I just started troubleshooting my courtesy circuit and the first thing I noticed was that the 25 amp fuse had been removed from the fuse box. I had some reservations about it, but I put one back in, expecting spectacular results. Nothing. Well, that's even worse.

So I started with the dome light. One of the prongs holding the bulb had rusted off and the wire was loose behind the assembly.

Two quick questions:

1) is that enough to prevent any of the courtesy lamps from functioning? i.e. the map light?

2) can I buy a new prong and crimp it onto the existing wire (where would I buy such a thing?) or do I need to look for a new-used dome lamp assembly?


Thanks!

-John

1972 Vista Cruiser

 

Anybody know where I can buy the connectors for the festoon courtesy bulb? I found an ebay seller with the dome light harness that fits year from 68-78 for various Olds models, but conveniently leaves out 1972. Some electrical parts place must sell the festoon connectors that I could just crimp and/or solder to replace that part of the existing harness.

 

Best I've been able to find so far is this:

https://www.opgi.com/cutlass/1972/in...light/9500179/

Assuming the Cutlass uses the same dome light assembly as the Vista Cruiser, it should work. I'd prefer to get just a cheap pack of these connectors. :/

 

I have many harnesses and can cut those connectors from one and send them to you if you want. PM me with your name & address?
Scott

 

No, it won't stop the rest of the harness from working. If NONE of the courtesy lights (I'm hoping you know what lights are part of that package) work the first thing I'd check is whether the courtesy light harness is connector to the main dash harness. That's the only thing I can think of that would cause catastrophic failure of all the accessory lights. The dash lamps and dome light are not part of the accessory lights BTW.

Have you checked the rheostat on the headlight switch? If the headlight **** is not turned all the way to the right. That's the full off position on the rheostat. There's a detent just before the stop position to the right and left. Turn the headlight **** to the left and see if the dash lights come on. This info is on page 25 of the 1972 Owners Manual.

See if that helps for starters.

 

Oh, I thought the dome lamp was part of the courtesy lamp circuit. The wiring chapter for the A-body shows the same 25-amp fuse for the dome lamp and the other lights that are out: map lamp (on the dash), glove box lamp, mirror lamp, cigarette lighter... I will look for the main harness connection. It's possible that the connector is corroded. This car lived in a foggy area for most of its life.

The dash lights work, and the rheostat, although screechy from corrosion, does dim the dash.

Thanks for the ideas,

John

 

John, yup those are the courtesy light package, plus there are 2 kickpanel lamps as well. My guess is that if the dash lights work, the accessory light harness is unplugged. Not likely that everything would be all burned out. Do you have a copy of the Cutlass Assembly Manual? It shows the location of the accessory harness connector really well. If you need it I can scan it and post it for you. Is this car AC? If yes it just mean it's a bit more of a pain to get to it.

 

John,
I just looked at the diagram for the courtesy light connector. Actually it should be easier to access than I remembered.
1. Remove the 3 gage cluster bezel (2 upper screws, 2 lower - one in each of the blue difuser lenses). Then tilt it forward and lift out.
2. If you have the clock filler plate, remove the 3 screws that hold it. If you have the clock there, remove those screws and move the clock forward.
3. The courtesy light harness has a unique connector that hooks into the main harness. It is located just to the right of where the clock would be. It's the one in the very middle of this image from Supercars Unlimited.


Here's another look at the back of the dash schematic. Ignore the H letters but look at the location of the courtesy light connector right beside the cigar lighter feed. If you hold the CTRL button down and roll your mouse wheel it should enlarge the whole page so you can see it better.

 

That's great info, especially on removing the cluster, thanks. You even pointed out differences between the clock and the filler plate, which I have. Mine is a Vista Cruiser, but I'm going to assume that the gauge and courtesy harnesses are more or less the same in this instance. With 2 kids, I may not get time to troubleshoot it until the weekend, but I'll try and sneak out there after work today.

Thanks a bunch!

-John

 

Yes, the Vista Cruiser is part of the A body lineup. The dash is identical to all the other Cutlass/442 models from 70-72 and so is the main harness and accessory light harness/connector. Good luck!

 

Arrgh. I took apart the light assembly just to the right of the radio (is that called one of the courtesy lights?) and found no continuity between the 2 prongs. Too much gray oxidation. A good while of scuffing later, I got continuity and got the bulb to light up. Cool, because that means the harness is intact, right? I worked on the glove box light next. Same problem, but I couldn't get it to light up after cleaning, even with solid continuity between both clips. Maybe the switch is bad. But now my courtesy light won't come on. What the heck? And I still have the 25A fuse out for the courtesy circuit, so I'm utterly confused now why the courtesy light even turned on in the first place, and why it no longer works after fiddling with the glove box light.

Back to the car for more inspection...

 

Oh, now I realize what I may have done. I made the mistake of popping the map light out of its socket and now can't get it back into place.

Anyone know how to replace the bulb in there? It has a protective metal sleeve around it that makes it too wide to pull through the switch opening.

Anyway, maybe that broke the circuit to the courtesy light... Still doesn't explain the fuse being missing. Gotta double check that... BIAB.

 

Well, I'm a turkey. The fuse that's missing is the 20A tail lamp fuse. I was counting from the top and looking at the 2nd fuse being missing (which would be the 25A courtesy fuse). There's a gigantic plastic 40A fuse in the A/C location and I didn't even realize it was a fuse. Sigh. That at least explains why the one courtesy lamp was working. It's not blown, so I'm guessing that I still did something to the circuit while either working on the glove box light or the mirror map light. One step at a time, one step at a time...

 

For good measure I took apart the dash to make sure the harness looked good (very easy to do, thank you again for the instructions - I've taken apart dashes far more difficult). Makes me want to get a clock. :P Then checked the courtesy fuse again. I think I need a new fuse box at some point. The corrosion there is more prevalent, and I may have broken one of the prongs on one side, but I was able to twist the fuse around and get a solid contact. Now both the courtesy lamp and the glove box illuminate.

I then took a look at the light over the tailgate. The cover disintegrated in my hands. Switch or no, there's no 12v at either side of the bulb with my test light.

Still need to figure out how to take the bulb out of the mirror, or pop it back into place. I managed to take the metal sleeve off it, which may have been a mistake. Got that out of the mirror, but the bulb still doesn't fit out the bottom hole of the mirror.