Salvaged_Z

Hi, Just wondering if anybody on this board is an Electronic tech or really knows their stuff when dealing with the wiring in a 2000 Camaro and could help me out. I bought a sequential turn signal kit and installed it myself. The kit's sockets were too big on the end of the T/L's and when I tightened the wing nut, the ground wire was cut open from being pinched too hard. This instantly fried a ground wire in the loom, blew the T/Light fuse, and for some reason made my courtesy/dimmer lights stay on at all times. I pulled the fuse for the dimmer, light went off, put the fuse back in, now the light won't come back on at all?? Also noticed my door locks just make a clicking noise in the BCM, but won't lock or unlock now. A little "ding, ding, ding" bell does go off if the doors are open and I try to lock them. I replaced the ground wire and fixed everything back up. The sequentials were working really good and everything was fine except for the locks, and courtesy lights still not working. I turn the car on today and smoke started pouring out from under the dash and my rear section. The new fuse I put in place of the old T/L fuse didn't blow this time, just melted the plastic right off of it. Also burnt another ground wire in the back on the opposite side. I realize this is a lot of stuff to take in, that's why I'm asking if anybody really knows their stuff with this car or wiring in general. Please help if you can. Thanks in advance!!!!

banks01ws6

If I am understanding this right, You were tightening a bolt and cut your ground wire.....If this is the case, it would not have hurt anything. I believe you have the lights wired improperly. The worst thing with your ground wire that would have happened is that they wouldn't have worked until you regrounded the wire.

banks01ws6

Yes I reread the post and you definately have your wiring wrong. I'm guessing that you used a relay to hook these up.(or it had one built in) I'll wait until you fill me in on more info before I post again.

Salvaged_Z

Thanks for the reply. Like I said, the socket of the bulb with the kit was too long and was hitting against the back of the car as I tightened down on the plastic wingnut inside the trunk. I didn't notice it until I took the T/L back out and saw that the wire was cut. I am assuming that was the problem that caused the shortout, but I do understand what you're saying about not being grounded and it just not working. This is the real kick in the *** though...after wiring everything back up and replacing the burnt wire, the sequentials worked fine. This is telling me that I did have everything wired correctly. Except for the fact that my doorlocks and courtesy lights wouldn't work. I pulled the BCM out this morning to check for loose wires in it. Didn't see any at all. No burnt/cut wires anywhere near the harness. So, I plugged and unplugged the 3 harnesses coming out of the BCM to see which harness gave power to the door locks. When I tried pushing the lock button while the doors were open, the module made a "ding, ding, ding" bell noise. When I closed the door and hit the lock button, it only made a relay clicking noise. I turned the key on to see if anything else would happen. Actually, I forgot to mention, my map lights weren't coming on either. That's what made me turn the key to see if they would come on. About 15 seconds after the key was on, is when I noticed smoke pouring out from the dash vents and fuse box by the driver's side door. I quick pulled the key out of the ignition, went to the trunk to get a wrench to disconnect the battery, noticed smoke pouring out of my harness on the passenger side, and then quickly unhooked the battery. I checked out the T/L fuse and it didn't blow like it was supposed to--just melted the plastic. Why would the taillights blink fine the night before, then fry today? BTW, my ASR switch didn't work this morning either when I tried it. If you know a lot about the wiring, maybe you know what affects the asr, maplights, courtesy lights, and doorlocks and possibly pinpoint what the hell is causing these taillights to fry. I'm totally lost and I really want to get this car inspected for the R-title b/c it's ready.
Sorry for the long post here; just want to be very detailed or it won't be worth even posting.
As for the kit, it came with 4 wires for each side. A left/right input spliced into the wire which cause the blinking, then 3 wires for the outer, center, and inner inputs. The bulbs which replace the little factory ones with 2 wires has three wires coming out of them: a ground, outer output, and park wire. One connection I didn't make in the kit because it was too vague was to make a connection b/w a light blue wire in the brake light switch and a white wire in terminal "p" in the multifunction turnsignal switch. I didn't know what it meant and there was only an electrical diagram of the connection made. I would've made the connection had the turnsignals not worked. However, they worked so I just left it alone. The only other thing I could possibly think of is after the first fuse blew, when I tried to replace it with the key on it started to spark. I took the key out, put the new fuse in, and nothing else happened except for the courtesy lights staying on. Also, after the T/L fuse went today, I notice my headlights were on even when the switch was turned off, and the key was out of the ignition. Same thing happened when the first fuse blew. I took notice of it when disconnecting the battery. Hope all this helps somebody diagnos the problem here. I could take some pics tomorrow of the wiring job and post them if I could find out how. I'm new to posting on the board so I'm not sure yet how to put up picks; although, I've been reading them for a long time b/c they've been very helpful and interesting. Sorry again for the novel here. Ask me anything if you need to, of course. Thanks again!!

Salvaged_Z

I just pulled the lamp out and checked to see which wire was burnt this time on the passenger side. It was the exact same wire I had a problem with on the driver's side. The ground wire on the new socket was pinched the exact same way as the other one was. I made a connection b/w the ground wire on the new socket, and the ground wire on the old socket. The wire fried from where the old ground meets the connector back to the little cluster of other ground wires. The ground wire coming off the socket to where it meets the connector was untouched both times. Just the little black wire is frying. The two other wires on both sockets look pinched and a little sliced too. They're not exposed like both ground wires were, though. Hope this sheds some more light on what's happening.

Salvaged_Z

Well, I diagnosed the problem with the ground wire that was just fried. I rehooked the battery up, pulled out the test light, put the test light in the fried ground wire, and the test light didn't light up. (BTW, I did make sure to turn the lights on and ground the test light I was a little puzzled so I jiggled some wires around. The test light and the rest of the car lights blipped really quick. I jiggled the sliced ground wire and it arced against the metal on the socket and the test light lit up again. Funny the fuse didn't blow again. And I found out why the fuse didn't blow before and just melted. My 30 amp fuses are just a shade darker green than the 20 amps; I had a 30 amp fuse in there before.(I'm a dumbass) This would cause it not to blow, right? When I went to replace it again, it sparked again and blew the fuse I was placing into it. I put another one in, it sparked a very little, but accepted the fuse without blowing it. Sequencer works fine again. However, this car is really testing my patience. (Good thing I really like it) My ASR switch is working fine now. Now, my radio, door locks, courtesy lights, and trunk release are all not working. My BCM is constantly making a clicking noise; my fuse relay for the trunk just clicks when I push the button; my door locks are making funny beeps if I press the button when the doors are open; the radio does not work at all; map lights are still out. I smelled the inside of the BCM and there's no burning smell and everything looks fine. I checked all the wiring I could see with a flashlight under the dash and no burns, smells, or disconnections. All fuses under hood and on driver's side dash are good except for the fuse area that burnt up today. There's a little bit of plastic melted there. The fuse had a little bit of a hard time going in, but it went in all the way. I have another BCM if anybody thinks that's what's fried. I tried hooking that up today, but the car wouldn't even turn over and nothing worked at all. Are BCM's specific to one car? I would think so. Don't know what else to say other than I know the battery had charge to it b/c I had it jumped to my other Camaro at the time. The first day I blew the fuse, I also noticed all my needles in the cluster sweeping all the way when I would turn the key on. I figured this was only because the battery was almost dead, though. When I jumped it to the other car, this went away. Altogether, the sequential problem is solved (so far) but the other things that have gone wrong are getting me a little frustrated to say the least!! Let's hear what you guys think. Thanks for reading; sorry if I put you to sleep hahaha