Hey-

Slowly but surely still working on my '92 RAT. The fog lamps never worked nor did the interior switch/panel back lighting. The car came with cheap LED replacement headlamps which, when the fogs were switched ON, so did a few LEDs in each headlamp. Going thru the service manual diagnostic flow chart, it turns out that the parking lamp/fog lamp switch
doesn't power up the fog lamp relay trigger as intended even though the parking lights seem to work normally. The manual said to fix SPLICE S217 (I think it was 217) which was
mostly correct since pulling the switch revealed that the brown wire going to the fog light relay had been snipped and connected to a new wire, So luckily, this one is easily
remedied BUT- has ANYONE pulled the connectors from the headlamp switch? Does GM hire engineers assigned to the task of making connectors that lock in cleverly
hidden ways? The big and smallest (2 wire) connectors came off easily but how is the 3 wire connector released? Anyone done this and remember? I checked out a few
on Ebay but didn't notice an obvious tang or anything....

thanks in advance,
b

 

There is a tab on the inside. You need a pick to slide in there and lift the tab and pull the connector out. I’ll snap a pic of the connector when I get home tonight.

 

Nice- thanks. I sort of see the tab against the underside of the main body of the switch but hard to see in there and don't want to ruin the connector. I tried sticking a small screw driver
in there but nothing moved. Have a connector tool will try next- thanks!

 

A 90 degree pick works well.

 

Thank you!!! I worked on it for a while today but didn't touch that connector. So the thing has to be squeezed toward the connector body? Two previously non-working items, the cornering lights and fog lights are now operating again. The last item (I think) associated with this task is getting the switch/control lighting working. When the parking lights are switched ON, the cluster lights up as intended but the little back lights on the various switches and legends stay dark.. The fuses are good. The service manual flow chart trouble shooting routine sez to probe the different terminals at the 'incandescent power driver' connector which is supposedly to the left of the cluster. That was when the battery in my work light decided to die but
in the short browse, I didn't see it back there anywhere. There must be a line going to the cluster and one or more headed elsewhere- or nowhere- Thanks again!




'con

 

Just a quick follow up. The manual trouble shooting guide says to probe the 'power driver ' connector with a test light. It's mounted - sort of above
the left ear of the steering column mount with 2 interior panel type screws. There's not enough room to get a typical test light in there to probe the connector but luckily I had a small one
languishing in a box draw that had never been opened. Sure enough, tests showed that the thing needed to be replaced and it turns out to be a discontinued part although they can still
be located on ebay and luckily a local dealer had one sitting on a shelf. Replacing the thing restored the dash button/control lighting but what an awful job. One of the screws had already
been removed. I thought the thing maybe had already been replaced but then had gone bad again. WRONGO. (what else is new?) Now I think someone tried to get it out but couldn't.
The only way I could even SEE the remaining screw was by taping a mirror to the clutch pedal then working a 1/4" ratchet with a long extension thru the wires onto the screw head.
The new one DID fix the problem though while also making business for the local chiropractor. And I had raised the car 4 or 5 feet on a lift. Couldn't imagine laying on the floor trying
to do this and was too chicken to pull the dash pad-

At least it's working again-