Hey guys,
First time posting here after months of lurking!
I'm hoping I can get some help with this issue on my Sunfire that has been bugging me for months.
Basically, my DRLs start flashing as soon as they power up
(i.e. putting the car in reverse without headlights on). It doesn't always happen the same way either. It usually starts as slow intermittent flashes with no discernible rhythm and quickly turns into 5 quick flashes followed by the
Service light. After that happens, one headlight goes out (I think I've only seen this happen on the driver's side headlight) and will not function at all until I shut the car off and restart it! I have been working around the issue for months by driving with my headlights on at all times.
(I know I can just pull the DRL relay, but don't want to see the Service light come up and I also like my headlights to flash when I unlock/lock my car).
Things I have tried
---------------------------
- Replacing the DRL relay in the interior fuse panel
- Changing all my bulbs (This happens with both my halogen and LED sets)
- Checked all the fuses in the interior fuse panel
I currently have my front bumper cover off to be repainted (finally!) and took the opportunity to remove the entire headlight wiring to inspect it (It was such a pain to get those damn wires out of the car! lol).
Is there something I should be looking for specifically?
I will try to post some photos for reference later.
Looking forward to your advice! I really appreciate everyone's time.
- Jes
I really have no idea but would suspect a bad ground, which you are checking, or maybe the alarm system has issues. The BCM which I asume controls the lights & alarm is under the passenger seat in a Cavalier. Im guessing the same for a Sunfire. Any issues there? Water, burnt or messed up carper or stuff crammed under there? Sorry Im not much help. Just brainstorming.
These cars are littered with electrical issues like this. After years of messing with these things i just crushed the lights in the cluster one day! Gone! I know that does not fix the issue, but as they say, out of sight, out of mind. As for the HL going out, it is definitely an issue. a DRL is basically a low powered high beam. With a fault in the DRL circuit, it is affecting the HL it seems
Fireboy153
Brady Fire Co. - Station 150
Long Live The Sunflower! (yea its not so "cool")
Thanks for your response so far, guys. So, I took the wiring harness apart and looked for any tears or burns in the cables. I found nothing. However, I did find that the green cable from the other end of the connector had two small areas that had exposed wire. It doesn't look like anything is torn, though....just exposed. I tried having someone wiggle the exposed cable around while I triggered the DRLs via putting the car in reverse/drive and it made no difference.
Could this green cable be the issue, though? I don't want to start cutting/splicing cables and risk messing it up more (if that's even possible, lol) if I don't have to.
Also, I noticed now that the DRLs power on properly and do not give me any issues when I put the car in reverse/drive without the engine running. Both headlights continue working now too after the service light comes up on the cluster...weird
Could that green wire be hitting something & shorting to ground? Maybe getting wet & causing a short? Id put some electrical tape on it or cover it & see how it goes.
I have the same issue. Ripped the whole front end apart looking for it... though i suspect its the DRL sensor...
