I have gotten a 1971 cutlass and doing work I found none of the lights on dash , dome , side , underdash all are out . who can help some looks like the fuses are good and don't know if there is a relay of some sort , and also the horn wont work either . any help ?

 

Sounds like some wiring gremlins or worse PO hacking. Start with a 12 volt source with a test light and work out to lights. Make sure all wires are hooked up at horn relay on drivers side wheel well under hood. Good luck.

 

You do know the headlight switch also rotates to brighten and dim the dash lights right? Perhaps its rotated full clock wise and your dash lights would be off. Rotate to the left maybe that will help your dash lights. as far as interior lights try another fuse see if it works, check door jam switches be sure their wired up and clean. Dash lights usually have gray wires, interior is orange and white i think.

 

You may know this, but the orange positive leads for interior lights should be hot all time. The lights come on by completing the ground via the white wire from the door switches or headlight switch. Get a wiring diagram and test light/voltmeter and be ready to spend a bit of quality time with your car.

 

Did you check the courtesy lights fuse and the instrument lights fuse?

- Eric

 

yah, use meter or [easier] test light
with ign on and lights on, lighting fuse should show volts at both ends.
With lights off, at only one end probably.
Never, at either end.... feed problem.

Chassis service manual via epay or wildaboutcars.com, and use its wiring diagram.

 

There may be a rheostat issue with the dash lights, but if the courtesy lights aren't going on when you open the door, check the door jamb switches. You said you checked all the fuses - did you pull them to check on them or just eyeball them? Good idea to pull them and check for corrosion on the end of the fuse or fuse holder. Also check to see if you have any obvious burnt out lights.

Horn issue? Could be the horn contact in the steering wheel is not hooked up, the horn relay needs replacing, horn wires are disconnected, or the horns need rebuilding. Pull the horns and bench test them - sure enough way to start tracing the problem back.

How long have you had the car, and did any of the lighting work when you got it, or is this just recent?

 

X2 on courtesy light instrument panel fuse. The items not working are all on that circuit IIRC. Culprit is often a shorted cigarette lighter element, a coin in the cigarette lighter socket or a defective horn relay. Good luck!!!

 

horn issues , yes after checking all , I found that the horn contact is broken , the part that is like a strw that the plunger and spring fit in is broken off and the rest is missing and a mytery on where to get a replacement and how it goes back since it wasn't there to remove ! any help on this ? the rest is a signaled out fuse that controls the cigg ,dome ,courstey, etc. is a pain . gotta go through lots bs to find which one is blowing the fuse .

 

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here is a pic of what I am looking for

 

Here's another example of why it is unnecessary and even detrimental to post the same question in two different threads. You increase the chances of getting bad information that isn't discovered and corrected. You'll find the info you're looking for in your other thread.