maybe its something up with the sensor? Hook up a multimeter for resistance.. and hook it up to the two wires in it.. see what it does and how fast it reacts.. if you'd like I'd be happy to test some stuff out on mine, either with putting my hand over it or whatever so you can have a comparison of data.


-justin

So it looks like there really isn't enough of a delay anymore?

yeah, it sounds almost too quick.


-justin

Okay, keep in mind that the sensor _is_ going to react immediately; it'* the control unit that is supposed to wait for 17 seconds (or whatever) before it changes state, either lights on or lights off, to keep up with whatever the light sensor is reporting. If yours is reacting too fast, then it'* the control unit that'* jumping the gun here, and not waiting its required 17 seconds before turning the lights on or off.

As I said before, I think the next step is to remove and reinstall the light controller, to see if oxidized pins might be causing the strange behavior.

Well, the thing’* so intermittent that I can’t really say that the sensor circuit is too sensitive or reacting too quickly – at least not all the time. It doesn’t do it under every bridge, just occasionally. And last night in the 2 miles or so I drove in darkness the green lights flashed me 3 or 4 times. Other nights it works just fine. :?

I’m thinking Andy’* got the right idea for the next step – pop the LCM in and out of its socket. It’* possible that polishing the contact surfaces of the pins may cure the problem. And it costs $0 (unless I do the usual and break something in the process).

Now just to find the time…

SM

maybe the controler is showing its signs of failing.. and that'* why its so intermittent. I agree, the cleaning of the contacts can't hurt anything. If that still doesn't help, then i'm thinking a control box is in order.


-justin

I’ve been too busy with other projects to devote much time to this anomaly, but I think I may have stumbled on the problem with my green dash lights flashing and relay clicking! It apparently has something to do with the cell phone power cord that my wife purchased fairly recently and plugged into the lighter receptacle on the dash.

I can’t remember exactly when she got the phone cord, and I don’t remember exactly when the lights started acting up so I didn’t make the correlation. I happened to be driving with my wife one evening and when she plugged her phone into the charger, the lights blinked. And it was repeatable by unplugging and plugging the phone in! When she activated the phone like she was going to make a call, the lights flashed repeatedly and the relay clicked like an eBay buyer with 15 seconds left on the auction.

It turns out the phone doesn’t actually have to be plugged in for the problem to happen, the phone cord just needs to be plugged in the dash. It’* much more random and less frequent, however.

Interestingly, it appears that if the phone is plugged into the overhead accessory receptacle the problem doesn’t seem to manifest itself. I’ll have to take a look at the schematic again to see what the relationship between these power receptacles and the dash lights is.

Meanwhile it looks like the problem is solved. Thanks for all your suggestions and technical advice! This is one for the books.

None that I can think of, but I'm wondering if there'* an intermittent ground or even a short in the dash power outlet, not bad enough to blow the fuse, but enough to cause a momentary power drain that affects other electronics sharing the same ground point.

Is this actually a cigar lighter outlet rather than just a 12-volt outlet? If so, does the lighter operate normally in it? Is the socket clean, and not loose?

Sorry Andy, been a bit busy lately!

Yes, this is actually a cigar lighter receptacle. There are no smokers in the family so the lighter is never used (it lives a happy life rolling around in the center console - it'* never been used). I assume it works, but I haven't tried it lately. The receptacle itself seems snug, and ever since I unplugged the phone cord I have had no problems with the dash lights. I've had other phones plugged into this receptacle before with no adverse affect, so I'm thinking there'* a problem in the cord. When it'* plugged into my '03 Silverado my son says he can here a "beeping" noise from somewhere, which goes away when the cord is unplugged. (I'm suprised he can hear anything after driving his Vette with that bass thumping at 120dB).

If there is a short or a loose connection in the Bonneville, I'll just quit using that particular outlet because everything else works fine. After reading some of the problems others are having with their dashes (compass problems, gauge problems, DIC problems, etc.) I'm a little gun-shy about poking around in there if everything'* working!! WIth my luck I'd get the stupid lighter working good and lose my HUD in the process.

Unless I get froggy sometime in the future, I'm going to blame the phone cord for my troubles and call it good. It'* just easier that way.

I've been reading a little about those transmission position indicator lights that blinked out on my Bonneville - I may just try to tackle that problem next.