Both of my r/h brake lights are inop. With the light switch on the driving lights work but as soon as i hit the brake the second filament doesn't light. I tested the socket and I have voltage when touching the contacts inside. If I remove the ground probe and ground it to the body the voltage drops to 0. I have voltage to the leads going to the socket. I am assuming the sockets are bad?
If your driving lights work, then your ground should be good. Due you have power to both contacts? Maybe the bulb is not making contact with the contact. Check to see if to " plug " ( for lack of a better word ) inside the socket is moving freely.
I had the similar issues on mine. After cleaning the grounds on the sockets and plugging them in the tail light housings they work as good as new. I was having fits on mine. It never dawned on me that they had to be in the housings to be grounded. Simply mistake but frustrating all the same.
I know this is an old problem for me but after vacation and getting my daughter off to college I finally was able to devote some time to this and find the issue. Just wanted to update the members and thank you for the suggestions. Here is what i found.
I started in the rear(no jokes please, well maybe a couple) with the sockets cleaning, checking grounds etc. the problem was intermittent so I moved to the body connector because I was able to get the left side to work but not the right. I jumped the wires at the connector to see if the problem would move to the left side whitch it did. From there I played with the turn signal lever and all the lights worked.
My next step involved the removal of the steering wheel to gain access to the signal switch and cam. After removal of those parts I found that the smaller "U" shaped contact arm was sticking. The contact had a burr on it and it was causing the plastic to stop the contact from moving. I cleaned it up and all is well with the operation. Unfortunately the switch is cracked where the lever attaches(common problem) and the a couple of the retaining clips are broken off both the switch and cam. I found them laying in a dust ball in the column. I put it back together anyway because I don't have the replacement parts but temporarily repair them till I can get my hands on them.
Sorry for the novel it is a little long winded but I have brake lights and took a cruise tonight
I've also got a question involving the rear sockets. My sockets have been replaced with an equivalent pieces, but since they are not original parts, the wire colors are wrong until the splices. Which filament (long or short) leads to what color wire (brown or yellow/dark-green)?
I've also got a question involving the rear sockets. My sockets have been replaced with an equivalent pieces, but since they are not original parts, the wire colors are wrong until the splices. Which filament (long or short) leads to what color wire (brown or yellow/dark-green)?
I have the wiring diagram you showed there, but it doesn't show which wire goes to the respective filament in the dual bulbs. My wiring might presently be backward. I'm not sure if there is even a difference between the filaments, but if they are two different brightnesses then I want to fix them correctly. Much appreciated though.
I think I have figured it out. I could be wrong, but it makes sense to me: There is a difference between the filaments, and if it is backward they will work, but it would confuse other drivers at night. The longer filament is the brighter one, and I would think it is used as a brake light/turn signal, while the shorter one is just a night light. If you hold the bulb vertically so that the long filament is on the left, the lead closest to you is the bright lead. From there, I just follow the visual path through the socket to the appropriate wires (dark-green/yellow for turn signals/brakes, and brown for standard night lights). Please tell me if you think otherwise.
Sorry for taking over this thread, but I think that it is at least useful to know in case someone else has wiring as mangled as mine was.
I can look at mine tomorrow. The car is in the garage and it is packed. I have to pull it out some to get the trunk open and the wife would shoot me if I do it now! If you dont get an answer from someone else I will look after work tomorrow.
