Thanks for the help!

I did a quick search and found nothing (Google and Dennis Carpenter)

Number dummy, if your out there, I could use your help finding the correct part#. Thanks

 

I have a couple of spares in my junk yard tool box, Come on over and pick ond up, knock back a few beers and tell a bunch of lies. I'm in Dallas, Texas. See ya this weekend?

 

Seriously tho, Get some plug in connectors from O'dumbdumbs and slice it in to make sure you don't waste money on a harness.

 

Sure, I'll just have to drive during the day so I don't get pulled over!

Yeah, just rig something up. I'd like to try and get the stock connector first....just have to find out the part number..or you could send me one if you really do have some extras

 

I know I have some 4 posters. I for sure have a flat one and pretty sure I have one of yours. PM your number and I'll give ya a hollar when I get home.
Chris
Make sure that's what it is, tho

 

After some more investigation I found the connector might not be the problem, or at least not the only one.

I put a jumper from the connector where I was getting the 11.55 (which still seems a little low) to the brown wire where I nicked the insulation. I would think the tailights would light up, but they didn't. Hmmm. I removed the jumper and plugged the connection back together.

I decided to check the bulbs with the meter again. The bulb I was using on the left side tested fine, 1.2 on one contact and 3.2 on the other. When I tested the right side bulb I had 1.2 on one contact and nothing on the other one. I changed the bulb and the tailights still didn't work. When I came around the back of the truck I wiggled the bulb inside the right side socket (the one I just changed) and the lights came on. Now the problem is the right side is lighting up both filaments in the bulb (brake and tailight) and the left side is working normally, with just the tailight filament lit.

When I first got the truck and got the lights working, I noticed the holes in the back of the tailight assembly where melted, so obviously there is, or was, quite a bit of heat going on there. I know the quality of the aftermarket sockets are not good and now I'm thinking of maybe upgrading the harness and sockets to something more modern. Could this be simple?

 

That's what I have. I bit different than your 4 prong plug than I remember.
Is the a junk yard near you where you can get different tail light housings? Make sure your bulds are 1156.

 

Yeah, that one you have in your hand is one that's used on the headlamps. Similar, but not the same. It's cool, thanks anyway.

There are a couple junkyards around, but they don't keep anything older than 15 years old. Sucks, I know!

 

10-4 on the junkyards, I spent 6 hours and 200 miles looking for a disc brake front end for **** truck.

 

Everything is working properly now. Both contacts on the bottom of the bulb must have been touching the tailight contact in the socket causing both filaments to light up. Weird, because I always make sure I put the bulb in the right way and be carful about it. At least everything is working now, we'll see how long. If some thing happens again I'll probably upgrade the sockets and wiring.

 

Bueno, glad you chased er down

 

Update time.

I started having issues with the tailights again, more of the same. I left the connector together and cut a few inches from there off, stripped and tested each wire.

Reverse 12.2
Brake 12.2
Tailight 11.3 (not sure why this is different)

I rewired everything from the connector back, then tested all the ends again with the same results.

I decided to ditch the old sockets and bulbs and go with some new LED tail/stop lights, reverse and plate lights from Peterson Manufacturing.

After hooking everything up I tried it out. Brake lights are bright as well as reverse. However, the tail lights and plate lights are dim.

I unhook the new plug connector on the back of the tailights and test: 6.2

I don't understand, why only 6 volts? All the grounds are good, connections are good. What gives?