Electrical/Brake Lights

[97RS_3800]

Hey guys, I have a 97 Camaro RS and I've recently been having electrical issues that I cant seem to figure out. Maybe someone here can help?

First off, I got a fix-it ticket this weekend while I was up at the racetrack in Watkins Glen, NY (NASCAR and Grand-AM(Rolex) Races... The ticket was for no brake lights and a headlight out. (I knew about the headlight, however I was waiting until I got home to fix it myself).

Well, the first thing I did was stop into Advance Auto and purchase a low-beam headlight and a couple brake-light bulbs. When I got home today I replaced the headlight, perfect. Then I replaced the bulbs in the tails, FAILURE.

I had my brother come step on the brakes while I checked em out, the brake lights worked great when all other lights were off. However, when I had the marker lights or the full headlights on, they did not. One faded out when i stepped on em and one just didn't get brighter like it should. Any ideas?

Another issue that just developed is that my radio and power windows have been cutting out at the very same time when i go over a bump, and when I go over another bump they'll come back in... agh electrical issues are most definitely not a strength of mine so any help would be greatly appreciated.

My guess is a short.... but idk...

Thanks guys/girls

[Rob Bell]

Re: Electrical/Brake Lights

it's probably a bad ground. Check the grounding straps and black grounding cables under the hood. Make sure the connections are clean and tight. If that does not help, you could try running a ground wire from the tail light assembly to a known good grounding point to see if the problem resolves itself. I had to do that with my drivers side headlight, there was a loose connection in the wiring harness.

Usually when lights are fading or lights come on that shouldn't, it's a grounding issue. Same deal with things cutting out when going over bumps.