OK I've searched and checked the kick panel fuses, underhood fuses and swapped the timer switch. Does anyone have any other suggestions. I swapped out cluster to HUD and the dashboard. Next thing I know, the Illuminated lights on cluster, gauges aren't working.
Is there a relay that joins everything into one central location? The Blue/red strip is grounded, and power is sent to it with my power probe, it works?
interior and tail/brake lights inop....
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meet07
- Posts: 1189
- Joined: Tue May 08, 2007 5:48 am
- Car: 89 180sx rb25det
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Re: interior and tail/brake lights inop....
OK brake lights do work
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meet07
- Posts: 1189
- Joined: Tue May 08, 2007 5:48 am
- Car: 89 180sx rb25det
- Location: North Carolina
- Contact:
Re: interior and tail/brake lights inop....
After research, after research, after research I finally found the problem. I knew it was something simple but needed a little literature.
To begin:
After swapping my analog cluster to Digital cluster, my interior lights and parking lights stop working. At the time I removed and installed my dash, cleaned up some wiring, so I figured I may have missed a ground or accidentally cut a wire I shouldn't have.
I checked the normal things like fuses, swapped out a ton of relays from the kick panel to the under hood relays. I replaced the 75 amp fuse as well as a few others. Still nothing. I chased this thing for several weeks with no luck. At one time I thought that maybe one of the diodes in the cluster was bad causing the dash lights not to work when switching the parking switch. All I knew was that I wasn't getting power to the Red/Blue strip wire that went to radio, cluster, parking lights, light switch and many more locations.
I hoped on NICO and Google and found that there is some nifty white box called the Timer relay. I was excited b/c I had just bought another shell that had working interior,parking and dash lights. I was 't disappointed when I realized that the timer relay wasn't the problem. There was another black box beside the timer relay. I had no clue what it did but I swapped it out also in desperate hope for it to work. Still nothing
At this time I knew I need a wire schematic. Just so happen that I had a 240sx Chilton's manual, but I'm sure a lot of you guys know that you need a magnifying glass to even read it. So I go onto NICO again and asked a noob question "Where to purchase a good Service manual for a 240sx". A nice NICO member didn't bash me with the "Search noob" and supplied me with a link.
Looking over the service manual I finally started to feel pretty good about finding the problem. Ther whole time I knew that I wasn't getting power to the Red/Blue strip. The wire was everywhere. It ran to the hazards, cluster, radio, cig lighter, parking and tail lights.
I started with Page EL-46. I started at the parking lights b/c I knew they where not working and figured If I could get power there and trace my way back then I would hopefully find the issue. Just a FYI get your self a Power probe! I took my power probe and put power to the red/bl stripe wire and bulbs lite up as well as my aftermarket tach (where getting some where now). I looked at page EL-46 and I didn't see a red/blue stripe???? So I looked close at the schematics and compare the location of the plugs with the plug for the parking bulb. There was only 3 wires on the diagram ( R/L, R/G & B )???. I saw the Red/Green and Black but no Red with Blue stripe......Hmmm what is going on. Evidently the wire R/L is the Red/Blue strip!!! Ahh haaaa!! So looking at the diagram I traced that R/L wire to the lighting switch. R/L ends at pin number 12 on the lighting switch. OK I know it gets power but from where??? Maybe it gets power from pin number 11 on the lighting switch? So I took my power probe and put power to the green with red strip and cycled the lighting switch. WULLA!!!! the parking lights worked and the light on my aftermarket tach started working!!!! So I looked at page EL-46 and asked myself "where does the G/R wire get power from? Traced it back to the 15 amp fuse under the kick panel. So I tested the fuse and it was getting 12 volts?? The fuse was getting 12 volts but the parking lights wasn't working still. Maybe the fuse wasn't making a good contact in the fuse holder. I took the fuse and twisted the prong a little. Pushed it back in and still no good. Now when I removed the fuse and put power to the out bound side of the fuse, and cycle the switch, everything works. So I said let me try another 15 amp fuse. I replaced it with another 15 amp fuse and everything worked fine!!
I ohmed out the fuse and the fuse had continuity. I'm guessing there was a little oxidation or something, but who cares. I trashed it so I wouldn't accidentally use it again..lol
I suck at typing and I ramble on at times but I hope this helps someone else in the future.
Kind Regard
To begin:
After swapping my analog cluster to Digital cluster, my interior lights and parking lights stop working. At the time I removed and installed my dash, cleaned up some wiring, so I figured I may have missed a ground or accidentally cut a wire I shouldn't have.
I checked the normal things like fuses, swapped out a ton of relays from the kick panel to the under hood relays. I replaced the 75 amp fuse as well as a few others. Still nothing. I chased this thing for several weeks with no luck. At one time I thought that maybe one of the diodes in the cluster was bad causing the dash lights not to work when switching the parking switch. All I knew was that I wasn't getting power to the Red/Blue strip wire that went to radio, cluster, parking lights, light switch and many more locations.
I hoped on NICO and Google and found that there is some nifty white box called the Timer relay. I was excited b/c I had just bought another shell that had working interior,parking and dash lights. I was 't disappointed when I realized that the timer relay wasn't the problem. There was another black box beside the timer relay. I had no clue what it did but I swapped it out also in desperate hope for it to work. Still nothing
At this time I knew I need a wire schematic. Just so happen that I had a 240sx Chilton's manual, but I'm sure a lot of you guys know that you need a magnifying glass to even read it. So I go onto NICO again and asked a noob question "Where to purchase a good Service manual for a 240sx". A nice NICO member didn't bash me with the "Search noob" and supplied me with a link.
Looking over the service manual I finally started to feel pretty good about finding the problem. Ther whole time I knew that I wasn't getting power to the Red/Blue strip. The wire was everywhere. It ran to the hazards, cluster, radio, cig lighter, parking and tail lights.
I started with Page EL-46. I started at the parking lights b/c I knew they where not working and figured If I could get power there and trace my way back then I would hopefully find the issue. Just a FYI get your self a Power probe! I took my power probe and put power to the red/bl stripe wire and bulbs lite up as well as my aftermarket tach (where getting some where now). I looked at page EL-46 and I didn't see a red/blue stripe???? So I looked close at the schematics and compare the location of the plugs with the plug for the parking bulb. There was only 3 wires on the diagram ( R/L, R/G & B )???. I saw the Red/Green and Black but no Red with Blue stripe......Hmmm what is going on. Evidently the wire R/L is the Red/Blue strip!!! Ahh haaaa!! So looking at the diagram I traced that R/L wire to the lighting switch. R/L ends at pin number 12 on the lighting switch. OK I know it gets power but from where??? Maybe it gets power from pin number 11 on the lighting switch? So I took my power probe and put power to the green with red strip and cycled the lighting switch. WULLA!!!! the parking lights worked and the light on my aftermarket tach started working!!!! So I looked at page EL-46 and asked myself "where does the G/R wire get power from? Traced it back to the 15 amp fuse under the kick panel. So I tested the fuse and it was getting 12 volts?? The fuse was getting 12 volts but the parking lights wasn't working still. Maybe the fuse wasn't making a good contact in the fuse holder. I took the fuse and twisted the prong a little. Pushed it back in and still no good. Now when I removed the fuse and put power to the out bound side of the fuse, and cycle the switch, everything works. So I said let me try another 15 amp fuse. I replaced it with another 15 amp fuse and everything worked fine!!
I ohmed out the fuse and the fuse had continuity. I'm guessing there was a little oxidation or something, but who cares. I trashed it so I wouldn't accidentally use it again..lol
I suck at typing and I ramble on at times but I hope this helps someone else in the future.
Kind Regard