Expert: Ray Hawk - 12/1/2009

Question
My back lights (tail) lights on my 1998 chevy malibu is out. How do I fix it? It it is a fuse, where can I locate the fuse?

Answer
Hey Sharon,

Car lights are rarely a problem. It's a simple repair. Open the trunk. Locate where the back of the light is. You will see 3 or 4 black plastic wingnuts holding the trunk lining on. Remove those. Carefully peel the trunk lining to reveal the back of the light and 3 or 4 more wing nuts. Remove the wing nuts. The entire tail light assembly will now be removable from the car. Be careful because it is still attached to the car by the wires leading to the lights. You will see that 4 clips attaching the circuit board (the thing that has the wire attached to it) to the tail light assembly. Undo the clips and pull out the circuit board. On the reverse side you will see the light sockets. Locate the bad bulb and replace. The bulb number is on the base of the bulb.

If the bulbs all appear to be good be warned that Malibus are notorious for the tail light circuit board going bad. This may have to be replaced.

If it's a fuse, then you just need to find the fuse box, either under the dash or under the hood, then search for the blown fuse. It will look burnt. Replace it if it's bad.

Hope this helps you!

-Ray A. Hawk