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Taillight malfunction
#568559
02/15/05 01:47 AM
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 141
OP
Wheeler
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About a week ago my left blinker arrow on the instament cluster began to illuminate when I hit the brakes. I assumed it was a bad bulb, but that is not the case. I went to replace the bulb today, I noticed the old bulb still looked good. I replaced it anyway and still the same problem.
I then placed a 2x4 on the brake and went to have a look and to my surprise when the brake is pushed in the driverside front and rear turn signals come on as well. They do not blink they come on solid.
Am I correct to think there is a short somewhere? I know nobody can tell me where the short is, but where do I look. I assume I start at the tail lights and work my way to the front. What I am wondering, is there a trouble spot where I should look first. Also, does the wiring run up the side of the car and under the carpet by the doors. Where does the wiring go once it gets to the front of the vehicle? I noticed that when I had the assembly for the taillights appart there was a ground wire attached to the body, I will first tighten and clean that, but it looked good, so I doubt that is the problem.
There are a lot of wires to look at in this area, so it looks like it may take awhile. I guess what I need to know is if there is a trouble spot to look at. Hopefully this is not to hard to fix, because I do not want to take it in to a mechanic.
Thanks, Marc
I did a search and did not see anything.
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Re: Taillight malfunction
[Re: marcre]
#568560
02/15/05 02:07 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 4,868
Roll Me Over
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One typical place for this type of short is in a trailer wiring harness, if you have one.
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Re: Taillight malfunction
[Re: Jim_Paget]
#568561
02/15/05 02:10 AM
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 141
OP
Wheeler
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One typical place for this type of short is in a trailer wiring harness, if you have one. Yes, I have one. I have never used it though. What would I be looking for on that, just some bare/frayed wire. I know the wiring harness was put on when the original owner bought the truck. That was in '99. Should I remove the harness? Thanks, Marc
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Re: Taillight malfunction
[Re: marcre]
#568562
02/15/05 02:13 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 4,868
Roll Me Over
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I don't drive a 2nd Gen, but from other posts, I believe that most of the harnesses on your vintage rigs are a plug in harness, so it should be easy to disconnect it without a lot of hassle. Try seeing where it enters the body and you should find the connector.
Good luck!!
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Re: Taillight malfunction
[Re: Jim_Paget]
#568563
02/15/05 02:17 AM
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 141
OP
Wheeler
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Thanks for the help Jim, I'll try that.
Marc
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Re: Taillight malfunction
[Re: marcre]
#568564
02/15/05 04:00 PM
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Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 3,702
Roll Me Over
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Yeah, I would do unplug the trailer wiring first 'cause it's easy...if that is no fix, then get a schematic and look for a bad ground "somewhere" in the lighting system...when the ground is bad the juice will go all over the place looking for a way out, including through other fixtures. Kindofa PITA I'm afraid...
Steve Carlson - 95 Trooper LS expo rig Serenity now!
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Re: Taillight malfunction
[Re: BigSwede]
#568565
02/15/05 08:49 PM
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 141
OP
Wheeler
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What is the best way to clean a ground? Should I clean it up and sand it down?
Thanks, Marc
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