Well for the past few days I have been having an issue with what began with the headlights and now it's the parking lights only. When I turn the headlight switch to the off position the parking lights stay on. Prior to this symptom the headlights would flicker on/off when I turned the switch to the off position until I removed the key and opened the door. Now no matter what I do the parking lights stay on all the time unless I disconnect the battery. I noticed when I do turn the headlight switch to the off position the interior lights dim but they stay illuminated, the volt meter drops a few volts and then a scent of burning wires fills the cabin. I am guessing after looking at the shop manual that it could be the 'column ecu' Because thats where the smell is coming from. Has anyone had this problem or should I just take it to the stealership. The car is bone stock and never had a problem prior to this. The only thing I have done was to swap the location of the radio and the MR gauges, but that didn't require any wire modifications and I did that over a year ago. Any help would be appreciated.

 

short somewhere maybe?.....rain alot where u are? think i read where rain is getting in behind drivers a pillar.....but i dont remember which models had that issue..could be the older ones..

do you have an aftermarket alarm installed?....maybe thats failing...

if you smell something burning i would imagine you can remove dash and what have you and get a better look, otherwise i'd just take to dealer and have them do a once over.

 

remove left kick panel....... block of about 4 connectors in under it, check them for corrosion/green death. one connector goes out under the hood to lights wipers and other such items. have seen it cause wierd problems before

 

^ The above is 100% your problem you'll need to cut away those connectors and hard solder all of the wires. A bit tedious but easy enough

Heres one link there are tons more

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=313115

This is not a year specific issue I have seen it on 03-06 models as the harness comes through in the exact same place

 

I have been having this problem also and the dealer said it was a loose connection so it was fine for a while. I will now fix it myself. This is great info

 

I found the connectors evosean mentioned listed in the electrical diagram section of the shop manual. Yes there has been allot of rain and snow lately and the car is parked outside. I will tear into it this weekend. No, I don't have an alarm, probably should with the rash of car break-ins in my area lately. Thank you for your help guys, and i'll let you know how it works out.

 

Just wanted to give an update. I pulled the D.S. kick panel and sure enough the 25 pin connector was corroded beyond belief. I decided to let the dealer deal with the problem under warranty. So they proceeded to remove the connector, amalgamate the wires with solder, problem solved. They charged the factory $336 for labor and materials by the way. Thank you again evosean for the information, your diagnosis was spot-on.

 

I took mine in and they wouldnt cover it. They wanted to charge me 325 to fix it. Im fixing it myself. They blamed it on my a-pillar gauges.

 

am having the same and more of the symptoms mentionned above, engine doesnt start crank, no lights whatsoever, electrical car door open light flickers sometimes.. battery terminals checked and fuse/relays checked

this is the fist ive heard of the kick panel connectors issue, il go check it out right now and poste an update

 

well it would of been nice but no luck, i removed the kick panel 2 years ago and pulled the harness in just a bit, so its black taped plastic is still bright and shiny

there is however a bit of dirt and worn off tape on the wires going near the door hinge .