Help! Tail lights and DRL wont turn off when car is off and keys are out

[mckane1]

Hi- Just returned from the car wash and when I turn my 2001 C5 Convertible off and remove the keys the chime keeps going like the lights are left on but they are not and the tail lights and DRL stay on, I also noticed I am able to turn the optional driving lights on and off? I have discontented the battery and waited 24 hours and reconnected it and still. I drove her to lunch today and ran on the highway a bit but still on so, I have the battery disconnected again. I have read a few threads and maybe a bad ground or switch? is there any way of telling or trouble shooting to determine where to start? Two weeks ago I had the Service column lock issue while on vacation and had to have her towed to the dealership, very expensive lay over and my first issue with this Vette but at 110K Miles I guess it's time to start to learn and get ahead of the curve. Thank you in advance for any advice.

 

[Junkman2008]

Did this problem arise AFTER you washed the car at the car wash?

 

[mckane1]

C5 DRL Tail lights wont turn off

Yes Sir- I had just returned from the coast and was giving her a good bath at the car wash and noticed them on when I arrived back at the house, she is in the garage with the battery disconnected still. Thanks!

 

[Junkman2008]

Okay, here's what you need to do. First, check and make sure that the lights are still on (connect the battery). If they are, pull both of the DRL bulbs out. See if the lights go out. If they do, we'll take it from there.

Here's the quick way to pull your bulbs with no tools.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaUEoD2CH4k

 

[mckane1]

drl

Thanks Junkman for the Vid Headed out to garage now!

 

[mckane1]

DRL Pulled still on

I connected the battery and they are still on, I removed the DRL bulbs and the tail ligts/parking lights are still on.

 

[Junkman2008]

Okay, is your twilight sentinel turned on or off?

 

[mckane1]

I think so, dimmer interior knob turned to left?

 

[Junkman2008]

I think so, dimmer interior knob turned to left?

No, the twilight sentenal on/off command is accessed through the DIC, via the options mode. Do you not know of this feature?

 

[mckane1]

Twilight is off

 

[Junkman2008]

Twilight is off

Okay, here's where it gets tedious, and will take forever if we do it this way. How good are you at reading schematics?

 

[mckane1]

I'm not very experienced in reading schematics but I have a lot of common and uncommon sense.


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[Junkman2008]

That makes it difficult because there are multiple things that you need to check so that you don't start throwing money and parts at the problem. Too bad you're so far away. Tell me this. Are the tail lights just on or are they as bright as they are when you hit the brakes?

 

[Junkman2008]

Here's a document that explains how your exterior lights work. This, along with the schematics will help resolve your issue but you need to know how to read the schematics.

 

[mckane1]

They get brighter when I hit the brakes an I can turn on my driving lights from the dash button even when car is off key out everything off

 

[Junkman2008]

That's normal. That's the way the car works. The car does not have to be running or have the key in the ignition for the lights to come on. Tell me this; if you leave the lights on for 15 minutes, do they automatically go off by themselves? Try that. Let's see what happens.

 

[mckane1]

Way to go!

I left for the beach and about 200 miles south the lights went off and it's working normal now! I'm thinking it had something to do with pulling those DRL? Thank you!!

 

[Junkman2008]

What you need to do is check and make sure that your DRL lenses are not bad. Since you said that this happened right after washing the car, my first thought was water damage. The DRL lenses have an issue where the heat from the bulb burns through the lenses and allows water into the bulb socket. This usually blows the bulbs but you could still have water in those sockets. That's why I had you pull the bulbs.

Here's what you are looking for. This picture was taken with the passenger's side headlight removed from the car. You can see if yours is leaking if you use a light to see down into the cavity at just the right angle.

 

[mckane1]

Thank you!

I just watched one of your videos on replacing the headlight motor gears, great vid helped me a lot I have it clamped and ready to go back in tomorrow morning. I used a plastic gear just because I had one form another car. It wasn't a hard job with the help of your video so I may order the brass gears you recommend and do both sides. I am doing the passenger side now. The drivers side I will see if this helps, it does not grind but pops back up about an inch after it goes down all the way and stays partially open. I still really like this car so I am going to go through and do all the fixes to keep it and drive it. I can buy a newer one but in-fact I hade had an 09 Z06 3 I thought would replace this car and oddly I prefer this one and sold the big block later model hardtop. I can only have 3 cars after that it's just to much! I checked for that hole and the side I am on is good not open so I am good there, I bet it's the other side. Next I will replace the yaw rate sensor I am told is under the console as I get the service active.... warning and my traction control/active handling engages with no cause unless I select traction control off which I have done for the past 4 years every time I drive it lol I don't like traction control any way but want to fix it so I don't have to push the reset button all the time to turn the warning / service light off every time I drive it!! thanks again for all the help and time you have invested to help all of us you are awesome!

 

[Junkman2008]

I just watched one of your videos on replacing the headlight motor gears, great vid helped me a lot I have it clamped and ready to go back in tomorrow morning.

I think you meant that you read my thread on how to replace the headlight gear. I didn't do a video on that, but I did do a video on how to replace your DRL's in about 2 minutes.

The drivers side I will see if this helps, it does not grind but pops back up about an inch after it goes down all the way and stays partially open.

That is not a headlight gear problem, it is a bump stop problem. See the pictures below.

The reason that headlight is acting like that is because one or more of your bump stops are worn. You can try flipping them over if they are still there but if they are missing, you will need to buy replacements.

Next I will replace the yaw rate sensor I am told is under the console as I get the service active.... warning and my traction control/active handling engages with no cause unless I select traction control off which I have done for the past 4 years every time I drive it

I think that you have misdiagnosed this issue. You need to look up ABSFixer and speak with him. I think that your problem is elsewhere, especially if you didn't properly diagnose this problem. Guessing is definitely NOT the way to fix these cars.

lol I don't like traction control any way but want to fix it so I don't have to push the reset button all the time to turn the warning / service light off every time I drive it!! thanks again for all the help and time you have invested to help all of us you are awesome!

Make sure that you respect the power of these cars. Most people who wrap them around trees and poles had the traction control turned off and didn't respect the power. It's very easy to end up in the hospital. Don't be that guy.