Hi,

I've had this van since mid-2000. It barely ran when I bought it from a guy in northern VA. I fixed it up and got it on the road and drove it to my current location - Houston, TX.

At that time the van passed safety no problem; all the lights, signals, etc. worked correctly.

But the electrical system seems to be deteriorating. I'm not really sure where to being fixing it because I don't really know what the problem is. Here are the symptoms:

1) Passenger side brake light bulbs burn out within a day of installation - this is the first real electrical issue
2) Turn signals no longer flash - the dashboard indicator lights solid when I try to active a turn signal
3) Starter solenoid sometimes gets stuck in "start" mode until I tap it to break it free (had me scared the first time it happened) - this is why I replaced it, but it still happens sometimes.

The headlights and dome lights seem to work fine.

Now, when I first got the van I had to replace many parts to get it running and stickered. Some things I replaced that could be related to the problems: starter motor, battery, voltage regulator, starter solenoid, taillamp housing.

Obviously I can't expect anyone to tell me "go look at the brown wire", but what I am hoping to learn is if there are any known electrical issues and it would also be nice to have some idea where to start.

Thanks.

 

Known electrical issues that would cause your problem are light socket corrosion, and ground wire corrosion at the rear sockets.

Are you sure the filament in the bulb is actually burnt in two? Or does it just stop working. The symptoms you describe sound like a bad connection between light and the socket, or the ground wire from the socket to the body in the rear. The dash blinker staying on all the time is an indicator that there is not enough load on the flasher to cause it to blink. This is because the light is not working.

The solenoid(starter relay) problem may be directly related to the quality of the replacement you bought. A lot of guys on here write in with the same problem, and they go buy a different brand and the problem goes away. When you are checking it out, make sure none of the big wires are loose, which can cause the relay to heat up and cause it to stick too.

 

I'm sure it's burned. In fact, it literally appears to be burned. The glass cracks and turns black.

Thanks for your reply!

 

Any chance you are buying cheap lamps? I've bought them before that lasted a matter of weeks before they died.

Try connecting a long wire to the NEG post on the battery. Turn on the turn signals, and touch the other end of this wire to the ground side of the lamp socket in question. If the light now works, you have ground problems.

Any chance that you have the lights wired backwards? Any chance the running lights are actually hooked up to the brake light filaments? I assume that you know that the taillight bulbs will only go into the socket correctly in one direction.

Its all I can think of at this time. I'm on pain killers due to a back injury, and have been up most of the night. I hate pain.