Interior lights stopped working after WOT, no blown fuse..

triggz · 06-29-2007, 06:38 PM

Last night I was testing some things out and I went WOT a few times, and my interior lights just went out on me. They went dim for a second, then went out completely. Also just realized the foglights and parking lights wont turn on either.. The gauges, blinkers and warning indicator lights all still work and the clock and odo reading are still lit up, but they're lit up in the 'daytime' brightness level like when your headlights are off. Turning the headlights on/off or turning the dimmer doesn't make them change brightness levels anymore, pulling from the foglight position to the headlamp position makes the clock/odo blink off for a split second.

I checked all my fuses, found none blown. I put a voltmeter to the dimmer output and its not putting anything out anymore. I have some autometer gauges tee'd off this wire, but they've been on for years and I know they're wired up right. Disconnected their lights but that didn't help. My 4 gauges bulbs were all powered from that dimmer wire in parallel.. could it have finally been too much wattage, and if so what would have blown? This is how everyone else has had theirs wired up though and I don't see 4 small bulbs being too much.

edit:

I found two blown fuses in the fusebox near the battery
9 - 20A* - Auxiliary Power Point
10- 30A* - Parklamps
That explains it all, but what could cause those to pop? If the auxiliary power point is is the 12v plug in the center console, I think that ones been gone for a while. That plug stopped working a while back and I put in a 700w 120v power inverter in its place..

Wicked · 07-07-2007, 05:19 PM

Just a thought but could the inverter be drawing a little more than when it was new? If it has a cooling fan, the fins of the heat exchanger could be clogged.

Other than that, I would do a wiggle test and look for possible shorts to ground.

triggz · 07-16-2007, 02:34 AM

Well, the problem really manifested itself the other day. I put another fuse in (and knowing it was a bad idea, put in a 40amp to replace the 30amp originally) and hooked up my predator. When I turned on the foglights the output voltage went from like 13.4 to 11.8, the lights dimmed and engine bogged.. thought ohh this is not good.

Must be a straight-grounded wire.

Then after like 10 seconds SMOKE started pouring out the back of the car

I turned it all off and took apart the area behind the seat to find that the wire loom running from under the back seat into the truck had gotten pinched in the chassis, and 2 ground wires for the tail lights were eaten through. Replaced about 6ft total of wire in those two and taped it all up in a new loom safe and sound.

Cranked the car up and the lights all worked correctly with no voltage draw like before, went around to the back of the car while it was running to put it back together and the car started stumbling and misfiring. Turned it off, and it wouldnt start back up! Checked with my predator and the fuel pump is putting out ZERO psi! It only bumps to 1psi when trying to start it which is probably just from the injectors trying to fire.
WTF?!

Gonna put voltage straight to the pump tomorrow to see if its the pump or more fuses/wires. I'm so glad I have a beater car now.

06-29-2007, 06:38 PM	#1
triggz Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 245	Interior lights stopped working after WOT, no blown fuse.. Last night I was testing some things out and I went WOT a few times, and my interior lights just went out on me. They went dim for a second, then went out completely. Also just realized the foglights and parking lights wont turn on either.. The gauges, blinkers and warning indicator lights all still work and the clock and odo reading are still lit up, but they're lit up in the 'daytime' brightness level like when your headlights are off. Turning the headlights on/off or turning the dimmer doesn't make them change brightness levels anymore, pulling from the foglight position to the headlamp position makes the clock/odo blink off for a split second. I checked all my fuses, found none blown. I put a voltmeter to the dimmer output and its not putting anything out anymore. I have some autometer gauges tee'd off this wire, but they've been on for years and I know they're wired up right. Disconnected their lights but that didn't help. My 4 gauges bulbs were all powered from that dimmer wire in parallel.. could it have finally been too much wattage, and if so what would have blown? This is how everyone else has had theirs wired up though and I don't see 4 small bulbs being too much. edit: I found two blown fuses in the fusebox near the battery 9 - 20A* - Auxiliary Power Point 10- 30A* - Parklamps That explains it all, but what could cause those to pop? If the auxiliary power point is is the 12v plug in the center console, I think that ones been gone for a while. That plug stopped working a while back and I put in a 700w 120v power inverter in its place.. __________________ 2000 Black on Black on Black 4R70W N2O GT Convertible times Stock rebuild 11/12/04 ....... 100shot 10/15/06 1/4: 14.08@99.32 ............. 1/4: 12.8@108 Horsepower for Charity dyno: 357rwhp/398rwtq sae Last edited by triggz; 06-29-2007 at 09:04 PM.

07-07-2007, 05:19 PM	#2
Wicked Friends Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Pell City, AL Posts: 1,371	Just a thought but could the inverter be drawing a little more than when it was new? If it has a cooling fan, the fins of the heat exchanger could be clogged. Other than that, I would do a wiggle test and look for possible shorts to ground. __________________ 2001 Cobra 'Vert Procharged and Intercooled 455rwhp/441rwtq Work Car: 2005 Honda Odyssey 400 whp Turbo V6, 6-speed, full cage, H&R Suspension, Brembo Brakes

07-16-2007, 02:34 AM	#3
triggz Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 245	Well, the problem really manifested itself the other day. I put another fuse in (and knowing it was a bad idea, put in a 40amp to replace the 30amp originally) and hooked up my predator. When I turned on the foglights the output voltage went from like 13.4 to 11.8, the lights dimmed and engine bogged.. thought ohh this is not good. Must be a straight-grounded wire. Then after like 10 seconds SMOKE started pouring out the back of the car I turned it all off and took apart the area behind the seat to find that the wire loom running from under the back seat into the truck had gotten pinched in the chassis, and 2 ground wires for the tail lights were eaten through. Replaced about 6ft total of wire in those two and taped it all up in a new loom safe and sound. Cranked the car up and the lights all worked correctly with no voltage draw like before, went around to the back of the car while it was running to put it back together and the car started stumbling and misfiring. Turned it off, and it wouldnt start back up! Checked with my predator and the fuel pump is putting out ZERO psi! It only bumps to 1psi when trying to start it which is probably just from the injectors trying to fire. WTF?! Gonna put voltage straight to the pump tomorrow to see if its the pump or more fuses/wires. I'm so glad I have a beater car now. __________________ 2000 Black on Black on Black 4R70W N2O GT Convertible times Stock rebuild 11/12/04 ....... 100shot 10/15/06 1/4: 14.08@99.32 ............. 1/4: 12.8@108 Horsepower for Charity dyno: 357rwhp/398rwtq sae Last edited by triggz; 07-16-2007 at 02:36 AM.