Change or check fuses or rear lights

[nicarena]

Hi Guys. New to the site so would appreciate any help. I have a VT calais. When I have the lights on there are no lights on the dash or any rear tail light or licence plate light. There is a warning light on the dash that is like a light bulb. When I looked up the manual it says that the warning is a rear tail light failure which makes sense but why would the lights on the dash not work. I really can't drive the car at night at the moment because I can't see the speedo. I first thought it might be a fuse but the manual says it is a rear light failure. Should I check the fuses first? If so how do I do this? I have searched the forum and someone said it was under the panel on the steering whell but how do I get the panel down with out destroying the panel? And how do I change the fuse? Where do I get the fuses from? etc I'm sorry about all the questions. If I need to change the rear lights or tail lights how do I do this? Were do I get the light bulbs from? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Cameron P]

k the panel underneath the steering wheel just kinda pulls out from the top of it, to the right of the steering wheel i think and there is a slider adjuster right at the bottom.. just check all the fuses and match them up at a place like repco or auto one etc

i have no idea whats going on with your car but i'd take it too an auto elec

sorry if this doesnt help you but i thought id say what i know as no one has replied yet


cheers

[graham7773]

Just a thought but have you checked your dimmer switch for your dash lights? My son pointed this out to me as my dash lights were almost invisible. Clicked it to the top of its travel and BRIGHT! I am a new VT Acclaim wagon owner and apart from a few things which can only be DIY if you own a Tech 2 reader, I think it is a great car. The fuses are cleverly hidden as Cameron P says, behind the pull down panel under the steering wheel. Pull from the right or drivers side and it comes open easily There is a diagram on the panel which tells where all the fuses, relays etc are located. Your tail lights? Is it all of them? If so it is possibly a connector come loose but check your fuses first and don't believe what you can see. Check for continuity with a multimeter. If you don't have one, a 12 volt bulb and holder will do Attach one wire to the positive on your battery and earth the other through the fuse to a point on your car, DO NOT earth to the negative terminal of the battery as you may cause the battery to explode. I know as I blew a new one up years ago doing that.

[nicarena]

Thanks Guys really appreciate the advise. It's definitely not the dimmer switch. I check that already. Will check the fuses this weekend. All of the lights are out, including the licence plate light. Do you think it could be more than one problem?

[accentstencil]

Thanks Guys really appreciate the advise. It's definitely not the dimmer switch. I check that already. Will check the fuses this weekend. All of the lights are out, including the licence plate light. Do you think it could be more than one problem?

Fuse number 4, which is top left of the three rows of fuses is for instrument and park lights, that sounds like it has blown. To check the fuse, pull it out and look in the centre of the fuse and there should be like and S shape made of metal, unless the fuse has blown then there will be a gap. If you are lucky you should have a white plastic thing amongst your fuses which is a little tool to get the fuses out, you slip it over the fuse and then pull the fuse out. It's hard to explain but if you have it then you will be able to work it out.

[claytonsmechanic]

Hello all, I am new to this site too. I had a recent problem with the dash lights, break lights and rear park lights not working. I realised it was the fuse, but every time I changed the fuse, as soon as I turned the park lights on, the fuse would blow immediately. A bloke at Supercheap Auto told me that some break lights have the little nodes on the base of the lights at different heights which might cause a problem. After realising that this was the case I changed the break lights to lights with the nodes at the same height and put a new fuse in, and all is now working. Something to check.

[nicarena]

Thanks to everyone. It was the fuse for future reference. I made sure I checked the fuse points with a meter to make sure I wasn't going to blow the next fuse I put in. Thanks for everyone who helped!