[jimhudgins4]

Need help trouble shooting taillight wiring problem - 70 SS 454 Elky. Right rear taillight brake light and blinker do NOT work but both bulbs work with light on. Left side brake lights, blinker and running lights work just fine. Any thoughts how to fix problem?

 

[hillbilly_boy]

i had that same problem with my el camino turns out it was a bad ground

 

[Dean]

Right rear taillight brake light and blinker do NOT work but both bulbs work with light on

That's pretty confusing, first you say it doesn't work then it works with light on, what light?

Anyway sounds like a bad ground either to the socket or to the bulb base itself.

Using a scrap piece of stranded wire, touch the brass bulb base near the glass and the other end of the wire to a known good ground and see if it makes it work.

 

[vrooom3440]

I think he may be saying that the right side tail light works but not the right side turn/stop light?

You have verified that the bulb is good first?

I would recommend walking the wiring with a test light to localize where the circuit works and where it does not work. Between those two points is your problem.

The stop and turn signals use the same "virtual" light and that light shares a ground with the tail light. So working tail light rules out bad ground and localizes the problem to a power supply issue. This also means that you are down to checking one wire as well. I don't remember the specific color off the top of my head so you will have to look that up on a wiring diagram. But once you have the color you can check connectors starting next to the fuse panel where you will find the first 6 or 8 wire connector. This is where the dash harness connects to the tail harness.

If you have power there then proceed back to the next connector in the circuit. This one hides on the DS behind the wheel well. You should have an access panel in the bed, remove the 4 screws and the panel to get at the connector. You may have to look harder to find the color here as the wires may have undercoating and/or the dirt of ages coating them.

If you have power there then you need to check at the bulb socket.

Based on what you find from those checks you can then start examining wires and connections.

If you have no power at the first connector by the fuse panel, then you will have to back up and check out the turn signal/hazard switches. These switch the power source for that light bulb on the rear to come from the stop light switch or the turn signal blinker or the hazard blinker.

Steve

 

[Dean]

I think he may be saying that the right side tail light works but not the right side turn/stop light?

Steve

Right rear taillight brake light and blinker do NOT work

He did say the right rear taillight doesn't work though.

IF right side tail light, stop light and turn signal are all not working and left side IS working it sounds like a bad ground maybe or the wires going across the trunk from left to right are cut/broken.

 

[jimhudgins4]

Thank you all for your help....yes it is fixed now. Turned out to be a bad ground connection to the bulb socket. Pulled it all apart, cleaned and connected again. And yes the left was working just fine. The right side was only running lights but no blinker or brake light.

Thanks for your help!