No running lights not working?

Welcome to 2CarPros.

It's unlikely the fuse box is bad. Do me a favor. I attached a small portion of a wiring schematic. Reconfirm the fuse is good (power to both sides) and check the parking light relay.

If you have another relay with the same part number, just switch them to see if that makes a difference.

Here are a few links you may find helpful. Remember, a fuse can look good and be bad. That is why you need to check for power to both sides of it or remove it and check for continuity.

______________________


https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-fuse

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-an-electrical-relay-and-wiring-control-circuit

______________________

If the fuses are good, I suspect it is the relay. Let me know what you find or if you have other questions.

Take care,

Joe

I have a 2001 Buick century custom. I have no rear 'running' lights however my turn signal and brake lights are fine. I located and tested the 'dimmer' fuse and do not have any power going to the fuse panel. Any thoughts or advice on how to fix and what I would need to do to fix it?

Thank you

Have you checked your parking light fuse yet? Here is a guide to help you check the fuse and the fuse location and running light wiring diagrams so you can see how the system works below:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-fuse


Check out the diagrams (below). Let us know what happens and please upload pictures or videos of the problem.

Cheers

Yes, I checked and replaced fuses and it fixed two of the problems I was having the running lights now work, and the instrument panel illumination lights also now work. (They went out about a month ago, and I checked all the fuses then but It must not have been burned out completely since they went at separate times). Thank you very much Saturntech9, and hopefully me explaining this may help someone else as well! They are working now, thanks again!

You are welcome. That is what were here for. Glad to hear you got it fixed.

My running lights in my 2003 Buick Century dont work, but every other light does and I cannot seem to find the fuse slot for it. I just replaced the wheel hub assembly and the ignition lock cylinder. I'm not really trying to spend anymore. Can anybody help me?

Hello,

There is a parking lot relay that needs to be checked. here is a guide to show you how with the relay location and the running light wiring diagrams so you can see how the system works:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-an-electrical-relay-and-wiring-control-circuit

Check out the diagrams (below). Please let us know what you find. We are interested to see what it is.

Okay, I'll give it a shot. thank you!

Please let us know what you find.

when the headlights are turned on, the rear tail lights will not. Also, the interior lights that illuminate the speedometer, etc will not come on. Additionally when the signal stalk is turned to make a right hand turn, the signal light turns on solid. both the front and rear signals will light up solid for the right turn. hazards work fine, as does the left turn. I've checked all fuses in the glove box and they all look fine. suggestions?

Did you find a tail lamp fuse? The circuit for that fuse, should be hot all the time. You can use a testlite on the fuse, there is usually a bare spot over each fuse leg, where you can check for voltage without removing the fuse. You can check the circuit by removing the fuse,but, only one leg will be hot, if you leave the fuse plugged in, both legs should be hot. This guide will help with the fuse locations in the diagrams below.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-fuse

Check out the diagrams (Below). Please let us know what you find. We are interested to see what it is.

I believe i found the tail lamp fuse, but unfortunately the fuse prevents me from accessing it with a volt meter. if I pull the fuse and put the probes from the voltmeter in, then hit the brake, the voltmeter shows a solid ~12 volts.

I took a photo with the camera on my cell phone. sorry for the lack of detail; I couldn't get my actual camera to focus that close

Another bit that may or may not be helpful is the fact that while the headlights do turn on, the front running lights do not

Hi, in your first post, you talked about tail-lites. the tail-lites are activated by the headlamp switch. The brake lites are activated by the brake switch, when you hit the brake pedal. They are controlled by different fuse circuits.

Right now, I'm not sure if your having trouble with the tail- lites or brake lites? Sometimes when there are multiple problems, you can pick one circuit and troubleshoot.

good point. the problem is with the tail light, front running lights and interior lights. as far as I can tell the brake lights work

I looked at your picture, if there is a fuse that says( tail), that should be it. You can pull the fuse and use the meter in series on the circuit terminals, voltage setting. With everything turned off, if that circuit went to ground, the meter would show system voltage. It shouldn't show that with everything turned off.

You could use chassic ground for your meter, the positive lead on the circuit leg, one at a time, see if anything is hot?

ok, so I believe I've fixed the running lights problem, but the turn signal problem remains. for the running lights, I took apart the switch for the headlights/running lights, and discovered the rocker from the switch wasn't pressing down the electrical contacts far enough to make a connection. ultimately I need to replace the switch, but for now a plastic shim placed between the rocker and the exterior wall of the switch seems to be doing the trick. As for the turn signal, that problem remains. any suggestions on that?

I'd probably look at the turn signal switch. You probably have an air-bag in the steering wheel, because of the safety issue and forum rules. I can't talk about the air-bag.

I'm not sure what I did, but the turn signal issue seems to have fixed itself. I took the tail light assembly off and I guess the jarring motion fixed a short or a loose connection because now it's working. Thanks again for your assistance.

Hey, that's good, I'm glad you got it going.

For anyone interested in the switch fix, here's how I did it.

Good pictures, that is interesting.

all lights work except tail lights and the license plate light

Do the parking lights in front work? If not, suspect the multifunction/headlight switch. There is a relay for the headlights under the hood. The fuse for the tail lights and license plate light in the fuse panel inside the passenger compartment is the only one.

My tail lights went out as well as my dash lights. The fuses and bulbs are all fine. The head lights, brake lights, and turn signals are working fine. Any idea what my problem could be? As far as I can see none of the wiring has been pinched. Someone suggested that maybe the headlight switch needs to be replaced. Any leads would help. Thank you for your time.

I'd check the connector at the headlamp switch. You could probably use a jumper on the proper terminals to get the dash and or tail lamps to come on. Did you check the applicable fuse/s for voltage?

Here is some wiring. I agree with Ras.

Check for additional power coming out of the switch that powers the tail and dash

I dont think I was getting a good connection when I was crossing the contacts. I tried it again and got the taillights to come on. It has to be the switch, which I am replacing tomorrow. Thank you so much for your time and advise!

Just to sure you understand. There are two voltage circuits that go to the headlamp switch. One is a fused circuit for the tail lamps--dash and such. The other voltage circuit is only for the headlamps, comes from fusible link. Both circuits are hot, correct?

Yes both are hot. It seems that the switch is not connecting them. I'm going into town today to get a new switch.

Sounds like you got it going your way.