79 f150 custom 460 c6 4x4.

ive been having some problems with my tail lights ever since i bought my truck but in the last few weeks they've been an even bigger pain. when i dont have my lights on, my brake lights and turn signals work, but on the right side they are dim. when i have my lights on i only have a left turn signal and brake light. but i dont care too much about that. my main problem is every time i shut my lights off, then go to turn them back on when im leaving somewhere, i gotta get back out of the truck and go to the back and wiggle some wires around to get my lights to turn on. lately theres been a few nights when i thought i was gonna have to walk home from work since i wasnt sure if i was gonna get my lights to come on. i know i need to rewire it and i was hoping it could wait a couple years until i go to restore my truck and take the bed off, but since this is my daily driver and i dont wanna get pulled over again for no tailights, how hard is it to rewire tail lights? is it just a matter of cutting off an old wire, splicing into it with a new wire and putting it back together? i have pretty decent mechanical skills but im not an electrician. thanks for any help.

 

I'm guessing that the problem is on the right side only, and probably occurs when the park lights are on, give it a try. Hopefully someone will pop in with the FAQ page that covers this, but bad ground connections are the most likely suspect. Second on my list is the socket it-self. Don't limit yourself to just one problem, there may be a few.
Inspect the socket for any corrosion, splice in replacements are at most auto parts. While the tail light is out, follow the plain black wire (each side has one) to where it attaches to the body/frame. Take that connection apart, wire brush or sand the eye and the spot it attaches to. Re-attach that wire and put some paint on to slow corrosion.

 

A lot of times the socket does go bad on the ground connection inside the socket. Not visible but can be checked with an ohmmeter or test light. A lot of the car sockets will also fit.