Numerous Lights Not Working

[pleiades]

Ok, I'm finally about ready to tackle the chore of figuring out why most of the lights on the car are not working - I have no dash or interior lights, no low-beam headlights, no turn-signals and one rear tail-light out (left rear, although that may just be a bulb)

The few things I've checked quickly so far - fuses are all there and seem to be OK - I pulled the cluster back and double checked that everything is plugged in, seems to be - I pulled the upper center console out and there sure seems to be a few extra wires there, but most importantly, the round hazard plug is not plugged in and the little interior light that is on that console is not plugged in. it also seems that the fan switch is not plugged in. (I think someone got in a rush to sell the car and just put the trim back together and went on with it - I'm not mad about it, but I certainly have a little extra work to do)

[pope]

Dont worry about fan switches now, do plug in the hazard wires as this has an impact on a lot of lights.
On step at a time. There may also be a grounding problem on the lights, but more on that later.

[mbouse]

Be thankful you have a Spider and not a Spitfire.

number one - never try to solve all of the issues in one setting. you have named several circuits, and will need to iron them out one circuit at a time. there is little commonality in all of these circuits, although Pope is correct about the hazard switch.

plug in that hazard switch and see a whole bunch of issues resolved, especially turn signals.
of course, replace all suspected burned out bulbs.
getta volt meter and check the headlamp feed for voltage. if the fuse is truly good, it would be a very slim chance that BOTH headlamps are burned out. cheaper to check the power supply first in this case.

and, always suspect a bad ground when working with automotive electricals.

the courtesy lamp needs three wires to make it function properly.

[kristoj]

As these guys said, the hazard light switch is the hub for a bunch of circuits. Your dash lights are controlled by a rheostat dimmer switch in the center of the dash. You can take that out to ensure it is hooked up and working. If the wires are connected to the switch, disconnect them from the switch and put a jumper wore between them. This may fix your problem as the rheostat switch is a high failure item.

Same thing with your headlights -- could be the switch and you can test it the same way, by jumping the wires. When I first got my car, the tail lights did not work. I checked the fuses and grounds then spent a ton of time with wiring diagrams trying to find the short. The last thing I checked was the bulbs because I figured they wouldn't both be burned out...they were. So it does happen.