Well i have a set of LED's in my interior.... and the light that covers the rear seats and some of the hatch area started to not work properly.
So i decide to remove it.
I take a small trip to my uncles....
and i noticed my interior lights are all out! (even my glove compartment one)
And my doors wont lock....
i need to lock them manually but the switched on both doors wont work
One thing i did notice was when i try to lock or unlock the car with the
switches on the doors
I can hear like a relay or something clicking on the passenger side under the glove compartment.
Also when i drive the car around i can hear this relay or ticking sound go on time after time when I'm driving.... ( guessing it trying to lock the doors since I'm driving and the doors are still open.

And yes i checked all fuses inside the car and in the engine bay
there all clean.

And another note my gauges still work.... and light up at night time

Any one have any ideas?


Hopefully whitebird or some one else can chime in on this one.....

 

Replace your COURTESY fuse. It protects not only the courtesy lights but also the BCM circuits that control things like power locks.

Never rely on a visual inspection of fuses - they can be blown but still look fine. Always use a tester or replace with a known good fuse.

 

^ Definitely courtesy fuse. Mine kept blowing b/c the light above the rear seats was not connected all the way.

 

Thanks whitebird i owe you one!
I did use a tester and it did say it had a connection...
must be a shitty *** tester

 

whitebird i changed the fuse...
But i found the light that is on top of the rear seats completely toasted...
the locks work now....
but the lights still dont come on =/

 

Any one>?

 

i removed the top cover of the car the wire running to the light is completely burned.....
no power what o ever.
do you guys think i burned out my BCM?

 

Possible but doubtful. Your locks, hatch release, radio, power windows, alarm, keyless entry, audible chimes and VATS are all controlled by the BCM along with the courtesy lights. If the rest are working it's unlikely that the BCM is damaged although it is possible that just the courtesy light circuit was damaged.

The courtesy lights are a closed circuit where both power and ground go to the BCM (the lights don't ground to the chassis). The damaged wires could be keeping the circuit open (incomplete).

 

Thanks whitebird. ill check it out one more time.

 

Have you found out what the problem was? I am having the exact same problem. does anyone have wiring diagrams for courtesy lighting?

 

I'm traveling so I don't have schematics with me but I'm sure they've been posted before - a search should find them.

Basically, the courtesy lights are controlled by the BCM. Power is provided through the blue wire and ground through the white wire. The BCM provides constant power except after the battery saver function is activated (about 15 minutes after the ignition is turned off). It controls the courtesy lights with the ground - it reduces ground gradually to provide the theater dimming effect.

 

Thank you for your help. I have replaced bulbs. took out the bcm to see if it looked like it had water damage. replaced many fuses even though they checked out good. The only thing left to do is follow the wiring from end to end to see if there is bad wire. If one bulb burns out...do the rest of them stop working? Like ws6kid, My door locks, windows, keyless entry, stereo and dash all work perfect. When I open a door or glove box or switch the rear view mirrors to the on position, I also hear the clicking sound that sounds like a relay cycling when a courtesy light should be on.

Thanks again. I will look for schematics again. My small led flashlight is now getting real annoying.

 

The courtesy lights are wired in parallel so they're not like a Christmas tree - if one light burns out, the others will still work.

Here is the schematic:


It is probably not necessary to trace individual wires. Chances are that the problem is with the BCM rather than a broken wire (assuming the COURTESY fuse is okay). Check for power coming out of the BCM on the dark blue with white wire. Also check for ground on the white wire at the BCM. If you don't get them then the problem isn't with the wiring.

I would guess that the problem will be on the power side. Otherwise the map lights would still work since they have an independent chassis ground.

 

Reviving this old thread as I am having this exact problem in my 2002 Trans Am: Whitebird hoping you can help. Thanks for the schematic above, I saved it. I am having the exact same issues described in this thread.

Editing the post as the original was just too long. If you have questions or want more details let me know. Basically I have installed new LEDs in the rearview mirror and the ashtray. I have no bulb of any kind installed in the rear map light. This is because it stopped working a long time ago and I just hadn't gotten around to troubleshooting it. The bulb is good, I tested it on a 9V battery and I get 7V when I put a multimeter on the terminals so I am not sure at this point what's wrong.

I did some troubleshooting on it this weekend trying to get the original 212-2 filament bulb working. First time I tried to install it the Courtesy fuse blew and I replaced it. Doing more testing I noticed any time the bulb was connected the LEDs in the Rearview mirror went extremely dim, even though the bulb itself did not light up. Also anytime I had this bulb connected, trying to turn on the courtesy lights in any way, I heard an the audible click in the dash mentioned above. Left alone the click repeated every 30-45 seconds or so. I ultimately stopped troubleshooting and left the bulb out so nothing is in the rear map light now.

The real problem is that now (with the new LEDs installed in the Rearview and ashtray) I found out today that my door locks don't work at all. They worked fine before with one exception. The door lock switch in the driver's door won't unlock the passenger side door. I can unlock it with the remote so I had assumed something was bad in the switch in the door or the wiring in one of the doors had a problem etc... Between the weird things happening trying to re-install/troubleshoot the filament bulb in the rear map light and what I read above it seems like installing the LEDs have caused some problems. I'm going to install all the original OEM bulbs back tonight and see what happens.

Any ideas or help would be appreciated. Doubt its a power issue out of the BCM as mentioned above because the LEDs all light up fine.

 

Well I figured it out. Just basically pulled all the interior LEDs. Pulled the Courtesy fuse out. Added all the LEDs back in one section at a time, each time adding the fuse back in after the LEDs were installed. Did this 3 times till all lighting was re-installed. Everything works perfect now other than the Door Lock switches seem to be hit or miss if they work. I think there is another thread on that so I am off to read up on that.

Bottom line: Installing LEDs anywhere in the interior without completely removing power first seems to cause very weird problems. Most will likely tell you to disconnect the batter ANY time your messing with electronics but this just isn't something I normally do for a simple bulb swap.

 

Can't let this thread die yet.
I have a 98 SS with OPs, almost, same issues. Since I bought the car the locks/dome lights haven't worked and when I hit the locks it just either dings or clicks under passenger air bag area.

I read this page and then went out and checked my courtesy fuse and it was in fact blown. I put another 20a fuse in and then my interior lights turned on and my door locks worked, all for about 15 seconds. After I locked/unlocked my doors by the door switch a couple times, I tried with my key fob and it locked, then the fuse blew again. I tried a couple of things while replacing the fuse. I had the door open for a couple of mins then replaced it and nothing happened until I turned the car ignition on, then all the interior lights came on but dimmed and then I tried the lock and they did not work and the manual dome light switches went back to doing nothing.
I have no idea what my next steps are, do I follow the wires from the door locks to find a short? I have never dove into any electrical issues so any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

You need to determine whether the problem is with the locks or the lights. Both run off the COURTESY fuse through the BCM. To tell which is causing the problem, try operating one alone and see if the fuse blows. For example, put in a new fuse and keep opening and closing the door to turn on the courtesy lights without using the locks. Keep doing that until the fuse blows or for enough times to be sure they are not the problem. If the fuse doesn't blow then try repeatedly operating the door locks to see if that causes the fuse to blow.

Once you've reduced the issue to one circuit or the other, you can start looking for electrical issues in that circuit. It sounds like there isn't a dead short because the fuse does not blow immediately so it would seem to be something that is drawing too much current causing the fuse to blow eventually.

 

Thanks for the reply!

First, I unhooked the trunk light because I saw some people saying it caused issues, when I took it apart all the components look as if they were brand new, but I left it unplugged. I put a new fuse in and opened the door and the interior lights came on. I opened and closed the door and had the light stay on for about 10 mins. Then I unlocked/locked the doors with the door switch and that worked, then with the key fob in which that worked.

I am unsure what my issue was before (Possibly the trunk light but don't really want to test as I really wouldn't use it) but as of right now everything is working as hoped. My only guess is either the, probably 4, fuses I previously put in were bad, or the actual fuse socket didn't have a good enough connection because the bracket didn't really seem to hold the panel into place.

Thank you!

 

I’ve changed the 20 amp fuse 3 times all good fuses none of them blew when I tried the locks and the lights, when i hit the unlock switch there is a chime that goes off and when I hit the lock it clicks and it clicks every 30 seconds when the key is forward

 

The BCM probably thinks one of your doors is open. It is not uncommon for the hatch to show that it is not completely shut. It may just need a good shove or you may have to adjust the locking mechanism.