Electrical problem on a 94 Chevy Camaro?

Normally I can fix these problems on my own, but this is my first Camaro and first car that I've bought used. There was no problems with it when I bought it, had been very well taken care of and babied.

One of my low beams went out, replaced the bulb, and that is not the problem. Checked the voltage and its not getting 12v like it should be, its getting more like 7, which lead me to believe it was possibly a problem with the relay...I can't find the relay for the headlights.

Now problem #2, instrument panel lights and clock on the radio worked fine, ate dinner, cranked up and the instrument panel was out and when I turn on the headlights, the clock on the radio goes off (the radio stays on, just the clock goes off)...this leads me to believe there is a problem in the switch for the headlights...not sure though.

Can someone please possibly shed some light on this, I really don't want to have to take it to a shop if I can fix it.

2007-05-25T20:43:58Z

To the second responder, thank you for the information about the relay.

My battery & alternator are fine. I've been told it could possibly be a ground wire that is causing the headlight problem, before I go through the trouble of cleaning it & etc, do you think this is a possiblity?

I know that it is not the dimmer switch as I keep it turned all the way up and rarely click it that one last click to turn on the dome lamp. This is really pestering me, lol.

ellerkampbrian2007-05-25T00:18:03Z

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The first thing I would do would be to check the condition of the battery and the alternator. Make sure the battery has 12.4 volts or more at rest and then make sure that the alternator is charging 13.5 volts - 14 volts while the engine is running and all accessories are on. Make sure the battery can pass a load test. If either the battery or alternator is working well, then you will have all kinds of strange things happening with all electrical components. Also make sure your battery cable connections are good and corrosion free.

The reason that you cannot find the headlamp relay is because it is built into the Daytime Running Lamp (DRL) module. It's basically a minaturized headlamp control computer built with relays built inside of it. There is a possibility that this is bad, but I would check all the integrity of the wiring first.

If you are going to attempt to do any more troubleshooting, a wiring diagram will come in very handy.

Problem #2 sounds like the dimmer switch is dimmed all the way down. Try moving the dimmer switch dial and see if the clock and instument cluster brighten up any.

scooby2007-05-24T23:02:53Z

On the switch that turns domelight on that dial also dims dash and radio light. Did you try to adjust that first.