Electrical problems with an 08 Trailblazer

[Chris_]

Hi guys, I was wondering if any of you could help me out with the current situation I am in. About a month ago, I started realizing my license plate lights were getting dimmer. At first I thought it was the bulbs, so I changed them and that helped the issue for about a week until they started getting dim again. I didn't think much of it and left in alone. Fast forward to last week, I noticed that my license plate lights were off so I changed the bulb and checked the fuse, still no fix. Then, 3 days ago my reverse lights, back-up camera, and the green and orange lights that indicate on the headlight switch that your lights are on also went out. I took it to a body shop because I figured there was something wrong with the wiring. After having them look at it for over 5 hours, they told me that there was nothing wrong with the wires themselves and that I had an issue with my circuit board or my ECU. They told me they couldn't pinpoint the issue just yet and to bring it back another day to check on it. They also said that it might be costly to fix this. Can anyone offer solutions to what might be wrong?

 

[The_Roadie]

Welcome!

5 HOURS!?!?!?

Do you own a voltmeter and want to do some digging?

Did the body shop have an experience electrical tech with access to schematics?

 

[Vicompc]

Check your altenator, the voltage regualtor could be going out and causing the voltage drop.

 

[Denali n DOO]

The license plates lights were the first thing to go during my tailgate boot wiring issue. I'd say the broken ground wire caused my license lights to flicker and what not before going out completly. but you have other lights being affected as well on the dash that probably don't have the same common ground as the tailgate, the camera is probably same ground as the plate lights. You might wanna look at the wires in the boot since it's easy to look at them. Maybe switch lights out are a coincidence and not related to the tailgate issue.

http://gmtnation.com/f23/liftgate-problems-dealer-says-3526/

 

[Chris_]

The license plates lights were the first thing to go during my tailgate boot wiring issue. I'd say the broken ground wire caused my license lights to flicker and what not before going out completly. but you have other lights being affected as well on the dash that probably don't have the same common ground as the tailgate, the camera is probably same ground as the plate lights. You might wanna look at the wires in the boot since it's easy to look at them. Maybe switch lights out are a coincidence and not related to the tailgate issue.

http://gmtnation.com/f23/liftgate-problems-dealer-says-3526/

I just checked the wires underneath the boot, no broken or frayed wires.

 

[Chris_]

Wow.. I can't believe this. Today I just had a random thought to go out and check my fuses. Went to slot # 32, no fuse. Hmmm weird? Plugged in a fuse and bam, reverse lights, headlight switch, and back-up camera all turn on. I guess when I took it to that shop they removed the fuse and tried to play me. Oh well. The only thing I have to worry about now is my license plate lights. I believe I checked the fuse on that and it was good, so any ideas what the problem could be?

 

[The_Roadie]

License plate lamp sockets often get corroded. Get in there with your voltmeter and check.

 

[Chris_]

You are correct. Cleaned them up a bit with sandpaper, viola! Thank you SO much.

 

[Wooluf1952]

This would also be a good time to put some bulb grease (dielectric grease) on the contacts.