ok so i have no idea what happen but here i go. When i got my car it did not have the factory side marker lights on the side fenders, oh its an 03 by the way. So i got some for my car and install them now all of the sudden my parking lights dont work (like they ever did) but now my tail lights wont even come on along wih the tag lights which are all part of the same circuit. i already checked to see if i blew a fuse or any bulbs can any one help??? :confused:

Sure sounds like you blew a fuse. Did you check all the fuses, in both fuse boxes? How did you check them?

yea check them with a test light and visual im starting to think it might be a ground or a bad switch

I'm in the same boat. I have no parking lights, no tail lights, and no license plate lights. My headlights work, but nothing associated with turning them on light up.

I too tested all the fuses in the F/M and M/B and they are all good.

You have an e-mail? I Have the same problem with my '02 sedan and am working through it. I have all of the associated wiring diagram pages from the shop book. I can send them to you if you give me an address.

BTW, if you find the solution, please let me know.

Well if it's not a fuse then possibly a relay? I hear somethign click when i turn my parking and headlights on. So i know those are relayed

Well, it isn't the fuse, it isn't the ground, so it has to be the relay.

Problem is I can't figure out where the damned relay is located.
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/606/relaysr4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I thought I had the right one figured, back behind the fuse box under the steering wheel, I switched all the relays around under there that fit, but nothing seemed to change. Those relays are a bitch to get to.

There were three black relays, then two blanks, and then one brown relay.

I was not able to find a diagram that represented what I saw under the wheel.

Can anybody help me find the tail & Ilumination relay?

The tail light relay is on the panel with LOTS of fuses behind the removable swing down panel under the fog light and such switches. There are two relays, one for the rear defogger and one for the tail light circuits. It's NOT on the panel with the 5 relay spots.

I've got the same problem...

it seems that the reley in question is one (or all?) of the bottom three on the fuse/relay panel [the top relay made a noise when i pushed the rear defrost button].

I have had illumination fuse issues for awhile also, and it looks like in your wiring diagram that illumination is also on this relay or one of the lower three as well?

Can anyone comment on which relay is which, and if your problem was solved by a new relay or not?

Thanks!

Get ready to get down on your knees for a hurting. I'm serious.

Like Alan said, the illimunation relay (along with the rear def relay) is transverse and BEHIND the fuses that you can see when you remove the flip tray. Alan called it removeable and swing down. That is like saying "unbolt and remove the up-pipe". Technically he is correct. But it is a PITA to get to.

I had to pop out the cruise/fog/UTEC switches to get a socket onto the nut that holds the fuse panel to the moount (on the top of the brown plastic box that holds the fuzes). It wiggled around a little after that, but now you have to disco all the plugs that are connected to the pannel, both the two in front (on the top) and the sh-load of plugs in the back.

After you have done all this, you can now see the illumination and def relays. My illum relay was replaced, and all lights came back on. Yeay for passing VA safety inspection!

zaxrex: Thanks for the added insight, instructions and warning !

I tracked the fuse back to the Main box, #7, it was blown.. don't know why...

replaced it - lights working again... knock on wood :)

Can a deteriorating relay cause an additional load in a circuit?

I had my aftermarket head unit in and out of the dash like seven times while fitting an i-pod cable.. that was shortly before my illumination fuse started slow blowing.... any idea if the illumination lead - which this head unit has, but doesn't seem to actually get any good out of ( when dash fuse blows, the head unit is the only source of light - still ) should just be disconnected? Thanks again!

Can a deteriorating relay cause an additional load in a circuit?

I had my aftermarket head unit in and out of the dash like seven times while fitting an i-pod cable.. that was shortly before my illumination fuse started slow blowing.... any idea if the illumination lead should just be disconnected? Thanks again!

A relay is a very passive device, it doesn't take much load. Since this circuit is lower load, the solenoid doesn't have to be that tough and places a negligible load on the circuit.

It is more likely that the repetitive additional loads that were blowing the fuse would cause some damage to the relay.

We seem to be talking about two different illumination circuits. The one that I was working with was for parking/license lights. That is different from interior illumination, so fuse and relay numbers are going to be way different.

Could it be possible that with all of the fiddling with the HU and wires that had been going on that the sheathing may have abraded against a bracket or something and could be shorting out?

zaxrex - thanks for helping out with this!
I looked back over the wiring for the head unit a while back and didn't find anything obvious... i originally wrapped the wiring in electrical tape and tried to kind of stuff it in the best place possible - back of the hvac controls - may need to pull it all out and see if anything like you say has made contact with metal somewhere...

The tail light matter just started - though it looks like it is fed from the same power via the #7 fuse in the main box - which blew again today, and another replacement fuse very quickly just after doing the keyless entry a couple of times... the front marker light looked kind of dim when it blinked - though it was bright sun....

the dash illumination bothers me less overall, but you can't really drive at night without tailights...

Can't think what could really cause this new problem... is there a basic approach one should take to trouble shooting?

Your situation was one where the fuse wasn't burned, just lights not functioning - my case looks like a short, or some new bigger load that is happening. any advice about this tail/parking light circuit trouble shooting would be appreciated!

thanks!

If your main fuse 7 is blowing, try and remove some of the associated sub-circuit fuses under the steering wheel to identify what circuit is the culprit.

It is sorta strange that the main is blowing before the subs though.

yeah, i think it is kinda weird also...

i talked to the mechanic that did the oil change and put a new # 12 illumination fuse in the inside fuse box, and he said that's all he did.

That fuse blew regularly, but now the # 7 in the main box is. there only seem to be two fuses as sub fuses on this circuit I think.. i plan to check the head unit wiring harness thoroughly again - the mech suggested i disconnect the illumination wires from the head unit,
and i did have the console covers off when i routed the ipod cable back to the arerest stowage area, and there is another illumination point at the accessory jack - i don't remember that glowing before... maybe i messed up something there... hope hope hope it's something obvious! there is an unfused, non relayed portion of the #7 fused line that leads to the parking switch/security control module, and that i don't know about - is that under the console area?

the mech. said almost nothing goes wrong that hasn't been messed with

i think your idea is good, i may pull the illumination fuse and see if the tailights live.

the mech said that the illumination thing may have weakened the 20a fuse... i don't know ??