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No license plate lights.

P

protege_chris

CEG'er
Joined
Jun 13, 2007
Messages
103
Alright, well, I've been pulled over three times for these now, and it's time to FIX them. Hah.

I checked wiring in the trunk, it's all good. No power getting to the bulbs though, I went ahead and replaced them too.

There is sometimes a water leak into my passenger side floorboard, dripping down from underneath the dash above.. does the wiring for these lights run through there? I'm just looking for ideas.

by the way, I'm Chris of course.. glad to be here. Used to be a member of a site called ClubProtege when I drove a Mazda, glad to see such an active community exists for the contours as well.
 
to fix the water in your trunk, remove the taillight and put a bead of RTV on the foam. reinstall taillight and your trunk will be bone dry :)

as for the wiring, you can check continuity by taking a DVOM and go from one connection to the next. if the DVOM doesnt make a noise, somewhere in that section is where your problem is. you'll have to trace the wires to find the source. should take you 10 minutes.
 
Welcome Chris. If you have power going to the trunk but not the license lights and the bulbs are good, check the holders/connectors for rust. The wiring loom goes through the driver's side rear quarter panel to bottom of the rear door to the bottom of the front door to the passsenger compartment fuse box.
 
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I was under the impression it ran down the drivers side. Thank you for that information, that would certainly explain a connection between the water and the outage (by the way, all my interior lights other than the floor lights/cd player and clock are dead too). Connectors are rust free.

The water isn't in the trunk, but the passenger side front floorboard. Cabin air filter letting it in maybe? I'm headed out now to get into the wiring on the passenger side..
 
protege_chris said:
I ....(by the way, all my interior lights other than the floor lights/cd player and clock are dead too). .
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Turn on your lights. Are the rear lights on? If they are not working, then you are looking at the headlamp switch recall problem. What year is your car?

http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=1172316&Forum=trouble&Words=headlamp%20switch%20recall&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=1year&Main=1172187&Search=true#Post1172316
 
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The car is a '95. The headlights, parking lights, reverse lights, rear lights all work. Only ones that *aren't* working are the dash illumination (though the bulbs for check engine and stuff work as well as the blinkers), all illumination for dash buttons and stuff, door handle lights, and the reverse lights. Now, the reverse lights are a separate problem because they stopped working months AFTER the interior illumination problems.

I got underneath the passenger side, and the previous owner decided to stick paper towels where the water leaks to "guide" it into my floorboard. None of the wires are corroded or anything. I've checked all fuses, interior and engine bay. They're all good.

EDIT: on second thought.. by rear lights.. there are two portions to them as I see, one part on the trunk, one part on the body. the part on the body lights up normally, not at all on the trunk part. Not sure if that part is SUPPOSED to or not. What're the chances the recall APPLIES to my vehicle so I don't have to spend $60 on a switch? :D

Either way.. from that thread, it certainly SOUNDS like the EXACT same problem I'm having.. what's the easiest way to get to the dimmer switch and the headlamp switch? I was wanting to check both.
 
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protege_chris said:
...: on second thought.. by rear lights.. there are two portions to them as I see, one part on the trunk, one part on the body. the part on the body lights up normally, not at all on the trunk part. Not sure if that part is SUPPOSED to or not. What're the chances the recall APPLIES to my vehicle so I don't have to spend $60 on a switch? :D
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Not a snowball's chance in .............. :laugh: . Continue with the wiring and fuse troubleshooting. :laugh:

The 95 trunk lid have red reflectors and reverse lights.
 
Well, then my rear lights are working normally then.. hah. The headlamp switch symptoms sure do sound like my problems with the interior lights though.. rear brake light works too.. so.. what/where do I check next?
 
Canadian 98 CSVT said:
Tony2005 said:
Have you check the fuses yet? :shrug:

I was wondering why this hadn't been mentioned until now! lol KISS applies here I think!
:crazy:
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I was waiting for you to post but since you didn't, I had to. :laugh:

But back on topic, check all the 7.5 AMP fuses in the passenger compartment fuse box (not visually, but with a fuse tester or ammeter).

Daigram 13, Figure 14 in Autozonelink.
http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1e/b3/2d/0900823d801eb32d/repairInfoPages.htm
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Yeah.. no blown fuses (sucks hah).. Maybe a problem with the dimmer switch?

I'm buying a multimeter tomorrow. That can function as an ammeter right? This is only my second car, I didn't do much electrically with my first, most of the modifications I made were mechanical or related to audio/appearance. Yes, I have reverse lights.
 
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Tony2005 said:
Canadian 98 CSVT said:
I was waiting for you to post but since you didn't, I had to. :laugh:

But back on topic, check all the 7.5 AMP fuses in the passenger compartment fuse box (not visually, but with a fuse tester or ammeter).

Daigram 13, Figure 14 in Autozonelink.
http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/1e/b3/2d/0900823d801eb32d/repairInfoPages.htm
Click to expand...

Just check to make sure there's voltage going through them? I got my multimeter... just waiting for some time when it's not 100 degrees outside to get out there :D
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Crazy. I tested all the fuses with the multimeter and checked the slots for voltage.. they were all good.. not sure WHAT happened, but I plugged all the fuses in, started the car, turned it off, and pulled them all out. One was blown (Don't recall which slot). I put all the fuses on the bottom row in leaving one open on the top row).. turned the light switch, ALL the interior lights came on (all but cd player and courtesy lights died 6 months ago). Now the license plate lights work TOO.


What's even more weird.. the license plate lights just died ... MONTHS after the interior lights.. yet one fuse fixed it all at once? I'm not complaining. Free fix, now everything works. Door handle illumination, shifter illumination, everything.

Off topic here:
A while back the pieces of plastic that slide with the shifter (and cover the hole it slides in) started breaking off, and it doesn't link to the thing that shows what gear you're in.. any tips on fixing that?
 
protege_chris said:
...A while back the pieces of plastic that slide with the shifter (and cover the hole it slides in) started breaking off, and it doesn't link to the thing that shows what gear you're in.. any tips on fixing that?
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Get one from the junkyard.
 
that was my plan, as far as tips go, i shoulda been more specific. What all parts of the dash have to come up to replace that? Just standard screws? I'd check but the car isn't here at the moment.

I appreciate all the help A LOT guys.
 
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