A girl i'm dating here is having problems with her car and I know ABSOLUTELY nothing about the mechanics of a car. Basically she went out of town for a month and came back and her back lights don't work when her lights are on. The brake lights work, but the outside back ones don't, and at night that is quite dangerous. The interior lights seem to not be working well either, so I think its an electrical problem, or something as simple as a fuse that needs to be changed. Would anyone know how to change a fuse or check to see what it is? Also would anyone know a good, trustworthy mechanic as she is an international student here and doesn't have a lot to throw around. Any comments or suggestions would help!
Just try replacing all the bulbs. Easy to do, and doesnt hurt the wallet one bit. I can bet you the mechanic will most probably try this first, then, if it still doesn't work, he will go deeper and check the wires.
Check to see if it is the bulbs. put in another light bulb into one of the sockets that isn't working right now. This will tell you if it is the bulbs or a fuse problem.
My money is on a bad relay. If both her running lights and interior went out at the same exact time, bulb replacement will most likely not be the answer. However, as they stated it is an easy solution to attempt. My recommendation for a shop is http://www.keyautowerks.com/ The shop is run by honest mechanics, and I have been pleased in my dealings with them. Having worked as a mechanic, I came to realize how many crooks are out there. Find someone who you can trust. Hope this helps.
Are these lights never working? Or just when the headlights are on? I'm betting on the former...am I right? Well, anyway, if they're only not working when the headlights are on (of course the tail lights aren't supposed to work when the headlights are off anyway...but if the interior lights are effected by the headlights...) you have a bigger problem than just lights or fuses. But, I'm sure that's not the case anyway. Since they're probably all out regardless of headlight action, then it's probably a fuse or relay. Just get the owner's manual out of the glove box and look up fuses. It'll tell you where your fuse box is (probably under the steering wheel on the left-hand side) and it'll give you a map of which fuses are which. Locate the one that's for tail lights and interior lights (there could be a fuse for each...maybe just one fuse for both though) and use a pair of pliers to yank it out. It's made of colored/clearish plastic and you can see a little filament on the inside. If it's not continuous, then the fuse is broken. If it appears to be continuous, replace it anyway. You'll notice that on the top of the fuse there is a number. 20, 15, 10, 35...whatever. Go to Autozone and buy that number fuse...or an assortment if you want some for future usage. They're a matter of pennies. Plug the new one back into the spot where the other one is (it's only a matter of pushing it back in...yes, that easy) and see if you're problem is solved. If it's not solved now, take it to a mechanic. Replacing a relay fuse would probably be too much work (IE, undoing the battery, locating the right fuse...) and if it's faulty wiring you're not gonna get it done on your own. If it's not the fuse, I don't recommend replacing all the lights like has been suggested. If there had been some sort of electrical surge that was significant enough to blow out all those lights it would have burned the fuse first. And if it's some mysterious electrical problem, replacing all the bulbs would be futile anyway. So try the fuse first, and if not...get it looked at by a mechanic.
