Chasing down illumination gremlin

I could use some help diagnosing and fixing an electrical issue that just appeared on my ‘01 AC.

Back story - I previously replaced my entire dash cluster and HVAC lighting with Super Bright LEDs. No issue with that, and all functions, to include dimming, worked as they should.

Shortly thereafter, I sent the whole thing in for paint. Since everything was getting taken apart, I sourced new clear marker lights for the front, and smoked LED sets for the rear. I will admit that both of these were eBay/Amazon/China specials.

This weekend, I was able to pick up the newly painted and updated truck. Looks fantastic, and I headed home giddy. It was daylight, but raining, so I turned on my headlights. Due to the ambient light, it was hard to tell, but it looked like the cluster lights flickered a couple times, then went out. I toyed around with the stalk switch and dimmer, but wasn’t able to restore any function. Further inspection once I got home revealed the following:

— I have lost all cluster and HVAC control lighting in the interior. Also, the dimming function for the stereo head unit that normally kicks in when the headlights turn on is not working - the display remains at constant brightness.

— I have properly functioning turn signals at all four corners with no hyperflash, however the marker / running lights / tail lights both front and rear do not work at all.

It seems logical that there’s some connection between the new marker/taillight assemblies and the issues, but I can’t seem to figure out what it would be or where to start testing (resistors, maybe?)

Going to check with my paint guy and see if he still has my old stuff, as hooking that up would be an easy first step in troubleshooting, but for now it’s all guesswork. If anyone has been down this road before or has any ideas, please let me know.

 

My ac controls flicker every now and then. I chalked it up to cheap Amazon bulbs and my latest fix was better quality bulbs.

I have had the same issue on the marker lights also, causing a hyper flash. my fix was that i didnt snap the bulb all the way in. It needs to snap and click in.

 

The cluster and HVAC were rock solid after the upgrade, which is why I suspect it’s related to the cheap marker light / taillight swap. I’ll check all the bulb connections since I didn’t do the swap myself and can’t vouch for the work. Still working on getting the old stock back.

 

Have you checked the fuses by the drivers left knee(physically and with Volt ohm meter, in particular the 10A GAUGE fuse. If you find a fuse blown, I would unplug all the items you had installed and then change fuse to see if it still blows. From there, perhaps other troubleshooting checks can be suggested.

 

Success! Checked the fuses - 10A gauge fuse was good, but 15A tail was blown. Replaced the fuse and it blew immediately once I turned the lights on. That led me to several threads about repeated issues with that fuse, almost all of which were related to (you guessed it) replacement running lights. Seems like the bulb bases are very often substandard or replaced with different draw bulbs. Was able to get in touch with my paint guy, recover the original tail and marker assemblies, and transplant the bases. Back to full function now.

Thanks BubbaW for the nudge in the right direction.

 

If you've got an OEM driver side front corner light you'd like to part with give me a shout. Mine looks perfect on the outside but all the clips are broke and it's zip tied.