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I mest up!!!! Help please.

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Old 08-08-17, 07:00 PM
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I mest up!!!! Help please.

Hi i need some help.....my rear tail lights....cluster and side marker lights around the car wont light up.

I had removed the dash to fix my heater core....after all that was said and done i plugged all wires(or so i think i did) back to were they belong....well when i went to turn my lights on...the headlights turned on...but no other lights.
my brake lights and signals work but nothing else.


Could i have missed a plug...all my fuses under the dash as good. Idk what it could have been....another thing...when i 1st went to start it i heard a loud pop noise like a blown fuse from the engine bay. Not sure if that is the cause....i have seen post that it could be many things. So any help would be appreciated.

Thanks....newbie at this.


Please dont tell me to check google...its easier to hear from you guys.
Old 08-08-17, 07:06 PM
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Originally Posted by C-LOTAP25
Hi i need some help.....my rear tail lights....cluster and side marker lights around the car wont light up.

I had removed the dash to fix my heater core....after all that was said and done i plugged all wires(or so i think i did) back to were they belong....well when i went to turn my lights on...the headlights turned on...but no other lights.
my brake lights and signals work but nothing else.


Could i have missed a plug...all my fuses under the dash as good. Idk what it could have been....another thing...when i 1st went to start it i heard a loud pop noise like a blown fuse from the engine bay. Not sure if that is the cause....i have seen post that it could be many things. So any help would be appreciated.

Thanks....newbie at this.


Please dont tell me to check google...its easier to hear from you guys.

It would help if you told us what kind of car.

You probably popped the Tail fuse and the way to check fuses is with a test light. Make sure there is power on both sides. You may have left the dimmer rheostat unplugged, but again, we have no idea what kind of car you have.
Old 08-08-17, 07:56 PM
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Sorry its a 1985 gsl se
Old 08-08-17, 09:04 PM
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Old 08-09-17, 07:07 AM
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Could it be my switch for the lights..i did have to remove that.
Old 08-09-17, 09:28 AM
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I had this happen on my old FB. It happened when the fuse blew AND I had a bad dimmer switch.





The dimmer switch is the wheel **** fella. Anyways, those can fail and you need to make sure it's getting power from the fuse and sending power to the lights.

Go to foxed.ca for wiring diagrams to figure out wire colors and fuse locations. The tail light fuse on the FB is on the inside fuse block on the driver side kick panel. Check your fuses with a test light, make sure the dimmer switch is plugged in, verify you have power to the switch, and make sure power is leaving the switch.

Mine had failed, so I used a jumper wire for a bit of time.
Old 08-09-17, 10:19 AM
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Any way u can show me how to jump it lol....but ill check all that stuff ones im home thanks
Old 08-09-17, 01:34 PM
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Originally Posted by C-LOTAP25
Any way u can show me how to jump it lol....but ill check all that stuff ones im home thanks
No. I'm not going to, because you probably blew a fuse by plugging in something incorrectly, or shorted something out. Check your fuses first and follow the wiring schematic. A jumper should only be a last resort test and last time I did it, I blew a fuse because I used a paper clip and shorted it against the dash.

Like I already stated above, the train of diagnosis is as follows:

1) Check the fuses with a test light or multimeter by checking both sides of the fuse contacts WITH THE FUSE INSTALLED. Do not pull the fuse to look at it. This almost always leads to trouble because some fuses simply get high resistance and don't visually blow.

2) If the fuse is OK, consult the wiring diagram found on foxed.ca and verify you have power going from the fuse into the dimmer switch. I haven't looked at a diagram in a while for an FB, but IIRC the power flow goes from the battery, fuse, headlamp switch, dimmer switch, then bulbs. It's been a while because I sold my last FB almost 7 years ago and the last time I had a dimmer issue was over 10 years ago.

3) Using the diagram to find proper power and load side of the circuit, use a jumper wire in the terminals of the connector with the dimmer unplugged. Do not use a paper clip because it can ground on the metal part of the dash and blow your fuse.

4) If the power is getting out of the switch and nothing is still working (unlikely) Then you probably have an open circuit somewhere like a bad headlamp switch (unlikely) or a connector left loose (possible)





I do automotive electrical diagnostics for a living, so this stuff is easy for me. Don't go jumpering things without knowing what you are looking for and expecting. I have seen people short out entire harnesses and damn near burn the car to the ground. Worst one I saw was a Mitsubishi I had to rebuild the entire dash harness on. They popped a radio fuse and kept putting bigger fuses into the car until nothing worked. That job got extremely expensive and took two whole days to rewire and verify component functionality.


If you get into a position where you are in over your head, you will probably need to take it to a person who knows electrical systems, or someone on here may be more charitable than I am. If you can pull a dash, I trust you can read a service manual and figure out where your problem is.

Good luck and keep us informed on what fixes it.
Old 08-10-17, 10:07 AM
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Thanks for the help...ill keep u posted ones i have some time. I. Appreciate it
Old 08-12-17, 06:52 AM
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Check your fuses and report back with what you find. You may have to start pulling the dash again and trace each connector. There aren't a ton of them. You will also want to make sure that you didn't pinch a wire and cause a short. Did you remember to bolt the small round terminal back to the dash frame behind the cigarette lighter? Did you connect the two bullet style connectors together that reside under she shifter plate? If so unplug them, they don't plug in together. I've seen people plug them in and cause blown fuses, a blown dimmer switch etc. They are for the illumination for the automatic trans selector cover.
Old 08-12-17, 10:05 AM
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Ill keep u posted...the weather here is nasty and i have to take a trip soon so some time in the following week ill look into it

Thanks for the input fellas.




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