tail light problems
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Senior User
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 228
Likes: 0
From: Poynette Wisconsin
tail light problems
Every once in a while my tail lights, side markers, and back up light will stop working. If I turn on the blinkers everything but the back up light will blink very slowly. Also one side will be brighter than the other. The front lights will work fine, they just blink slow also. Then after a few minutes everything will work fine again. What would cause this??
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 24,552
Likes: 74
From: Creedmoor, North Carolina
tail light problems
Sounds like wires touching and or grounding. Look around the rear bumper for a trailer wiring connection (always a good place to start)then check all the way back to the firewall and then to the steering column. Most of the time you will find the culpret before you leave the rear of the truck. ;-)
John
jowilker
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66F100s Rule
In the cool still quite of night you can hear chevies rusting away.
John
jowilker
[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker|Club FTE since 01 01] My FTE Page
[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker/NCFTE.html|NC Truck Owners] NC Ford Truck owners group
66F100s Rule
In the cool still quite of night you can hear chevies rusting away.
Elder User
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 861
Likes: 0
From: SE PA
tail light problems
Sure does sound like you lost the grounding for the rear, to test, take a wire with jumper clips or a piece of solid wire, open the tailight, make contact with the outside of the lamp socket and touch to a good clean spot on the frame. If this makes them work, you now know that you've lost the grounding. If it doesn't change, then you have a problem with the feed voltage. Be careful not to touch the pin or pins inside the socket, these will have voltage and would cause a direct short, blown fuses. Good advise above, just trace backwards from the problem. If it is grounds, the reason they do funny things is they will "hunt" grounds were ever they can if lost-sometimes it find one and sometimes it won't. Hope this helps a little more.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 1,899
Likes: 1
From: Cullman Alabama
tail light problems
Johns Right. I've had to replace two Taillight assemblies, becaust the little ground wire comes loose from the Socket.
You can test that by pulling the whole assembly out, and useing a couple of alligator clips, ground the taillight socket.
Your lights will start working again.
You could probably fix that yourself, but the assemblies are less than $20 and you get the whole reflector with it and bright tailights again.
You can test that by pulling the whole assembly out, and useing a couple of alligator clips, ground the taillight socket.
Your lights will start working again.
You could probably fix that yourself, but the assemblies are less than $20 and you get the whole reflector with it and bright tailights again.
