Crazy Situation
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New User
Joined: Jun 2017
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Crazy Situation
Ok a bit of a quick story to sum it up. My drivers side rear light is not working with regards to running at night and the left blinker does not work nor does the reverse tail light. Now this is where it gets tricky, when I turn on the hazards the light blinks. The passenger side works just as it should. Please help me out as I'm exhausted trying to figure out what it could be. Also my left blinking light flashes rather quickly unlike the right side. Thank you!
Elder User
Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 607
Likes: 3
From: CT
Welcome to FTE!
I'm assuming that you've already checked for voltage at each of the lights and looked at all of the appropriate fuses. Seems to me like there's probably a bad ground for the left tail light.
Bad grounds can cause strange behavior. Electricity is always looking for a path to ground. If it can't find it, the circuit won't work. However, sometimes it can find an alternative route to ground, which may explain the strange hazard flasher operation.
Trace out the taillight harness and look for a place where a wire is hooked up the frame of the truck. Odds are the attachment point is corroded. Clean it off with a wire brush/sandpaper. Also look at the contacts inside the electrical connector for the taillight harness - one of them could be corroded. Clean it off and use liberal amounts of Di-Electric Grease on the pins to prevent new corrosion
Do you have access to a wiring diagram for your truck?
I'm assuming that you've already checked for voltage at each of the lights and looked at all of the appropriate fuses. Seems to me like there's probably a bad ground for the left tail light.
Bad grounds can cause strange behavior. Electricity is always looking for a path to ground. If it can't find it, the circuit won't work. However, sometimes it can find an alternative route to ground, which may explain the strange hazard flasher operation.
Trace out the taillight harness and look for a place where a wire is hooked up the frame of the truck. Odds are the attachment point is corroded. Clean it off with a wire brush/sandpaper. Also look at the contacts inside the electrical connector for the taillight harness - one of them could be corroded. Clean it off and use liberal amounts of Di-Electric Grease on the pins to prevent new corrosion
Do you have access to a wiring diagram for your truck?
Lead Driver
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 6,258
Likes: 438
From: IL
I don't know for sure because it's such a newer truck, but it used to be that the hazard lights were actually the brake lights flashing, not the turn signals, that's why when the hazards were flashing if you hit the brakes they would stop until you let off the brake.
As RightWingNutJob said, probably a bad wire, but I'd check the bulbs and socket for corrosion also. Did you probe the wires to see if you had voltage coming into the socket?
As RightWingNutJob said, probably a bad wire, but I'd check the bulbs and socket for corrosion also. Did you probe the wires to see if you had voltage coming into the socket?
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New User
Joined: Jun 2017
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It was showing zero on the volt meter, but when we plugged the bulb in and turned on the hazards the brake light would flash but then once the hazards were shut off there was nothing. I don't have access to a wiring diagram. Would a bad ground still cause the bulb to work during the hazards? Thank you all for the help!
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 19,311
Likes: 97
From: Waterloo, Iowa
Yes. Loose, missing, or corroded ground straps or grounds do all kinds of wacky stuff. Lights will illuminate when they are the ground path, instead of the actual ground.
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Lead Driver
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 6,258
Likes: 438
From: IL
I'm sure one of the smarter electrical guys will chime in soon but the brake/hazzard circuit and turn signal circuit are two separate and i don't know where they tie into the same line at. Im not much help i guess. Last time I had this problem it was on a 94 F350 and i replaced the multifunction switch to fix it.
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