weird problem with interior lights

[hari-bhari]

i pulled every single fuse in the engine bay and the kick panel and they are all ok. i beleive the problem is in the relay. when the auto night sensor trips the headlights, everything works fine. however when i use the lever and click it to the middle notch, neither my interior nor my running lights are turning on. when i switch it to the headlight notch, the headlights turn on but nothing else. wtf!!

is there any way to rig the nighttime sensor into always thinking its nighttime so i can leave my interior lights on constantly?

[pythonjosh]

i pulled every single fuse in the engine bay and the kick panel and they are all ok. i beleive the problem is in the relay. when the auto night sensor trips the headlights, everything works fine. however when i use the lever and click it to the middle notch, neither my interior nor my running lights are turning on. when i switch it to the headlight notch, the headlights turn on but nothing else. wtf!!
is there any way to rig the nighttime sensor into always thinking its nighttime so i can leave my interior lights on constantly?

The easy thing with the nighttime sensor is it's just a plug. So to make the car think it's always daytime, unplug it, like most of us have. If you want the car to think it's nighttime all the time, unplug it, and splice the wires together. I haven't done this before, but I would double check the wires with a hot wire tester to make sure you're not gonna blow a fuse, or worse, short some wires.

[hari-bhari]

i guess thatll be my backup...

man i really wish i could get the lever to start workin again!

[pythonjosh]

Should start yanking all the relays behind the fuse panel. It's a biatch to get to them tho. Tools like angled needle nose pliers or a small set of channel locks will be very helpful. Good luck. I've tried it before and it's impossible to yank them by hand.

[hari-bhari]

how will i kno when one is blown?

[pythonjosh]

When you test the connections, one won't work. You know how a relay works right?

[lilmike2069]

You could just put some electrical tape over the photocell to keep daylight from reaching the sensor... then, to the sensor, it will always be dark. This might be easier and safer than splicing wires (unless you are pretty experienced with electronics)

[hari-bhari]

When you test the connections, one won't work. You know how a relay works right?

not exactly

[RichD978]

check the 10A fuse under the steering wheel i believe its 3rd column on the bottomest one. Its called the TAIL fuse if im not mistaken

[hari-bhari]

check the 10A fuse under the steering wheel i believe its 3rd column on the bottomest one. Its called the TAIL fuse if im not mistaken

yea i checked that fuse, along with alllll of the other ones. they are all intact

[pythonjosh]

When you test the connections, one won't work. You know how a relay works right?

not exactly

Ok, here's how a relay works. If you've done my Independant Fog Light mod, it'll make more sense. But with most of the relays in the car, if you pull one, you'll see 2 smaller prongs, and 2 bigger prongs. Usually they will be perpendicular to each other, but not always. Meaning 2 will be vertical and 2 will be horizontal. The 2 smaller connectors operate the electromagnet so one has to be positive, and the other a ground. (most of the switches in the car like the door locks, headlights, and fogs are just switches for the ground part of the relay). When the relay gets both these connections, it connects the 2 larger prongs like a switch. Like it "lowers the drawbridge" for an example to show that it lets current flow thru the relay to supply the positive for the head lights/foglights etc.
Here's a page with some more detail and more thorough explanations:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/relay.htm
For another example of a relay, and something I think you'll find really useful:
How Power Windows work:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/power-window.htm
Hope this helps bhai

[hari-bhari]

awesome, i think i understand now how it works. my question is this. how can you blow one? i think i know what i did, i hooked up the positive parking light wire from the unit to the negative wire in hte car, but i thought that would have blown a fuse, not a relay....

[pythonjosh]

awesome, i think i understand now how it works. my question is this. how can you blow one? i think i know what i did, i hooked up the positive parking light wire from the unit to the negative wire in hte car, but i thought that would have blown a fuse, not a relay....

Things could have gotten warped, or overamped, or something. My window relay is broken somehow. It's another factor in the circuit your working with that could have a problem. With your symptoms, it's worth taking a look at.

[RichD978]

check the 10A fuse under the steering wheel i believe its 3rd column on the bottomest one. Its called the TAIL fuse if im not mistaken

yea i checked that fuse, along with alllll of the other ones. they are all intact

did you check if they were intact or blown? make sure its not blown

[hari-bhari]

check the 10A fuse under the steering wheel i believe its 3rd column on the bottomest one. Its called the TAIL fuse if im not mistaken

yea i checked that fuse, along with alllll of the other ones. they are all intact

did you check if they were intact or blown? make sure its not blown

i looked inside the fuse to see if the metal was still intact or separated (which is what i would call blown). am i missing somehting?