Back 'round May or so, the lights went out on the Prizm. No low beams, no high beams. Parking lights, tail lights, and brake lights all worked fine. Checked a few things, couldn't find the problem, kept driving. It's spring and summer - who needs lights? (Okay, I need lights sometimes - got caught by darkness after a baseball game and chose to drive twelve miles in a pitch-black thunderstorm by tailgating the wife's vehicle. Rolling down the interstate and back roads with no ability to see is quite the adventure...) (never again)
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Prizm's inspection was up at the end of the month, and the truck is not on the road yet, so it was deadline time: fix the car or buy another one. Too cheap to start shopping for a different car; fix the Prizm it is...
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With the five-year-old's help, it took five days to check all the fuses, replace the relays, and finally break down and buy the replacement Daytime Running Light module (known to have burned out three or more years ago) (it's $160 - ouch!). Everything in the headlight circuits is new or tests good. Flip the switch - no headlights.
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It took several intense hours of studying the wiring diagram and sussing out the workings of that expensive computer module to finally wire in a new ground in the proper location. That got all done late Thursday night (along with safety-wiring the lens back onto that bashed parking lamp), and by 8am Friday, we squeaked past inspection. Squeaked by - the front tire was something like 1/64" from failing, the check engine light was nice enough to stay off for ten minutes, and the driver's rear brake light required a nice hefty smack by the inspector to light up. I don't care if it passed by a mile or by a hair - the car is legal for another year!
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