was during the day and could not tell if the interior lights were working or not. Well tonight I turned my lights on and had npo interior lights so i figured that it instantly smoked that fuse ( a lot of power from somewhere...) but had to leave. I got back to school and campus police pulls me over for not having tail lights but said my brake lights were working fine. What could cause this? I know the previous owner cob-jobbed a POS Sony head unit in and occasionally the passenger speaker wont work unless you wiggle the deck around somewhat. Could there be wires touching and shorting this or is there nothing in that area that would effect the lights (cause I know the back light for the factory deck is in there somewhere). I wanted to ask before ripping the dash apart and dealing with that mess of wires if that area is totally irrelevant to the lights. Thanks for the help anyone!!

 

The FAQ's in the sec gen section have a pic of the fuse box layout under the dash,so you can check the fuses..I am thinking Room fuse.Illumination fuse.
The problem with Used cars is you get the problems that the Other guy had.
If you suspect the wiring was done in a shoddy manner then there is no way you'll get a solid answer from people on the internet.You'll just have to get dirty and get into the dash,find out of that is indeed the problem.
It's amazing what Electrical tape can hide.

 

Tail lights require the 15 amp Illumination fuse as do the dash lights. The Room fuse powers the courtesy/door lights.

 

I know about the fuse. That's what I was explaining is the one and they only one that was blown or has ever blown. If I get a chance today I might dig into that rats nest of wiring behind the stereo. Does this sound like a good place to start or is it not really an area that could be related to this problem?

 

You weren't specific as to which 'interior lights' were problematic as there are a number of them so I pointed out the differences. Your light switch/harness is the likely cause so you should address that area first. If you look at the light switch you will likely find a burnt mark as it relates to the W/G wire in the switch plug as this wire is the one powered by the Illumination fuse. Chances are both items, switch and harness, needs replacement as replacing just one item usually leads to the same repeated problem. In a normal situation, W/G powers the R/B wire (tail lights) and R/G wire (dash lights).

 

Turns out the PO left a bare power wire without taping it and assumed it would be alright... Everything was rather twisted and electrical taped together or wing nutted together. Took care of the bare wire and crimp-connected all the wires back together and everything works perfect now. Sorry for the bone-head post, just wasnt sure if it could have been a bigger problem

 

..ReX Green.."electrical tape forever"!!

 

This car has totally been neglected and cobbed by the previous owners. I've already bought new interior trim pieces to replace the 3 missing ones and replaced the seats since they were destroyed. Now I need to get this thing to run smoother. It always seem to have a small mis-fire sound to it. I've replaced the plugs and when I first bought it, I messed around with the brass screw on top of the throttle body thinking that it was the idle adjustment... Im pretty sure it is rediculously rich now since there is always smoke out of the exhaust and am averaging 23mpg on the highway with a cone filter on the MAF, Bonez race pipe and Trust quiet serious mufflers. Would a new O2 sensor and new wires help too? I also want to start removing every piece of emissions from the car for less headaches. I've already deleted the cats and removed the air pump but I work at an Inspection station so passingf emissions is no concern