Rear light woes. Please Help!!!
09-11-2008, 09:03 PM
#1
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Rear light woes. Please Help!!! It seems this car is cursed with electrical gremlins. I am completely stumped on this, and hopefully someone can offer some help before I rip the back end of the apart.
After I turn off the car, and turn the key off of "run", and continue to hold the brake pedal (turning the brake lights on) the dinger comes on. It does it every time I press the brake pedal with the key off.
When the lights are off, the turn signals wont flash, but the lights come on. Brake lights come on correctly, only problem is the turn signals will not flash. However, if I turn on my hazards, all of my signals flash, as well as my rear marker lights in the bumper, as well as my lisence plate light. The car also dings every time the hazards are lit.
When I turn the lights on, the center 4 (dual filiment turn/brake) lights go off, leaving only the outer single filiment bulbs lit. When I hit the brakes, the dual filiment bulbs will not come on, just stay out, with only the 3rd brake light lighting up (the outer single filiment bulbs stay lit). IfI turn on the signals, all lights turn on, but do not flash. With the hazards on, all lights flash with the high filiment bulb, but the taillights' dimmer filiment (taillight) doesnt light up between flashes.
I have replaced the flasher, and everything worked well for about 30 seconds, when it went back to the same old thing. I also have replaced all the bulbs, with no change. All of the problems seem to be in the back end of the car. Since the markers and the lisence plate light flash with the hazards on and the lights off, I'm thinking a wiring problem, and I was hoping for some suggestions so I dont have to tear apart the back end of the car blindly.
Mods, if this is in the wrong section, feel free to move it, but I figured that it was good for the electrical section
After I turn off the car, and turn the key off of "run", and continue to hold the brake pedal (turning the brake lights on) the dinger comes on. It does it every time I press the brake pedal with the key off.
When the lights are off, the turn signals wont flash, but the lights come on. Brake lights come on correctly, only problem is the turn signals will not flash. However, if I turn on my hazards, all of my signals flash, as well as my rear marker lights in the bumper, as well as my lisence plate light. The car also dings every time the hazards are lit.
When I turn the lights on, the center 4 (dual filiment turn/brake) lights go off, leaving only the outer single filiment bulbs lit. When I hit the brakes, the dual filiment bulbs will not come on, just stay out, with only the 3rd brake light lighting up (the outer single filiment bulbs stay lit). IfI turn on the signals, all lights turn on, but do not flash. With the hazards on, all lights flash with the high filiment bulb, but the taillights' dimmer filiment (taillight) doesnt light up between flashes.
I have replaced the flasher, and everything worked well for about 30 seconds, when it went back to the same old thing. I also have replaced all the bulbs, with no change. All of the problems seem to be in the back end of the car. Since the markers and the lisence plate light flash with the hazards on and the lights off, I'm thinking a wiring problem, and I was hoping for some suggestions so I dont have to tear apart the back end of the car blindly.
Mods, if this is in the wrong section, feel free to move it, but I figured that it was good for the electrical section
09-12-2008, 07:01 AM
#2
The symptoms sound like a bad ground at the tail lights. When the lights have no good path to ground, the current will backfeed through the other bulbs. That causes the marker and license lights to flash with the other lights. When the running lights are on, there is no reverse path for current to flow (power on both sides of the bulb) so the lights don't come on at all.
Check the black wires at the tail light sockets for damage and the grounding screw on the frame of the hatch release for being loose or corroded.
Check the black wires at the tail light sockets for damage and the grounding screw on the frame of the hatch release for being loose or corroded.
09-13-2008, 05:17 AM
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Same here, but I just removed my entire sound system, noticed my rear blinkers were not blinking at all but rather just turned on, then my entire rear lights dimmed. What I do remember is I taped off the ground from the rear hatch release thinking it was part of the system. So tomorrow I'll ground them and maybe it'll fix the problem.