ted tcb Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 Really simple question. Had my crimson STS tinted today, and when the shop guy backed my car in, I noticed both backup lights are out. I popped off the trunk liner, and all I see is one bulb, which is for the brake lights. Am I missing something obvious, or is the backup bulb not visible? In the sample pic, you can see where the clear lens is on top of the red brake light, but I don't see a bulb there. Thanks in advance.[attachmentid=2377] 1989 FWD Fleetwood, Silver 1995 STS Crimson Pearl on Black leather 1997 STS Diamond White 1999 STS Crimson Pearl 2001 STS Silver 2003 STS, Crimson Pearl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 Look again. You will see the 6 or 8 wingnuts that hold the complete rear lamp assembly to the trunk lid. You might want to have a double handfull of #3157 bulbs and a single handfull of #194 and replace all of them while you have that piece apart. Then again, it might be the NSBU fuse (10A) under the rear seat cushion. Does your electrochromatic interior mirror operate normally? Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted tcb Posted March 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 Look again. You will see the 6 or 8 wingnuts that hold the complete rear lamp assembly to the trunk lid. You might want to have a double handfull of #3157 bulbs and a single handfull of #194 and replace all of them while you have that piece apart. Then again, it might be the NSBU fuse (10A) under the rear seat cushion. Does your electrochromatic interior mirror operate normally? No, come to think of it, its not working correctly. I was going to investigate, but with the tint coming, I didn't bother. 1989 FWD Fleetwood, Silver 1995 STS Crimson Pearl on Black leather 1997 STS Diamond White 1999 STS Crimson Pearl 2001 STS Silver 2003 STS, Crimson Pearl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 In that case, check the fuse first!! Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted tcb Posted March 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 Jim, I've got the seat removed, and my manual calls the reverse lamps as microrelay #45. There are a total of 66 fuses and relays in that fuse box. The 10A fuse you suggest ... any idea which fuse #? Thanks. Oops, I get it. Fuse #20 is the Neutral Safety Back Up fuse, as opposed to the backup lamp relay. I'll go give it a try. 1989 FWD Fleetwood, Silver 1995 STS Crimson Pearl on Black leather 1997 STS Diamond White 1999 STS Crimson Pearl 2001 STS Silver 2003 STS, Crimson Pearl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OynxSTS Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 If your auto dimming mirror is out then its probably not the fuse... its probably the ground of this system... Tom R had exactly this problem: Link to Trunk mounted lights on the blink... After a fairly long search of fuses, relays, etc... we found that the ground wire was worn from repetitive trunk openings and closings... The final ground is #3 in the attached picture. Its in the trunk, behind the "carpet" on the driver side... Start there and trace that wire back to the hinge... find and fix the break and all will be well. Good Luck! [attachmentid=2379] PS This is the THIRD 98 and newer model that I have heard of with this problem... Looks like something all of us will go though with enough use of the trunk... Easin' down the highway in a new Cadillac, I had a fine fox in front, I had three more in the back ZZTOP, I'm Bad I'm Nationwide Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted tcb Posted March 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Thanks, I'll check out the ground wire. The fuse turned out not to be the issue. 1989 FWD Fleetwood, Silver 1995 STS Crimson Pearl on Black leather 1997 STS Diamond White 1999 STS Crimson Pearl 2001 STS Silver 2003 STS, Crimson Pearl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc6t Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Pull the carpet on the left side of the trunk and check for the black wire exiting the trunk lid hinge - at the back of the hinge assemby. If it's the same problem I had you will probably see a split black wire or some other split wires relating to the reverse lights. For me, all my trunk lid lights were not working. Like Greg said, if your autodim mirror isn't working it could be the same problem I had. It took a while to diagnose the problem, but when you get in there you will see that the way the trunk lid is designed and the way the wires are fed through the hinge, it's a problem waiting to happen on all STS' eventually. Good luck. Tom R. 1998 Cadillac STS with 102K Miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle1Seville Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 PS This is the THIRD 98 and newer model that I have heard of with this problem... Looks like something all of us will go though with enough use of the trunk... Make that the forth 98 and newer model that had this exact problem( see my next post ) Also, the forth person you've saved from having to shell out to the dealer. ( 1998 Seville SLS ) Hello Folks. I too would like to thank OynxSTS and all the participants here. I had the very symptoms listed in this thread ( with my 1998 Seville SLS ), particularly both backup lights out and a few other electrical abnormalities. After testing and passing the fuse ( NSBU 10A ) and the Relay, I was stumped. Then I did a search of the internet and came upon this thread. Sure enough, I had a broken ground wire, and at the exact location mentioned, the trunk lid hinge. I soldered and patched it and everything works perfectly, no more anomalies, bright and shinny backup lights when appropriate. Also, my charge voltage has quite fluxuating and remains a steady 14volts. One thing though, the break in the ground wire was a clean cut, no abrasion, flexing or stretching. I'm wondering if, perhaps, this is a dirty trick by some unethical mechanic. It sure is hard for an ordinary owner to discover. I have experience working on vehicles, even pulled a few engines, I'm an amateur but have been able to perform all but the most involved repairs on all my vehicles. Still, without the help of OynxSTS, I would probably never have solved this one myself. It sure would be easy to pad a repair bill with something that can easily be disguised as myriad costly electronic problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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