Headlight Switch???
 

1994 Bonneville SSEi, 183,000

I am having some problems with my parking lamps staying on even when I turn the car and headlight switch to the off position. I am currently having to pull the parking lamp fuse to get them to turn off. And I have to put a 30 amp fuse in to get them to turn on (it only requires a 15 amp). Is this possibly the switch itself? I have gone through and removed and cleaned all of my ground wires and inspected much of the other wiring. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
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1994 SSEi, TR 55's, CAI, Custom painted engine components, Sony Subwoofer, Dying Transmission!!!!!!

I still have no idea about what is going on with my tail and parking lamps. I have gotten pulled over 3 times in the past week because they are so dim!!! I replaced my switch and still saw no improvements. I continue to blow the 15 watt fuses and use a 30 watt that melts over the course of a few days.

Several other things are occuring as a result of this lighting problem. My climate control flashes to the beat of my music,and it dims when I move the seat. I also can barely see my dash lights since it is all on the same fuse.

Another weird thing is that if I put the bulb in the tail lamp socket backwards it gets brighter than it was when it was inserted correctly. (The bulbs have two notches at different heights so that they are able to be locked into place by twisting)

I have no idea where to go from here and I am getting very frustrated with this dilemma. I will try anything and accept any help that you are willing to give me! Thanks.

I was gonna suggest you remove the headlight switch and look at the connector. We've heard problems with the connector melting. If there is power or ground running to other places through it, that could be your problem. Maybe get a switch from the junkyard to swap and see what happens.

My 95 SSE did the same problem. So I bought a newer head light switch from our parts guy for cheap and installed it and the problem is fixed. And yes the original switch was melted.

The wiring however will be a little different so do one wire at a time and it will all match up and work like new.

...Todd

I did go to my local auto salvage yard and remove a switch from another bonneville, I swapped them out and it didn't fix the problem. I see no visible melting of the connectors or wires on either of the switches.

What happens if you leave the switch disconnected? Does the problem go away if you leave the fuse out? Do you have a multimeter or an ammeter to see if there is a drain across the fuse?

so being that did not fix the problem...would't this be a bad BCM???

somebody chime in on this.

Thanks...Todd

This problem continues to go through multiple puzzling stages. I left my dome light on last night for approximately 4 hours, jumped in the car and turned on my lights and everything seemed to be fine. But now the problem has returned to it's normal broken state.

Every now and then when I turn my lights on I can smell electrical burning from somewhere. they also work for about a second when I first turn them on, everything will be bright and dandy for those few seconds and then JUNK!!!

I don't have diagrams for your car, but if I can locate some I'll have a look into this. Replacing a 15A fuse with a 30A fuse is very bad idea. Sooner or later something may fail instead of the fuse and you could end up with a fire. Fuses are already rated at a slightly higher capacity than the circuit requires. If you're blowing a 30A (even after a short time such as a few days), something is seriously wrong. You may find yourself driving down a dark road with no means of lighting at all.

What year did you get the new switch from? You'd be surprised how often that part changes.

Was your connector melted at all?

To the best of my knowledge, 94 was a unique year on that switch. 93 and 95 are different, and shouldn't work in it. I know for a fact that 93 won't.