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head light will not turn off

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Old 03-11-2007, 06:21 PM
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Default head light will not turn off

i have a 95 pontiac bonneville ssei and it has been sitting in the drive way for about a month. I went to start it last week and the battery was dead, so i gave it a boost, then took it out for a rip, then parked it. I came back to the car this morning, and again the battery was dead. so i boosted it again, let it run, then shut it off. But then i noticed the outside lights on the head lights will not shut off. i played around the the switch and the headlights still wont shut off. does any body know what could be wrong?
Old 03-12-2007, 12:27 AM
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With the car sitting that long, could some corrosion formed on your ground cables?
Disconnect the battery again, and thoroughly clean the terminals. Then, disconnect the ground cable from the engine block and clean that area up using a wire brush.
Make sure the areas are clean, then reconnect the strap to the car, then connect the battery terminals.

Bad grounds can do funky things!

Please keep us posted!

Adam
Old 03-12-2007, 12:52 AM
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I'm not 100% sure of the year, but I know that one (and thinking it is '95) had issues with the headlight switch going bad. Try a search using headlight switch and billboost37 as the author for more information.
Old 03-12-2007, 09:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Archon
I'm not 100% sure of the year, but I know that one (and thinking it is '95) had issues with the headlight switch going bad. Try a search using headlight switch and billboost37 as the author for more information.
Try that too. You might want to turn the Twilight Sentinel off (outer ring of headlight switch) as a troubleshooting measure. Check wiring & harness that connects to hl switch for overheated wiring. Bill Boost can educate you on headlight switch failures.
Old 03-12-2007, 09:30 PM
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It'* true, I'm guilty of being the resident headlight switch guy.

http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...light+meltdown

Searching with my user name and headlight or connector and you will probably find 5-10 posts where the person has a 1995 SSEi with a meltdown. The 95 switches are different than 96-99. 95 had melting/overheating switch/connector issues. The best fix is to replace the switch and about a foot of wiring from a 96+ with twilight sentinel.
Old 03-16-2007, 08:13 AM
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Found this:

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Pontiac.../recalls.shtml
Old 03-19-2007, 08:05 PM
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Default headlight wont turn off

sorry it took me long enough to reply.....the one day everything started working fine but it was a really damp day.. then the next day i tried the car and then again the headlight wont turn off.. so on a damp day lights will work correctly..... then i started playing around with the fuses under the hood by the firewall. and i pulled out some kind of relay fuse for the head lights and put it back in, and there was a clicking sound underneath the dash somewhere..which must be the modular for the daytime running lights.. am i in the right direction? and where abouts is this modular for the daytime running lights?
Old 03-19-2007, 08:59 PM
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Default Re: headlight wont turn off

Originally Posted by bayer
i pulled out some kind of relay fuse for the head lights and put it back in, and there was a clicking sound underneath the dash somewhere..which must be the modular for the daytime running lights.. am i in the right direction? and where abouts is this modular for the daytime running lights?
Did you read the information in the link posted by bsan63? Also, It is the headlights that cannot be turned off, correct? I don't think 95'* had DRL'*. Someone tell me if I'm wrong. Which fuse/relay did you remove? We need a fuse number or relay number whichever.
Old 03-19-2007, 09:47 PM
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Bayer..if you don't read the link I posted.. you are doing yourself a great injustice.

In the last 2 years we have seen about 10 failures of this type. All have been the headlight switch. The amount of failures has actually led us to mentioning this to each 95 owner as we notice they have any type of light failure.

Mark..Canadian models had DRL'*. Not sure that this is a Canadian model though.
Old 03-22-2007, 09:05 AM
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The recall I saw was for 95'* with the twilight sentinal. Mine has a plain old switch that has gone bad, no dash dim and no parking lights. I just get all the lights when in the full headlight position.

I'd love to get in on the recall but it looks like I;m not included.

Can I put a twilight sentinal switch from the junk yard in and expect it to work or is there more involved than just the switch?.......Nevermind, I wouldn't have the sentinal ring to switch over.


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