Whenever you get funnies in the tail light section as regards turn lamp, indicator, brake etc. you must suspect the grounding in that area. If in doubt, add your own good ground to the chassis nearby...you can never have too much ground!
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| A very odd tail light malfunction http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=54285 |
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| Author: | JustinP [ Thu Jul 15, 2010 6:02 pm ] |
| Post subject: | A very odd tail light malfunction |
To start things off, a few months ago I purchased and installed a replacement tail light (a cheap one), I was having trouble with the left rear turn signal not always illuminating. It was completely random and didnt illuminate at all sometimes, and worked fine other times. So I replaced the tail light assembly thinking it might be a loose connection inside. I could bang on it and make it work/not work. The replacement corrected the problem for at least 3 months or so. Now Im having trouble with the entire left rear tail light. When I click the left turn signal on, it works fine as long as Im not pushing the brake. When I push the brake (with the turn signal on), the turn signal, brake light, and reverse light all come on and blink very fast. With all three lights they are very dim but still on. This part Im a little fuzzy on, but should be enough to get the jist. If I put my KJ in reverse (no turn signal on) and my foot on the brake, the turn signal indicator inside the vehicle illuminates very dim. When I push the brake while in reverse, the turn signal indicator goes off, Also while in reverse, pushing the brake/releasing the brake will cause the three lights in the tail light to illuminate simultaniously. I just went out and banged on the tail light assembly and now its not malfunctioning anymore. Everything is working fine. Do you guys think I just got a bad assembly, or maybe something else?? |
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| Author: | Liberty02sport [ Thu Jul 15, 2010 6:26 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: A very odd tail light malfunction |
Don't know if this will help you or not.... but the wife's '99 wrangler did about the same thing and after replacing the flasher relay and the bulbs in the tail light housing found out it was the switch that was causing it. Almost same symptoms as yours. When the left turn signal was on and the brake was applied the turn signal light on the dash stopped flashing and so did the turn signal. Try wiggling the switch a bit when this happen and see if everything returns to normal. IIRC the reason for this is the contacts inside the switch get bent a bit over time from people turning the signal on with a little too much force (i.e. dropping the hand from the wheel and letting it smack the signal on). If that's not the cause you may have to start looking for a intermittent short somewhere. |
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| Author: | JustinP [ Thu Jul 15, 2010 6:42 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: A very odd tail light malfunction |
Liberty02sport wrote: Don't know if this will help you or not.... but the wife's '99 wrangler did about the same thing and after replacing the flasher relay and the bulbs in the tail light housing found out it was the switch that was causing it. Almost same symptoms as yours. When the left turn signal was on and the brake was applied the turn signal light on the dash stopped flashing and so did the turn signal. Try wiggling the switch a bit when this happen and see if everything returns to normal. IIRC the reason for this is the contacts inside the switch get bent a bit over time from people turning the signal on with a little too much force (i.e. dropping the hand from the wheel and letting it smack the signal on). If that's not the cause you may have to start looking for a intermittent short somewhere. This was my original thought, until I noticed that the turn signals, reverse lights and brake lights are all affected, and they are all seperate bulbs, wranglers share a common bulb for the turn and brake. Im almost positive that its gonna be the assemblys circuit board inside the light. Especially since the problem stopped with a good tap to the housing. I think the turn signal indicator is lighting from a bleed over from the reverse or brake lights. which would indicate a short between said wires. When the problem starts again im gonna take some voltage readings to verify its the housing and not damaged/chaffed wires somewhere. |
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| Author: | JeepinJarhead03 [ Tue Jul 20, 2010 12:13 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: A very odd tail light malfunction |
damaged / chaffed wires is a good hit the actual (hazard) flasher unit in the dash is also a candidate If im recalling correctly, the trailer parking lights operate off the left side parking which i believe supplies ground further up the wiring towards the left side of the vehicle near the firewall going to the reverse lights, which if shorted to the left turn could possibly cause all 3 to flash and would only affect the left turn signal so the chaffing / short, may be in the trailer harness wiring coming from the body on the right rear above the exhaust, going towards the rear of the vehicle then crossing over to the left / center of the vehicle, the crossing over section commonly can become detached and burned by the exhaust however if it really did stop from a good tap to the housing.. sounds like you found the problem already |
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| Author: | Billwill [ Tue Jul 20, 2010 7:17 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: A very odd tail light malfunction |
Whenever you get funnies in the tail light section as regards turn lamp, indicator, brake etc. you must suspect the grounding in that area. If in doubt, add your own good ground to the chassis nearby...you can never have too much ground!
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