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Hey everyone just looking to get some help with my side marker and tail light on the driver side. The passenger side works.
When I turn on my lights only the passenger side works. I bought the truck about two months ago so I’m not familiar with the history. It seems like it was in an accident. The drivers said tail light is broken in half but it has a new bulb for the brake light.
I don’t think I have reverse lights on either side and my blinker lights don’t turn on, on the dash.
If it were my truck, since some lights are working and others aren't, I would start with cleaning all the grounds. Battery negative to engine block, engine block to frame if it has one, you can add one if it doesn't. Engine to firewall ground, and near each light socket there will be a body ground. If there is no bed to frame ground it wouldn't hurt to add one of those too.
Clean the contact area and the terminal with a wire brush, sand paper or emery cloth. Next I would inspect and replace or clean the light sockets. If they are beyond repair, or heavily corroded you're often better off replacing the entire socket. Replace any bulbs that appear to be burnt out and have any kind of discoloration inside or they have broken filaments. For front turn signal and rear brake it will take an 1157 bulb. Backup lights are an 1156 bulb. For side markers you can use a 194 bulb.
If you're still having trouble after that, you'll need to dive in deeper and would need at a minimum a test light, but a multi-meter would be better.
X2 clean and ensure the grounds back there are 100%. Then ck to make sure power is getting back there. Multimeter time. Then check the condition of the socket for the bulbs and of course the bulbs themselves.
Reverse lights is a different issue. If an auto, the safety neutral (and or in park) switch and reverse light switch is on the side of the transmission. Dvr side where the shift linkage attaches. Again is power getting back to the reverse bulb sockets when it is suppose to?
I moved the bulb in the rear tail light that was out and it turned on. However now it seems as though I have other issues. When the headlights are on the brake lights stay on but the blinkers don’t work. When the headlights are off and I engage the left blinkers both lights start flashing. When I put on the hazards they both flash as well. When I turn on the right signal I hear no clicking and nothing happens. Prior to moving the bulb in the one that was out the left turn signal worked. Also the driver side tail light is a lot brighter than the passenger side.
I’m assuming this doesn’t really change your advice and I should do as you say and clean the grounds and check with my multimeter.
But I’m also thinking maybe it is the wiring to the electrical grey round blinker assembly units. I don’t really know though. Just trying to figure this out. Glad I was able to at least get the light to turn on.
How long have you had the truck? Has it always done this, or did it start acting up recently?
A common thread of almost all old vehicles is that bulbs burn out, sockets corrode and break, grounds become detached, or ineffective due to corrosion, or out and out rust, or paint.
Doesn’t look like the truck was recently painted, but that doesn’t rule out a ground that’s not making contact.
Side marker lights are notorious for burning out bulbs and getting wires that are loose enough to where you need to get under there and wiggle them every few months just to keep the lights working.
Clean all sockets, and check they are all using the correct bulb and have good clean contact surfaces.
Even though this doesn’t usually affect the lights, remove all fuses, wipe them up, clean the contact points in the fuse panel, and put them all back in.
Your headlight switch can be part of this issue as well, but at this point, literally everything in the electrical system is suspect.
I will keep digging and see. Just as a FYI you are supposed to turn the bulb and then take it out..
In cleaned the socket metal connections and it seems with testing 1 bulb on each side that they are working correctly other than when I have the lights turned on meaning the **** pulled back either in the first position or fully extended out. They only work when the light **** is pushed all the way in.
The ground connection for the rear lights seem connect fine. My biggest question is why would the blinkers not work when the light are on?
Thanks again for all the help!
I’ve had the truck for about a month and it has always had this issue. The previous owner did mention that he would have to wiggle the wires but we couldn’t get them to turn on the day I bought it. I’ve been wiggling away and that doesn’t seem to help.
If I have my numbering system correctly recollected, the back up lamps are 1156 models, and the stop/tail/turn bulbs are 1157s.
While you’re getting bulbs, get a small tube of dielectric grease also. As long as the bulbs have good contact the non-electrical properties of the dielectric grease will serve to keep things from rusting in the future.
And keep bulbs from needing special tools to remove! :-)
if that socket with the stuck bulb looks even remotely compromised, it might be a good time to buy a new one and splice it in.
If that dark area around, it is from burning/overheating, it might’ve compromise the connections.
Good idea! I just finished replacing the backup lights, tail lights and cleaning the grounds. And now everything is working as it should except for the backup lights up lights. Must be the connection at the transmission.
I think the biggest issue was the corroded sockets. We’ll see how long they last the way they are. I think once they go out again I will replace the sockets.
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