1987 Cadillac Opera Lamp Repair 

Yeah me too I have the same car 83 Park Avenue and the same problem 😂

Glad to hear it, and thanks for making the original request.

Just placed an order for my kit! Just as you stated, my inverter has failed. 🤞 I don’t have any issues with the EL strips themselves. Guess I will know soon enough.

Sounds good, just watch that 110 volts. @@dm7097

@@westofthelakecadillacclubDoes the EL strips ever go bad? LIke 1 percent of the time?

I’ve seen it, but very rarely.

Thanks for watching. As long as the lights are the electroluminescent type, it should work.

Let us know what you find. Thanks for watching.

I'm happy to help. If you have to replace the actual strips, accessing them is pretty easy, just take all the visible screws out of the interior B-Pillar trim and it will pop right off exposing the back of the lamps. Good luck and thanks for watching!

I’m not sure if the EL strips are available. I’ve seen people replace them with LED strips (12 or 110 volt). Two inverters explains the unsolvable problem on a 1990. Thanks for the help!

Correct, the EL strips are no longer available & no one is reproducing them, I've definitely searched. I'm sure it's bc everything has made huge leaps & bounds from when the vehicle was built. Yeah, the 1st set of Opera lights I rebuilt, I did use an LED strip that was commonplace & readily available. I wasn't a fan of being able to see the individual LED diodes. Currently, I don't have a "set in stone" way of upgrading them, I address each set according to any info/knowledge I've gained since the previous set & the Client's expectations. And they are way better looking than the 1st set I did & what I regularly see being done by others.

@@KustomAutoRestyling I also dislike the individual LED look, I was thinking about using some opaque cover to diffuse that look. Also, the color temperature needs to be closer to 4,100k than the typical 5,000k white led. It’s nice to have things as original as possible, but there is a great deal of satisfaction to being able to create something close to original using new technologies.

Yes, but it is my understanding that there is a separate one for each side and they are located behind the opera lamp on the interior door pillar trim.

No, they are regular incandescent bulbs. Start with testing the bulbs, the check for power in the socket. Everything in those is pretty straightforward. Thanks for reaching out!

Hi Isaac: You could have one of two problems. First, check the adjustment of your shift linkage; your shift lever may seem like it is in PARK, but it may not be fully engaging. Second, you may have a broken or missing PARK pin on the transmission. Either way, if you aren't handy mechanically, a good transmission shop should be able to figure it out quickly. Thanks for watching and reaching out.

Hey Rob: I sent a reply, check your spam folder. Here’s our best guess: The inverters should be behind the quarter interior trim panel in tour back seat. They changed to a separate inverter for each side in 1988. It is believed that was done to cut down on the length of 110 volt wires running in the car. Let us know if you find it. Tom

Hi Isaac: That is one of the hardest issues to chase down. You could have any of a dozen different problems from something as simple as the trunk light staying on because it isn't adjusted correctly to some electrical motor that is always running due to some other issue. You really need to start checking every electrical component one at a time. If nothing obvious pops out, you'll need a multi-meter and start reading amp draws one fuse at a time until you find the circuit that is draining. It is a hard job and requires patience and skill. The good news is that there are very few computers or microprocessors that can trick you. Everything on that car is relatively straight forward. If you don't have that skill level, you'll need to find someone with automotive electrical skills. Household electric is completely different, so a regular electrician won't be of much help. Best of luck, that is a tough problem to solve.

Those opera lights are electroluminescent strips and are not available as new car parts. You can find the on junkyard cars. I’ve seen a few people make them out of rolls of electroluminescent tape, but I’ve never tried it. Others use LED strip tape, but I think they look terrible. Wish I had better options for you. Thanks for watching.

It should be very similar. Thanks for watching.

Hi, thanks for watching and reaching out. First thing to check is if the interior lights work with the doors closed. You do that by turning the headlight knob counterclockwise until it clicks. That activates the interior lights. If they work, your issue is with the light switch in the door frame. If they don’t work, you need to start checking at the fuse box and work your way out. Electrical issues are tricky, it can be anything from a blown fuse to a bad lamp. I’ve even seen all the lamps go out. A little patience and a 12 volt test light will help you solve the issue. Please let us know how it turns out!

Remove the radio knobs and hex nuts between the knobs and the radio. Remove the two center A/C outlet vents to access the screw in each outlet. Remove the lower left and lower right screws on the center trim plate, and shazam, the whole center panel comes out. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching and for reaching out.

Thank you, it's very helpful

Ha! Thanks for watching. These are so easy to do, you don't need any help. Just reach out to FP Marine and they'll send you what you need. Head tot he hardware store for the wire connectors and you're all set. Let us know how it goes.

Hi, thanks for watching and reaching out. On this car, the blue and white wires are the 110 volt wires (2 sets, one for each opera lamp), the blue is the “hot” and the white is the “neutral”. The brown wire is the 12 volt ground and the black wire is the 12 volt “hot”.

Ha! Remember, it’s not the volts, it’s the amps that will kill you. This whole set up is barely a couple of amps, but it will sting like putting your tongue on a 9 volt battery (don’t do THAT either!). I replied to your earlier question above. Getting your opera lights to work seems like a small thing, but it sure makes the car look complete when it’s done. Thanks for watching.

@@westofthelakecadillacclub GREATLY APPRECIATE both responses!! I’m going to get it going next week & order that part you post!! Thanks for making this video 🙏🏾