Daytime Running Lights

65

Asked by mrmom2 Jul 22, 2009 at 02:15 PM about the 2000 Pontiac Sunfire GT Coupe

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Relay clicks and then DRL shuts down. Have checked wiring harness all seems to be good.

17 Answers

130

I also have a Sunfire GT, but a '99. I checked the entire harness as well,and no luck.If I ground the DRL relay, they will come on.Seems to be a common problem, yet no one at GM seems to know. I've also tried a new switch,new relay,and more.Someone also suggested a DRL module in the cluster,but can't confirm if there is one with GM.All in all, very frustrating

13 people found this helpful.
115

i would check the front wiring harness and around the windsheild washer fliud contaner under it this was my problem it will be a bad wire or ground around the front wiring harness in front of the rad or under the wind sheild fliud jug this is where i had a problem found a broken wire you have to look real good i pass my wire two or three times before i seen it

6 people found this helpful.
60

I have a 97 sunfire that had the same issue. I took the turning/light control lever off and opened the electrical wiring housing connected to it. The plastic part inside was melted, thus preventing the mechanism from sliding to open or close the circuit to allow the lights to turn on. I spent $15 at a local junk yard to replace the whole switch. I would have replaced the electrical housing piece, but I couldn't seem to find any store or dealer to locate the specific part. All you should need is a torx bit to remove the lever from the steering column. This may be the quickest fix to your problem.

6 people found this helpful.
270

I just bought a turnsignal/Lights lever for my Pontiac sunfire gt. having the same problems i hope this works. I've changed the headlight bulbs, drl relay, then took them back to parts store.

5 people found this helpful.
270

Changing the turnsignal did nothing to stop the problems. I still have the lights clicking on/off 5 times. Anybody have any suggestions.

22 people found this helpful.
230

my 2003 pontiac sunfire is doing the same thing--as soon as i put the car into gear, the lights blink 5 times & the service light is illuminated on the instrument panel. if i turn the high beams on before i drop into gear, i don't get the blinking or the service light--until i try to switch from high beams to low. it all started with my driver side headlight--i just thought the bulb had burnt out--replacing it did absolutely nothing. i've been told to skip attempts to splice the wires--that they'll fail quickly--and to go ahead and replace the wiring harness. there aren't very many reputable shops that do electrical repair in my area..and it's a particularly expensive repair due to the labor.

23 people found this helpful.
30

I have the same problem. Then I was told the truth by a gm mechanic. Sunfire's were assembled in Mexico between 1995 to 2005 appx. they used thin low grade wiring for the sunfire so when it is brought up to the U.S and Canada the wires for the light will rust due to rain or road salt in winter and will snap or break in cold weather. GM knows about this problem and refuses to admit to it. Recommendation to this problem everybody get together and file a class action lawsuit. P.S if you want a good car subaru outback 2001-2005 I am currently looking for one very hard to find everybody loves there outback hope this helps

3 people found this helpful.
100

The same EXACT thing is happening in my 2001 Pontiac Sunfire. If I switch on the lights when I turn on my car, I don't get the clicking and Service light. I wish there was a solution for this annoying problem.

10 people found this helpful.
265

i had the same problem with a 2001 sunfire,as soon as i put the car into gear, the lights blink 5 times & the service light and abs light and tc lights are illuminated on the instrument panel. so i unbolted the headlights, removed the battery and air filter box, just lower down from the battery tray on the wiring harness is a connector i unplugged it and the harness to right of the connector i carefully cut of the pieces of tape that are wrapped around the harness cover and opened it up to reveal the wires, there are 2 dark blue wires, (you need to get the thin dark blue wire) cut back the plastic cover and solder a new piece of wire to it.then tape it up and carefully tuck it back into the harness cover then tape up the harness cover, then plug the harness back together.i then ran the new wire along the existing harness making sure its inside the covering and up to the headlight again i stripped back the plastic covering on the "thin" dark blue wire on the headlight connector and solder the new wire to it,taped it up and tucked it into the plastic harness cover. i re fitted the hedlamps and refitted the battery and tested the headlamps and daytime running lights, all worked fine and the service light, abs light, and traction control lights have gone off on the instrument panel. i then refitted the air filter and now the lights are working fine. no more clicking !

26 people found this helpful.
2,295

Ok I have solved the problem with the no headlights and no power to the wipers. I had enough with all the post on the internet to the effect of maybe it's this or maybe it's that? Well after careful reviews and going over the blueprints and wire diagrams I have found the issue on all these problems for no headlights and no wiper blades. The GROUND WIRE IS THE PROBLEM. There are two wires that come from the light switch and these two wires connect to a third wire that supplies ground to the Wiper Motor. The very easy fix to this is to take the two grounds from the plug on the light switch. You will need to remove the three bottom screws from the steering housing and counter twist the tilt steering arm to remove it. After this take the first wire to the left (Black/White Strip) and the second to the right (Black) and add a clip on wire connector. Join the two together and ground them to a Grounding source. This allows the ground to be routed to another source and you wont need to find the broken ground. After this you will have everything working 100%. I just did this to my daughters car and it is now perfect. I have a picture to show wire harness. This job took me 20 minutes and no HIGH Labor cost. Good Luck

122 people found this helpful.
220

2004 Sunfire with no DRL, no low beam and right head light barely lit. OK everyone listen up because you can't believe everything you read on the web but I do have a clue as an electronic tech, car guru and quality tech at GM who teaches the mechanics how to fix cars. This takes persistences, it took me 6+ hours. Those who suggested a break in the splice of the blue wires from the "A" headlight terminal were close to resolve the NO LOW BEAM issue. Unfortunately it was not under the battery tray on this car, it was about a foot in from the right hand head light. Also the break was not in the splice junction but on the feed wire back to the connector under the battery tray (picture 247). Break repaired with solder / heat shrink and we have low beams. We still have a very dim right hand head light. voltage to ground on the working left hand light had roughly 12V at all 3 terminals but the right hand light was zero on the middle "B" terminal. This was easy, it was the right hand head light fuse. Now we have High & Low beam but no DRL, it does the typical DRL issue of 5 relay clicks then nothing. There is a heavy gage black ground wire bolted to the frame under the battery tray. I followed that back to a seven wire ground junction between the left head light and mid car in front of the rad where two of the ground wires rotted off the crimp ring (picture 251), this was under some heavy duty OEM heat shrink. I cut them all back and did a nice solder block and covered with heat shrink. Now we have all lights working plus DRL. This was a time consuming job so be patient. If it's above your skill level and you have to pay for the repair be prepared for 5 - 7 hours. Good luck. Kevin24

12 people found this helpful.
220

The posting above only allowed the addition of one photo (Pic 251) of the rotted off ground connection. I have added a second photo (Pic 247) showing the corrosion in the blue wire just after the splice. Kevin24

9 people found this helpful.
10

Same here. My car is a 2000 pontiac sunfire and I was trying to look up what lights i need to get to replace the bulb but it sounds like that won't do much good from what I've read here. I am going to look into it more, but yeah it clicks as soon as i put it into gear and my lights flash then turn off and then the service engine light comes on. Right now I can only drive with one headlight so I think that I still need a bulb.

1 people found this helpful.
220

Verify bulbs and fuses for right and left headlamp, you can always swap left and right if you lack test equipment.. You'll have to break open the harness to find the bad DRL ground. Service engine lamp is a differnt issue than DRL, you need to read fault code with a code reader before i can advise. Electromek

1 people found this helpful.
10

I had the same problem on a 2000 sunfire. I found a bad connection behind the drivers side headlight. I untapped the headlight loom and found 3 pink wires that were soldered together from the factory but since broke apart. Once I fixed the wire, everything works great.

1 people found this helpful.
50

*FIXED* 2001 Sunfire with DRL problem. The first symptom was both headlights blinking off and on intermittently while driving. The bright lights were unaffected so I drove with those. The next symptoms were the driver's side headlight failing to function in DRL and dim modes. Once the car was put into gear, the DRL indicator would flash 5-7 times and the Service light would illuminate. Replacing bulbs did not help. Also, the relay was in good shape. This is a wiring problem and was fixed by replacing 2 wires. I bought a continuity tester ($10) from the parts store and tested the blue and pink wires.I had to remove the air cleaner, battery and the driver's side wheel well plastic. Under the battery tray I found the connector for the headlight wires and began testing. One probe at the connector, the other end at the headlight wire (I disconnected the headlights to be sure I was only testing wire). The DARK BLUE had weak continuity, so I cut it and replaced it. Full continuity was re-established. The other problem wire was the PINK one running behind the radiator between the 2 headlights. It had multiple areas of corrosion. I cut it and replaced it, once again re-establishing proper continuity. Still working properly after 8 months. Notes- -You may find that the problem happens more in cold weather-this is because the wire is contracting due to the cold. This causes more loss of electrical contact at the corroded spots. - For the replacement wire, I used a slightly heavier gauge of wire than stock and also used electrical tape to wrap and protect my work. The stock wiring is rather thin and surprisingly unprotected. -It's a good idea to examine the other wires under the battery tray while you're at it. Clean your battery while it's out and consider getting a mat for the battery tray. -The above poster is correct. 5-7 hours is required to do perform this task.

5 people found this helpful.
10

I made my own circuit using two 12V relays and every that the ignition is on the DRL lights and when the main headlights (low beam) is turned on, the DRL lights go off. The only issue is that when i turn off the ignition the DRL lights keeps on for a time more than expected and i would like that somebody helps me with this telling me how can i fix this.

1 people found this helpful.

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