Piston Slap: Saturn's Lights Foiled by Blowing Fuses
Scott in Tampa writes:
Hey Guys, this problem (in my 2001 Saturn) occurred first when I was driving at night and and my dash illumination went dark! I had probably blown a fuse. Yes, it was a 10AMP mini fuse labeled BRAKE LP in the engine fuse compartment. Does LP stand for “Lamp”? I believe the dash illumination went out as a warning for what was really wrong – the running tail lights (constant lights) on the back of my car were out!! Now, when I press on the brake, the bright brake/tail lights still respond. It is only when I turn on my running lights that I get NO lights in the back of my vehicle.
Another observation: When this originally happened, I replaced the fuse. It lasted about a week before it tripped again. Replaced that fuse, it lasted a few days. Now, the fuse blows within seconds of inserting a new one. Sounds to me like a wire may be short circuiting somewhere?? What is the likelihood that this wiring is bad near the engine opposed to back trunk location?? Any insight or help would be greatly appreciated.
Sajeev replies:
You’re on the right track, but you’re also over thinking the situation. The Saturn L-series has a recall related to your problem. (If you have an L-series, that is.) While we may never know why recalls/TSBs always come in ALL CAPS, here’s the unfiltered advice:
“ON CERTAIN SEDANS AND WAGONS, THE PLASTIC HOUSING IN THE REAR TAIL LAMP ASSEMBLY CAN BECOME DISTORTED IF THE BRAKE LAMPS REMAIN ON FOR AN EXTENDED TIME.
“THIS CAN CAUSE (1) AN INTERMITTENTLY INOPERATIVE BRAKE/TAIL LAMP BULB OR (2) A SHORT CIRCUIT THAT OPENS A FUSE CAUSING INOPERATIVE BRAKE LAMPS (INCLUDING THE CENTER HIGH-MOUNTED STOP LAMP) OR TAIL LAMPS. A FOLLOWING DRIVER MAY NOT KNOW WHEN THE BRAKES HAVE BEEN APPLIED, AND A REAR-END CRASH COULD OCCUR WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.”
Bonus! A Piston Slap Nugget of Wisdom:
The lesson learned is twofold: always find recalls or TSBs that answer your problem and get them fixed before your Saturn dealer bites the dust. And if you live in Canada, you’d better get moving sooner than later.
[Send your queries to mehta@ttac.com]
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The Neons were great at getting water in the tail lights. When they were first launched I used to see it all the time. Kind of funny actually...my wife and I always joked about putting goldfish in them. BTW the same thing happens to the headlight assemblies of Mitsubishi Outlander front headlamp assemblies. Funny, my first company car was a 90 Cutlass Ciera. Good car actually, but it had one vexing problem...when I pressed the button to release the trunk lid, a fuse blew. The interesting part was it was a fuse that had NOTHING to do with the trunk lid. It was quite a mystery.
I had the same problem as this Saturn in my 1988 Dodge Ramcharger. Road debris/salt had built up on the 4-pin trailer wiring harness and moisture shorted out the electricals, causing the fuse for the tail/dash lights to blow. Contact cleaner and a plug housing under the bumper fixed it. Only other time I had it happen was on an empty trailer I pulled that about exceeded the truck's tow rating just by itself. I think the long trailer light wires had enough resistance to blow the fuse out also. Towing at night required dialing the IP lights off so that brake lights could work.