I recently installed a Generation II Dave's Rack on my Jeep. Upon completion and on it's first drive I noticed that the turn signal was blinking either very fast or very slow and sometimes would change on it's own from fast to slow or reverse on it's own but that's not yet the problem. When I got home I took the rear drivers side tail light assembly off to check the ground that was there as per factory settings(between the body and the assembly). Be advised that in order to install the rack I had to place a metal plate inside of the body with screws that protruded out and then nuts were screwed on from the inside in order to reinstall the assembly. Now first let me say that all lights in the front are fully functioning as far as brightness goes and that includes fog lights. But because of the problem in the rear they are subject now to the speed of the blinking. The real problem is that ALL of the lights in the back (reverse, signals, hazards, brake lights) are just dim and weak now. They all light up weakly, they all blink and respond to what I want (reverse lights come on in reverse, brake lights light up, tail lights on with headlights) but as I said they are weak and they blink erratically. Also I would like to note that recently my ignition has been acting funny as sometimes when I turn the key back to off the engine keeps running although I have found that with careful turning it's not really a problem. The ground wire just doesn't seem to make a difference at all. Whether it is making contact with metal or not the lights do not change at all. With the headlights on or off it changes nothing about the weakness of all rear lights. That is as much info as I can give at this time. Any help would be appreciated.

I'd be checking the body ground from the engine and all the light grounds in the back.
Big Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

you mean there is more than one ground in the back? When I installed this rack I had to take apart both tail light assemblies and I only say one ground wire on the driver's side rear. Where would another one be located?

I am referring to the BATTERY ground.. It should be from the battery to the body or from the engine to the body.
Sounds to me as though the ground isn't doing enough work... Might need cleaning.
Big Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

I'd take a look at the wiring and connectors on the steering column. Disconnect the connectors and spray both sides with contact cleaner. If that doesn't work, check the voltage at the bulb with the bulb disconnected. You may have to disconnect the bulb up front to get the blinker to stay on and not machine gun. If it is not very close to battery voltage (within a volt) your wires leading to the back have a connection problem or you switch in the dash is failing.

It sounds like the switches in your instrument cluster are just old and tired. Not only do the rear lights not work properly (bad turn signal switch), but the ignition switch is failing. If you pull the steering wheel, you could clean and dielectric-grease the turn signal switch.

It's not sounding like switches to me if this all occured at one time due to installation of one product. Check grounds and anything else that was messed with during the install....Then go over it again. Electrical grenlins are a real PITA!

Taking apart the dash to fix a problem clearly created during a install of aftermarket parts seems a bit bizarre?
The connections at the grounds and wiring directly at the install site make the most sense.

SD

I had the same problem when I installed new tail lights,it is in the ground if the other light are bright.Your main wiring harness for your rear lights run down the drivers side,then everything pigtails off to the right side.Start with the left light and make sure the bulbs are making good contact,turn on turn signal and wiggle the bulb and see if it gets bright and if it does do a little cleaning there.Get the left light working first,don't even hook the right light up yet.Then check the wiring for nicks and cuts.If you find blue corrosion check it real good.You might have just a couple of strands of wire holding it together,but most important is all the grounds.A Simple way to check them is with a good test light.Do a reverse with your test light,hook the clip to a hot wire and stick the needle end of the test light into the ground.The test light should burn bright,if it doesn't then you have a weak or broken ground,the ground in your rear pigtail is probably the culprit.Another way is to get a piece of wire and hook one end to the ground to the light,scrape you a clean place in the frame and hold the wire on the frame and let someone work the lights and see if that works.

The key switch problem is probably a different problem,you are looking at buying a new key switch.This is inside the steering column.take the sides off the column and find the switch with a bunch of wires that unplug from the main harness.That is your key switch.Hope this helps. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />