blove78634

First let me start by saying that this website is the best!!!

I have been searching high and low to find out why my tail lights wouldn't work. Symptoms: Headlights were good and everytime I put a fuze in and turned the lights on it would blow the taillights immediately.

After heeding the advice of many of the members on here, I checked and replaced the fusible links at the starter. Great tip!!! However, not my problem. I came home and searched for hours for another answer.

I found a thread that a guy said he had replaced his stereo with an aftermarket. When his brother did this he grounded the stereo to a DARK BROWN wire under the dash.

I pulled the stereo out and low and behold the ground was hooked up to the same DARK BROWN wire. I cut the wire and replaced the taillight fuze and the tailights worked.

When I installed my stereo I did it in the shade and it looked black. In the sun it was even hard to tell.

Bottom line is my taillights work as good as new. Thanks for all of the tips and I hope that this works for atleast one person.

tilstad

Well, the lesson in this matter should be that alll GROUNDS, go directly to chassis, bare steel, not some wire.

AKATDOG

iTrader: (1)

im having the exact same problem, what is this dark brown wire originally for ?

redltcamaro

i believe the dark brown wire has something to do with illumination. A buddy of mine wired my radio up to it in my sonoma and burnt my whole inside harness(it is not a ground wire) you have been warned lol

blove78634

The brown wire is either a positive or ground for the headlights. The link below is the wiring schematic for my 88 Camaro.

Did you get your lights working, yet?


http://www.austinthirdgen.org/mkport...ody_wiring.gif

AKATDOG

iTrader: (1)

i havnt tried yet, the weather here is is WAY to cold to be messing with wires, but im having the exact problem as mentioned by OP, as soon as i pull the light **** the fuse blows for the tails but the headlights still work, and i did recently hook up an aftermarket radio, i will post back in the next couple days when i get a chance to check this.

rough

I would personally like to Bslap the idiot at GM who put that wire in the entertainment area.

AKATDOG

iTrader: (1)

one more thing guys before i try this, does this wire show as being a ground with the wire tester ?

redltcamaro

the brown wire in the radio should show up as a ground while the headlights are off. When the headlights are on the brown wire is live. i believe the wire was there for the original wire used as some sort of back light when the headlights were turned on.

AKATDOG

iTrader: (1)

ok so if i find another ground this should work ? or do i also have to connect the brown wire for this to work ?

AKATDOG

iTrader: (1)

ok got a chance to try this today, i found a new ground and just taped up the brown one, and the lights tunred on fine without blowing any fuses, BUT i cant get my brake lights to work any ideas ? all the others work fine except no brakes lights and the bulbs are fine..

redltcamaro

I am not sure were the ground is for the tail lights maybe look into that. also if you have a test light turn you headlights on and see if you are getting power to them. in order to do this you are going to have to take atleast one of your taillights off your car. and good that you just taped up that brown wire. i melted my whole harness in my truck when i had that brown wire connected. i ended up junking that truck because of it.

HarmonyCamaro

when connecting a cd player its not hard when i installed mine the dumb *** who installed his last time didn't have a wire harness... so i had to cut all the wires off the old cd player to my new one... and i never done this before.. but all i did was connect the the wires with the same color...