Hey guys. This has been driving me nuts. The other weekend, after a rain, my cars driver side tail light was filled up with water, because the previous owner decided it would be a good idea t drill holes in it. I replaced all of the bulbs, and they all work, except the very outer brake light (the tiny one) due to some corrosion. It works when I press on it pretty good.

The right side (passenger) signal works fine, brake, reverse, and turn ligts
The left side (driver) wants to work, the lights flash, but are very very dim.
Also, when I step on the brake pedal, with the light switch on the dash completely OFF, all of the dash/AC lights come on.

This is driving me absolutely bonkers. I wiggled the grounds (the little black wire ones above each headlight) and cleaned them up with a wire brush and a rag, still nothing. Im at a loss.

EDIT: I also pulled ALL of the fuses and none are blown. Also, under the dash in the drivers floor pan, there are two wires, one black and one green. they're taped together. When I separated them, the car wouldn't start, but my fog lights will. When the wires are together, everything works except the fogs. Related prob?


Any ideas?:guns:

I have also turned on the hazards. ALL of the lights work. With the hazards on, the dash lights up. Also, the reverse light flashes very dim.

All of the sockets are all dirty and full of that dielectric grease (its yellow), where can I order the whole harness? I looked at rockauto, and according to them, every socket has 3 wires except for the little baby outer light, and the reverse light. On my car, the one socket with 3 wires is the brake (middle) light. Is this correct?

The reverse light shouldn't be flashing at all. Sounds like a ground issue or a short.

I tried again this morning, the reverse light no longer flashes. The left tail lights only flash dim when the turn signal is on. Otherwise they work fine. I'm thinking its the "flasher thingy"

No, it's not the "flasher thingy". VIP1 is correct... it is most likely a ground problem. What happens is that the dual filament bulbs will back-feed current through the other filament when they don't have a solid ground circuit. The other filament is the parking/running light circuit so the back-feed causes the dash lights to come on as well. These are classic symptoms of that particular problem.

Get yourself a test light or multimeter and test ground continuity from the bulb sockets to determine which one is causing the problem.

Ill pick one up today. If everything it working properly, it should light up correct?

And, is there any other ground for the lights that would cause this problem other than the 2 grounds in the front, near the headlights, and the one under the hatch latch? Ive checked those three, none were loose/dirty. I unbolted them anyway, and then bolted them back down. Should I relocate the rear ground somewhere? and if so, where? Or how could I make the ground circuit stronger?

Yes, and no. In order to test for a good ground with a test light, you need to find a power source to start the circuit. You see, the way to test with a test light would be to connect the test light's alligator clip to a power source and then touch the probe tip to the ground pin inside the light socket - if the ground is good, the test light will go on. But it's not easy to find a power source at the back of the car where you can connect the test light's alligator clip.

In this case, your best bet is to get a multimeter. If you have a Harbor Freight store nearby, you can get one for under $10. If the meter has a continuity setting, use that. Otherwise, use the ohm (resistance) setting with one of the lower scale settings - no more than 20K. Touch one probe to the ground bolt near the hatch release and the other probe to the ground pin in the light socket. On the continuity setting, the meter will beep if there is a good connection. On the ohm setting, the meter will show very close to zero if there is a good connection.

I see your car is a 93. I don't remember if that model used 3157 push-in bulbs like later models or 1157 bayonet bulbs. If it has 1157 (twist and pull to remove) then the ground is not a separate pin in the socket but rather the outer metal housing of the socket. That's actually easier to test because your aim with the probe doesn't have to be as good.

Your problem is unlikely to be the actual ground bolt - it is probably either the socket itself or the wire from the socket to the bolt.

Thanks! I was thinking its was the actual socket or the ground. The sockets have all kinds of dirt/grime/crap all over them, and the inside of the socket is full of the dielectric grease, and its all old and chunky.

I've looked at rockauto, and they have the socket pigtails, but either they have them listed wrong, or my thinking is messed up.

Just to clarify:
The brake light socket is the middle one correct? The socket with 3 wires? (uses the 2057 bulb) x2

And the turn signal socket is the one with 2 wires, that is right next to the reverse light?
The reverse light has 2 wires (my socket is green, uses the 1141 bulb)

The baby socket (very outer light) has two wires and uses 921 bulb?

On a '93, the brake and turn signal will be the same bulb(s). It wasn't until later models with amber turn signals that the brakes and signals used separate bulbs. If you have a '93 with amber turn signals at the back, someone has tried to convert the tail lights to the newer style and that may be the source of your problem.

They're the same bulbs. But are they the exact same sockets? I ask because they both have 2 wires, but the wires are different colors.

Yes they are the same sockets... GM part number 12003759. And they should have three wires each - one for parking/running light power, one for brake/signal light power, and a ground wire.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/pco-5411pt/overview/
three of these^^?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sm...make/chevrolet
One of these?^^

The first one is correct (select the application tab and you will see the correct GM part number I posted earlier).

The second one I don't know. It is listed as a side marker socket which takes a 168/194 peanut-style bulb and it has a different GM part number. It is listed as 6298892 but the GM part number for the single filament outboard tail light is 6298886. If that socket looks like it will fit the opening in the tail light then it should work. Otherwise, you might want to keep looking.

I stopped by a local parts store and got a new socket for my turn signal... The socket ground was all jacked up. Fixed! and thanks!