very weird light issue, that no one - including my mechanic - can figure out
 

i will try to be as succint as possible.

last week, the light came on on my dash indicating i had a brake light out. i replaced both bulbs, no issues, brake lights work fine. then, the next day, i started noticing the following issues regarding my lights:

i have an 5th gen (03) with factory HIDS, which i keep on auto. as you know, once you shut the car off, the lights stay on for about 45 seconds, and then shut off. when i turn my car off, the headlights stay on (which is to be expected) but in addition, all of my warning lights on my dashboard (air bag, tcs, oil, check engine, etc) come on as well. now, when my auto lights do shut off, all of those dash indicator lights go off, as well. that's just really confusing to me, but at least it's not like the dash indicator lights are staying on all the time.

the other lighting issue is even more perplexing.

my rear lights - not my brake lights, but just my red tail lights - stay on anytime that the car is on...even if my lights are turned to 'off'

i really don't want to bring my car to a dealership, because they're going to charge me 100 bucks just to look at the car, then 100 an hour for every hour it takes to find the root of the problem, which, since it's electrical, could be very time-consuming, and therefore, expensive.

my car is at my mechanic's right now, and he's been checking things all day - fuses, modules related to the lights, a bunch of other stuff that i don't really understand - and he can't figure it out.

does anyone have any idea what might be causing this, and is my only option going to be to go to the dealership? i really, really don't want to have to do that.

someone please shed some light on this frustrating situation for me. what makes it so weird is that it really just started absolutely out of nowhere. i thought maybe i put the wrong bulbs in when i changed my brake light or something, but i didn't, and even if i had, i don't think that would make my tail lights be on ALL the time, even when my lights are OFF.

help, help, help. please.

Since it started when you replaced the light bulbs, they become suspect #1. Two things - Double check that they are the correct bulb (type 7443) and also that the filaments are not warping and shorting out with each other.

It would seem that one of the relays or some wiring is bad. As I understand it, and I could be wrong, most of the electronics like that use other components for power so they arent on all the time but when switched they work. Specifically I know the fogs use the windshield wipers for power or vice versa. They take the power from another component that is powered as soon as the car is turned over. I would start tracing some wiring back from the relays or from the fuse box inside the car as that is where the brake fuses are located. Don't know much about this but I hope it helps

I'd suspect the body control module, but most likely only a dealership will be able to actually test it.

just in case anyone was wondering, the dealership found a screw accidentally digging into a wire, causing issues with the BCM. $500 later, and it's fixed. best buy gave me a gift certificate to make up for it because the screw was obviously (accidentally) put in there that way during some work they did on my car. oh well. glad it's fixed, but damn dealerships really do rip people off to the Nth degree.

i did see a sick, very modded GT-R while i was waiting, which almost made my trip to the dealership worth it. haha

Take out both your rear light bulb also any bulb you replace and switch it around one by one positive with positive and negative with negative also have the light on while your doing it.I'm not sure the setup or the type of bulb the rear light used cause I've never had to replace mine but I had this similar problem with my interior lights if I had them the wrong way,when turned on they come off but and when turn off they come on ..vise versa ....check your connection make sure the bulb is install the right way.

perhaps you failed to read the post to which you responded. i figured out the problem. i give you an A for effort to help, and an F for awareness. no shots.

Hey go to school, become a certified installer, we don't really give two ****s if you actually have the skill to do this stuff, as long as you went to school for it, you can work for us. If not, then **** you.

- Best Buy