parking light disable

[pamike]

for some reason i couldn't get the miliamps to work on my multimeter. but i did get the amps to work. it read .010 amps. i then checked my 90 legacy and it read .030 amps. so i'm assuming that amound of draw is normal.

 

that being said, i talked to my girlfriends mom (the po) and she said somtimes she would let the car set for almost a month and it would start right up. so it must be some kind of intermittent problem. what could it be.

 

and when i turned on the parking light switches either the one on top of the column or the headlight switch the lights got brighter. their is no voltage at the bulb with the car off.

[nipper]

Bulb or bulbs?

 

The dim then brighter means there is a back feed someplace.

[pamike]

i checked the taillight bulbs and got 0 volts with key off.

the parking lights are dimmer than they would normally be with the switch on. with the car running i turned the switch on and the lights got brighter than they were with switch off if that makes sence.

[johnceggleston]

what happens if you remove / disconnect the steering column parking light switch?

 

or maybe try removing one lit bulb at a time until something changes.

 

i like the idea of pulling fuses until the lights go out, then put that one back and keep pulling fuses to see if another one kills the lights.

 

it's probably the switch on the turn signal stalk.

[pamike]

how hard is it to change/remove the switch. does it involve removing the steering wheel and dissassembly of the column?

[Scoobywagon]

Just disconnect the block connector at the base of the column. I've forgotten what the pin out is, but you can always check for continuity through the switch at the block connector. Also makes it easy to disconnect the switch from the rest of the system.

[pamike]

Just disconnect the block connector at the base of the column. I've forgotten what the pin out is, but you can always check for continuity through the switch at the block connector. Also makes it easy to disconnect the switch from the rest of the system.

 

if i do end up having a bad switch, what is involved in changing the turn signal/light switch assembly? is steering removal nessisary or do i just get to it by removing the plastic column cover?

 

but i'm still wondering why my parking lights come on with the key in the acc. position. from what i understand, the relays for the exterior lights shouldn't even be getting power until the key is in the run or start position. i think i did fix my battery draining problem though. i traced it back to a under dash relay that was sticking in the on position until the power to the circuit was cut.

Edited April 26, 2012 by pamike

[Fairtax4me]

Yeah there's no DRL on a 96. There is a short of some kind or someone did some rewiring of their own.

 

Have you tried pulling fuses when the ignition is on to see if the lights go out?

[Cougar]

Have you tried pulling fuses when the ignition is on to see if the lights go out?

 

It does appear there is a bridge to ignition power somewhere and hopefully pulling fuses one at a time will tell us which fuse circuit the bridge is tied to.