I've had a 97 Buick LeSabre for some years now...good little car, even if it's a grandpa car. 🙂
Recently all of my interior lights stopped working and occasionally the "chime" when you start the car will ding abnormally. (Not while driving, just at start....it might only give a half a ding...it might be delayed by about 10 seconds.)
I checked the interior lights fuse located on the driver's side fuse box 8B. A visual inspection says the fuse it good. I swapped it with a spare that was available and I still have no interior lights. (Dome, review-mirror, floor, etc).
Anyone know of any quirks on this car? I'm ok with the interior lights not working, but if I can fix it for next to nothing I'd like to have them back.
Thanks in advance.
I'm ok with the interior lights not working, but if I can fix it for next to nothing I'd like to have them back.
Charm.li is used by many members to access diagrams, service manuals and more.
Grab a 12V tester or multimeter and check out this link for first steps at troubleshooting. The chime and interior lights are often 'timed circuits' and have more than a simple single fuse.
Sadly wiring diagrams are apparently not my strong suit
Which part are you having trouble with? feel free to post a link to one if you need something in particular interpreted.
My interior lights are essentially dead.
Like Hixster mentioned, a multimeter is basic kit and required for electrical troubleshooting. You will never narrow down the cause without being able to measure and test. It is a process of elimination.
By the sounds of it you have intermittent issues (sometimes works, sometimes doesn't). So it's mostly likely a bad connection caused by things like corrosion on terminals, grounds, damaged wires etc. But again there are miles of wires so you need some way of narrowing it down.
So step 1 get a multimeter. Even if it's a $10 cheapie at harbor fright. Black probe goes on negative, red on positive. Measure the voltage on each of the problem areas.
the few grounds on the car
there a more than a few. Try a hundred.
I would most likely be seeing many, many more failures instead of just these few
Not so. Because there are so many, when one ground fails, it starts "leaking" into other grounds and affecting those circuits in unpredictable ways. They are notorious for going bad on GM cars, and they are one of the first things I would check in your case. The service manual should list them and (hopefully) provide drawings of their locations.
I'm not above replacing a relay, though I've never known them to go "bad".
They definitely go bad. They are rated to last a limited number of cycles. That's doesn't you mean should start replacing them willy nilly. They can be tested easily.
Always check the fundamentals on any car first. That means in this case to start with the battery and its cables/connections. Older cars are susceptible to having poor grounds so you must rule out the 'primary ground' from the battery to the frame first or you'll end up chasing your tale. (I'm speaking from experience on chasing my tale!)Anyone know of any quirks on this car?
Alright crew. I've spent the better part of 2 hours looking at Charm.li. Sadly wiring diagrams are apparently not my strong suit. I'm not a complete idiot, I just don't have a lot of experience reading the things. I'm looking for a common point of failure for the following items. (Granted some may not be related.)
- My interior lights are essentially dead. (Reading light, dome light...got nothing.) (Wondering if this is what the manual calls courtesy lights?)
- My Chime...has a mind of it's own. Some days works just fine...other days no chime.
- My trunk light may blink on randomly for a split second a few times, but generally it stays off too. Definitely, doing better than my interior lights...so may not be related.)
- My horn would go off by itself and not stop, to the point that I pulled the fuse from the passenger side and I'm just running with no horn now.
- My rear window defogger is mostly dead. The last time my interior lights were working, the rear defogger worked so I think my interior lights and the rear defogger have something in common.
All button lights indicate that the system is working and "on" if that helps.
As we head into winter...I would really like to get my rear window defogger working again.
This weekend I plan to double-check my grounds. However, I don't suspect that it's a ground that has become disconnected as the few grounds on the car seem to be tied into multiple systems and I would most likely be seeing many, many more failures instead of just these few. I'm not above replacing a relay, though I've never known them to go "bad". I'm starting to fear it may be a board or module that is going out after dang near 30 years. I've checked and replaced fuses...but that has had no effect. (I didn't find any blown fuses, but replaced some just to be sure.)
Any words of wisdom on where to start or how to trace this issue down?
@sebastien47136 Please read our forum rules. Only one topic per problem is allowed. Thanks. (Topics merged)