Front ambers wont turn off, but function normally when using turn signals/hazards.
 

Hey, so I'm having a crazy electrical problem after installing a new engine in my car. I've lurked here a long time and have gotten a lot of help from you guys, but this one is beyond me.

The car started life as a 1998 Firebird base model coupe hardtop, no option stripper car. I swapped out the V6 and T5 for an LS1 and T56. It has a 99 Computer and engine harness. About 2 years ago I pulled the motor for a rebuild/upgrade and it sat until recently.

Anyway, after getting it all back together, whenever I turn the ignition key to the run position, you can hear the flasher audibly "click", and both front amber turn signals light up to the bright filament and stay lit. It didn't use to do this, it used to be the ambers only lit when in "park" or "headlights".

Both turn signals work normally however. When you turn a signal off, they'll go out for a sec, and then, again, the flasher "clicks" and both signals light up again. It does the same thing for hazards, they function normally, then upon disengaging them, a "click" is heard and the turns both light up brightly.

When I turn the headlight switch to Park, you can visibly see the low filliment light. When I turn it all the way to headlight, the ambers turn off all together.

The only fuse that will kill the lit turn signals is the guage fuse, even though the schematics show that it is supposed to be the tail lps or turn b/u fuse that lights the park lights.

Im going crazy here. I've replaced every bulb there is to replace. I've replaced both sockets. I've checked the grounds. I've chased circuits. I'm at a loss. :confused:

The only thing I can think of, is maybe either the guage cluster itself or the headlight switch is bad, but before I go spending money, I wanted to get your guys opinions.

Any information would be hugely helpful. :cool:

Heres how they're SUPPOSED to work

Car on = Ambers on, full bright

Ignition set to Run = Ambers on, full bright

Parking lights = Ambers on, full bright

Headlights on = Ambers on, dimmed

Check the connections on your BCM. The DRL/Turn signal functions of the lights are controlled by that. Its decently common for the DRLs to stop functioning entirely because of a bad solder at the BCM.

This is not correct. With the parking lights and headlights on, the same lamp filament is illuminated.

This is describing the normal function of the DRL module. Maybe it wasn't working before and now you have it fixed? :) There are solenoids in the module, that turn on the lights, which is what you probably hear "clicking." When the turn signals are on or the hazards are on, they turn "off" when the flasher flashes. Once the flashing is over, the module will re-set to DRL mode.


This sounds like a separate problem on the separate filament. My guess would be a bad contact in the headlight switch. I'd first get a hold of the schematic for the headlight switch and test it out with a continuity tester. It's not uncommon for this switch to go bad.

Well mine don't dim unless the headlights are on.

Yea. Here is the schematic. The DRL should be signaled off and the parking lights turned on when the switch is in either the "Park" or "Head" position.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/ls1tech...9fe73c195f.gif


I wonder if your headlight switch has a bad contact. Do your rear lights come on when your switch is in the "Park" position?

BTW - It looks like AutoZone has purchased the rights to the Helm Inc. schematics for our cars and they are now available online!

Hey guys, thanks for all the input. It looks like wssix was correct, it was working incorrectly before, and is now working correctly. After changing all the sockets and bulbs, everything operates correctly now, which I verified with the owners manual

Sorry for the ignorance and I appreciate the patient replies.

like the guy your replying to, mine stay on the brighter filament till I switch on the headlights too, and yes the rest of the parking lights and gauge lights come on in the park position.

Yup. All 4 side markers and the brake lights illuminate when switched into the park position.

Really weird. I've had to replace the sockets twice as well so. The car has a remote start so I'm wondering if something got ever so slightly goofed when it was installed. But the car has 0 electrical issues soooo idk?

I know that I wrote that everything checked out, but having my wife watch the lights again, im having the same problem you are.

my park lamps also stay on the bright fillament when the headlight switch is in Park.

My car has one electrical gremlin though, when i turn the headlight switch on, the radio volume jumps up significantly. Someone had also installed an aftermarket amp which was pulled out. Weird. I might start checking the radio wiring and see if they screwed somethinf up somewhere.

I don't know if I'd call it a "problem" as it makes more sense to me to keep the DRLs at full brightness until the headlights are actually needed but now that you mention it, mine DOES kinda do the thing with the radio. I turned the far left equalizer lever all the way down low. ANYTHING higher than that though and the radio itself doesn't get louder, but the subwoofers in the sail panel area suddenly go into maximum overdrive and start thumping as if I have an aftermarket system or something. I still have the factory amp, speakers and head unit.

I completely forgot about that since I disconnected the subs almost a year ago because they were both horribly blown. Probably because of this issue being undressed by the PO.

I got out the mirror last night and found that my car does this also. :)

I guess the schematics are wrong? The front parking lights and DRL interrupt must be tied to the headlight output of the switch?

The most logical thing I can think of is that the schematic is for a Camaro and the Firebirds were wired slightly different because of the pop up headlights, but I'm no electrician.

when leaving the garage the other night (after dark) I sat there playing with my headlight switch and it seams as tho the DRL (bright filament) comes on with the car, when I switch to parking the lighter filament comes on too, so BOTH filaments are on with park and when I switch on headlights they all go out for a second (while the lights are raising) and when they come back on they are on the lighter filament.

I sat there flipping back and forth between parking and off and there was an ever so slight increase in brightness, my wiring is all stock (but the motor has been swapped at one point before I owned it) and has the occasional gremlin where the passenger DRL doesn't want to work which usually occurs when the humidity is high, like when raining or after washing the car, but it always comes back after it dries out.

Are you sure you aren't seeing things??? I hear this happens due to old age or when you... (ahhem) play with your "headlight switch" too much. ;)

^ That would be really odd. For sure, my car was not doing that and I can't think of a mechanism of how that could happen. It would need some kind of DRL malfunction, but if the DRL isn't getting a signal until the headlights go on, I can't think of how the module would "know" to misbehave.


This is consistent with the DRL module signing off.

I'll double check to confirm, my headlight bezels (the black trim around the lenses) are off the car so I can reach down and pull out the bulb when I get home.


Edit:

Checked and confirmed, with the car OFF, the dimmer filament comes on with the parking lights and cycles off and back on with the headlights, with the car running and headlights OFF its the DRL bright filament, parking lights add the dim filament but DRL filament does not shut off till headlights are turned on.