Jstylezzz

Hi there

I own a Pontiac Trans Am Firebird from '86, and ever since I bought it last year there was something weird going on with the braking lights.
The fuse would randomly pop when applying brakes. One day the fuse holds, and one day it just constantly pops. I had this one time when starting the engine (I hold the brake pedal when starting it), and smoke was coming from the air vents. From that moment on, my turn signals stopped working, and so did my brake and reverse lights. Normal taillight works fine though (when having like, the main lights on).

The smoke was coming from the big air vent under the windshield. What could I do to fix this problem? Since this is a hobby car, I'd rather fix it myself. Bringing it to the local garage to fix this would cost me a lot of money I think.

Thanks a lot in advance!

delrio_bird

Probably a short somewhere behind the fuse box. Last week I had this issue with my "courtesy" fuse popping with every replacement I put in it. As I would put a new fuse in, it was like a surge of electricity...came down to crispy wiring from the stereo deep in the dash crossing with my interior lights.

Jstylezzz

Might sound a little radical, but I've got the whole dash out today. I'm getting a custom dash somewhere next week, so I figured I could remove the dash now. The problem with the brake lights is magically solved, even with a 10 ampère fuse it works without popping (didn't have the original 20 or 15, can't remember at the moment, will get new ones tomorrow). Lights do dim just a little bit when applying the brakes though. Now the only thing I can't find is the problem with the reverse lights and turning signals. I'll search a wiring diagram on the interwebs, maybe I can find some clue there.

I think the problem with the brake lights was that some wire touched the frame or another wire, causing the brake lights to short. I'll be careful when placing the new dash in I guess.

Paul Bell

iTrader: (9)

Hey Jstyle, welcome to LS1tech!

Give us your progress & updates in a reply post, if you update your opening post, people may not go back up to see it.

The problems sound like some wires are pinched somewhere. If you had smoke at some point, you may have charred wires that'll need replacement.

Jstylezzz

Thanks for the advice
What would be the best way to check the wires? Most of them are together in tape, or in some plastic tube, so it's almost impossible to follow them.

Paul Bell

iTrader: (9)

There's no easy way to do this. You'll need to open up the harnesses and have a good look at the wires themselves. Afterwards, get it all wrapped up again.

Jstylezzz

I guess I'll try that then. Although I have the idea that something else is going on. The hazards still work fine, so the flasher is still intact, and so are all the flashing lights.
I've seen more threads on the Internet about the blinkers/reverse lights combination, but no answers were given in those threads. Is there any chance that any of you here know of this combination, and what I should check?