Hi all --

I have a 1994 Mitsubishi Diamante. Today, out of nowhere, the headlights and tail lights have stopped working. No brake lights either. I know *nothing* about what would cause this to stop working & truthfully, I can't afford a mechanic right now.

I understand the car well enough to be able to get my hands dirty & change bulbs, fuses, etc. I have already checked the front bulbs, they are both in tact. The fuse under the hood appears to be in tact and not burned out.

The lower front spoiler lamps blink when the hazards are turned on, but the rest seem to have just stopped altogether.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

Do the turn signals work as well? And you checked ALL the fuses under the hood and pass compartment?

 

The turn signals do not appear to work either. I went thru the fuses under the hood and pass compartment, none seemed to be burned out from what I could see.

Near the pass compartment there was a thin red wire twisted together with a thick copper wire, this appeared to have come undone. I reconnected this wire.

In my model, I know that there is an auto-off feature on the lights -- if you open the door when the car is turned off, the lights automatically turn off. I'm wondering if this is related to the problem at all, just a thought.

 

Try checking the flasher unit as well.

 

i presume you mean the hazard lights. the only hazards which work are the ones on the front spoiler (beneath the front bumper). correct me if i'm wrong here.

 

The flasher unit controls the hazards and turn signals, its a small box like a realy and usually under the dash.

 

ok gotcha. i will check this and post result shortly.

 

Also check in the owners manual for any relays for the head lights, brake lights, ect...

 

I just went thru and did a complete check of all the fuses and (what I believe are) the relays. Everything appeared to be in working order.

I noted that this time when I had the headlights on, the side lights on the front (the parking lights) were illuminated. The headlights themselves were not. When I turned on the high beams, the notification light on the dashboard did not come on nor did the high beams. It appears that the tail lights are working now when the headlights are cut on.

I don't know if this information helps at all, but it would seem to me logically that this is a fuse that is burned out and I'm not seeing that it's burned out, or it's a fuse of some kind that I am not aware of or familiar with that is burned out. Nothing else is running strangely.

 

Do you have brake lights now? Sounds like a combo of issues.