2000 Elantra Door Chime & Taillight Problem...

Car is a 2000 Elantra with 60k .... yesterday the door chime refuses to stop
dinging - stays chiming constantly....Then I notice the right taillight
stays lit ALL the time, even when the car is off.....Daughter also said
gauge lights not working.....Owners manual says the chime will sound when
the taillights are left on, so that's a clue, but what is making only one
taillight stay on ????

What I do Know --

Door switch seems to work...dome light goes on and off
Brake switch seems OK....
All other functions seem normal, car runs, etc....

Has anyone ever seen this set of symptoms ????

Jeff

 

OK, let's try this again.....I had inadvertently left the parking light
switch on...which is why the right taillight was lit...and the front right
too....however the left side is blowing fuses....

So here is what Ive got....

Left side parking lamps blowing fuse when turned on...
Constant Door chiming chime....
No Dash gauge lights.....

WTF ???? Helpppp.....

 

Time for basic electrical troubleshooting. Pull the front lamps and start
working back, looking for shorts. Don't get too concerned for multiple
symptoms just now. Automotive wiring does very mysterious things when it
gets boogered. Your best indicator to work off of right now is the fact
that you're blowing fuses. Find that short and I bet the other problems go
away.

 

Thanks Mike, for the words of encouragement, but the needle in a haystack
scenario comes to mind.....

I did find a wiring diagram on a Hyundai site, and I can see that the left
tail lamps, Dash cluster lamps, and the warning chimer all run off the same
fuse so it would seem to all be related.....

Got me a batch of extra fuses and my multimeter, so I'm goin' in......

Jeff

 

Don't forget to come up for air.

The rheostat (dimmer switch) is a good place to start. If you unplug it
and the problem still occurs, you've just eliminated many of the interior
lamps.

 

Thanks for the tip .....Now for the good and bad news ....

I poked and prodded for an hour or so....followed the wire harness as well
as possible....grabbed and wiggled here and there....never really saw
anything obvious....

Lo and Behold....I pop in a fresh fuse and all is back to normal...!!!

I hate it when THAT happens......of course I'm pleased it works again, but
now it feels like a time bomb waiting to reoccur.... Dammit....?*%$%#@

Until the next gremlin then .....

Jeff