Oldsmobile/Buick: 1990 Toronado Trofeo Interior lights, cigarette lighters, twilight sentinel

Question
Sir,
   I've had this car for quite a few years now and I've managed to live without interior lights. I'm ready now to dig into this problem and solve it. All fuses are intact. Cigarette lighters work. Overhead lights come on singularly if you press their switch. Interior lights will not come on even with the manual switch on the dash dimmer. I have removed the twilight sentinel sensor so that I can have dash lights. I would like to replace it though. Otherwise all other functions work on this car even the touch screen controls (if you can believe it). Tell mw where to start. I have a little background with electrical and can stumble my way through a shop manual. I do own the shop manual for this car but I don't know where to start. Please help if you can. I really like this car and plan on keeping it. Thanks, M. Myrick

Answer
Michael,

I would take a hard look at the headlight switch and especially the door switches. Either one could be the culprit. If you have a wiring diagram than see if you can trace the path in which the wiring for the interior lights run. I'm not totally familiar with your vehicle so I can't advise on the specifics. Test the individual switches and sockets to see if any power is traveling to them. Corroded sockets or a known fauly could be the issue.

Michael, if you have any more questions please feel free to ask. Don't forget to rate my response to you.

Ed McKenna