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Looking for some help with finding the problem with the opera lights on my oldsmobile. They are on the posts in between the front and rear door. I understand they are electroluminescent strips and go bad but want to verify the strips are bad. I found the connection in the trunk for them with what I would think is a relay but I am not sure. It does not click when headlights are turned on. Any suggestions or help would be appreciated, I cannot find anything about these lights online.
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I think automotive EL lights run on AC current, requiring an inverter to change DC current to AC current. What you found may not be a relay, but an inverter. As far as I know, inverters don’t click when energized. Since you’re dealing with AC, you’ll have to pay attention to the settings on your multi meter for the readings to make sense.
Also, are you sure what you’ve found is related to the EL circuit? It seems kinda odd to power the light through the switch in the dash, run the wiring all the way back to the trunk, and then run it forward again to the B pillar. Are there lights in the C pillar too?
This is the best picture I haveas of now. The only lights are in between the front and rear doors. I removed one of the and looked at wires. The box in trunk has warning for 110 volts, and the wires coming into match the wires that connect to the lights. It appears that they splice into the rear taillights.
Electroluminescent lighting is a bit of an automotive oddball, but there are a few enthusiasts who will undertake repairs. Chrysler used EL gauge lighting in some of their dashboard instrument clusters during the 50s and 60s.
I found this site, http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/mopar-dash.cfm, which contains a couple of links to businesses that do EL repair. They’d probably be happy to give you information and details about your issue. And if the opera lights themselves are pooched, they would probably be able to apply a new coat of that magical glowing paint.
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