Cadillac Repair: 1996 Cadillac Seville STS electrical prob brake lights/rear blinkers..., rear lights inop

Question
Hello Mr. Cherniwchan,
I'm a first time Cadi owner having purchased the above vehicle 1.5 months ago.  Everything has been working fine until yesterday driving home I noticed my blinker lights didn't work (unless i manually moved the blinker switch) and then it worked in the front only.  Everything in the back of my car is dead.  No tail lights, no blinkers, no brake lights, no hazards,  Also, my cruise control is out.  
Everything else seems to be fine.  I pulled the fuse in the fuse block and replaced the "hazard" 20 amp fuse.  It looked fine but I did it anyway.  No change.  I replaced the "stop" fuse with negative results also.  
I then went to the Maxi fuse relay and pulled the "lamps" 60 amp fuse and it looked fine. I cleaned it and did not replace it.  I also checked the Rear compartment fuse block  and checked the "turn" 20 amp fuse...it also looked fine.
I cannot figure out what is going on.  Does this sound like I need to take it in or do u have any ideas that I can try?

Thanks,
Brent

Answer
Hi Brent,


      Looks like you have covered the basics. The next step would be to use a DC voltmeter and test for power at all the fuses that you prevoiusly looked at. There is a possability that one or several of the fuses aren't getting power because a terminal in the ignition switch could be bad. The turn signal flasher module might be defective and not allowing power through it to the rear circuits. A loose ground wire for the rear lights is another possability. I guess what I'm saying is that you would need a good wiring diagram such as going to alldata.com and subscribeing to their service manual for your car. That way you could trace the circuits and see where the problem is. For me to try and explain those checks to you would be tough because the wiring goes all over the car and you would not know where to look unless you had a manual.

      So if you want to try to fix this yourself you will need alldata or the caddy manual for your car and a voltmeter. Otherwise take it to your mechanic. Bill