Jeep_junkie

The tail lights on my 1994 TA originally started acting weird a few months ago, where the just the left side wouldn't blink properly. I started this https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...g-1994-ta.html back then to get to the root of the problem. Some people told me it was the turn signal switch itself, while others told me it was the flasher. I started with the cheap stuff and replaced the flasher. This seemed to fix my problem for some time.

Fast forward to last week and this what I noticed it's doing now.

Tail lights on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J1x2CNNnTE

Tail lights and left turn signal on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnqMHbdhxfs

Tail lights and right turn signal on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUpdp0yzuKQ

Tail lights and hazard lights on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuwSc5xCuFI

Left turn signal only
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhnFJ6IWGuo

Right turn signal only
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCUBy9PEw9E

Hazard lights only
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GijAlQN-Tsc

As you can see, this is weird as heck. The lights are acting all kinds of screwed up and I don't really know where to begin. The brake lights come on like they should when I step on the pedal but it doesn't change the behavior of the other lights at all. Earlier the left side tail light was kind of dim too but it seems to be burning fine now. The hazard lights seem to flash a different pattern every time I turn them on.

I have looked at the wiring and the sockets, no obvious problems there, so besides the turn signal switch, what else should I be looking at?

camaroboricua

iTrader: (23)

have you swapped the tailight harness for a 98+ yet? mine acted weird also, not like yours but it did fix the problem in mine.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

One of the light bulbs in the right side is the wrong type and is too bright. There are dual filaments in the bulb and the incorrect bulb has a turn signal filament that is brighter than the others.

If you pull the bulbs, you should see that one or two are different.

Jeep_junkie

I've swapped bulbs between both sides. It didn't make any difference. They seemed to equally bright when I made the videos though - they weren't earlier that night.

pentavolvo

i would say find the grounds for the taillight wiring and clean them all up

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

ah - I didn't catch what was happening at first. The bright light must have been the angle of the camera.

It looks like one of the filaments is shorting out when both filaments are supposed to be activated.

Have you checked the numbers on the bulbs? Putting in the wrong bulb is the easiest way for this to happen.

If the bulbs are correct, it should be easy to trace from the harness disconnect in the trunk.

VinR1

iTrader: (17)

have you cleaned or checked the sockets themselves? ...mine was doing something similar on the right side only. From the outside, the sockets looked brand new but they were corroded all to hell inside the plastic body. Swap out the sockets if you've exhausted all other suggestions... I think ~$6/ea at vatozone

Jeep_junkie

Talked to a mechanic today and he too wasn't so convinced the turn signal is the culprit. He also thinks I have a grounding issue somewhere since both lights are acting equally retarded. I saw there is a ground wire coming out of the harness in the trunk itself close to the hatch latch. It looks fine but I'll undo it and clean it anyway. Does anyone know where other ground wires, if any, might be in the tail light harness?

sdxp787

i had the exact same problem in my 94 Formula. it is the ground wires in the light sockets themselves. Take a socket with you to Autozone and you can find the matching socket for it. Replace them all and the problem will go away.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

An electrical tester on the contacts will tell you a lot. 100% - you have a short somewhere.

It not a "grounding" issue because all of the rear lights share a common ground. Likewise the two bulbs acting up are tied together. You also have both bulbs on different sides with the same problem.

The problem is definitely somewhere in the wiring in the tail harness. There is only one common wire coming from the front of the car that services the turn bulbs on each side. So, something is amiss in the harness, sockets, or bulbs.

Look at the sockets. I there any corrosion? What is the bulb number installed? The wrong bulbs or corroded sockets can cause this kind of short. If this problem just started by itself and no one was messing with the wiring at the tail lamps, then sdxp787 has the probable cause - the sockets or corrosion. If this happened after a bulb change, its probably the bulbs.

If the bulbs are correct and the sockets are clean, then the sockets must be wired incorrectly.

sdxp787

I seem to remember that when I found a new socket that had the correct pattern to twist into my taillights, I had to change bulb styles because it used different bulbs. If you look for replacement sockets for a firebird, there won't be a listing. but, like I just said, you can find correct sockets, just have to change bulb styles.

Danny2tek

iTrader: (1)

sequential taillights for free!

formula vincent

iTrader: (1)

sounds like some of the sockets have corrosion in them from condensation and are going
bad. i had to replace two sockets on my 94 firebird . it fixed the problem.

1995blacktattop

iTrader: (2)

deja vu, lol. my car used to do the exact same thing. i bought a late model taillight wiring harness from t/a creations and haven't had a problem since. they said it's a common problem on 93-96 birds (i think the new wiring came out in 97?) and because the wiring harness is plug and play, they don't even sell used 93-96 harnesses.

when i took out the old wiring harness, one or 2 of the sockets had been replaced by splicing in later model socket. that was probably done at a dealer as the original owner used the dealer exclusively i think.