i have noticed a small issue on my rear taillight when i turn them on. It appears that sometimes when i turn on my lights, my left side doesnt turn on. All it takes is for me to go into the back, hit the corner of the rear, and it turns on. Would the problem just be that the light isn't all the way in, so the connection isnt that good or what? At first, i thought it was either a dead bulb (but the brake light worked, so that was ruled out), then i thought a bad fuse (til i found out that tapping near the light worked)


i havnt really looked into the issue, and since im going home this weekend, i figured i should find out. All my others lights work (except for the side reflector lights for when the lights are on (in the corners) casue they both burned out, and i didnt see the need to replace em.

Since i will be home though, i figured ill try to fix the light (and find my brake line leak)


so any tips, or suggestions, before i really look at the problem will help. Thanks

first, check the wires that go to your taillight and make sure all connectors are on tight and the contacts are clean.

most likely, the contact/socket for the bulb is corroded or the contact is bend backwards.
remove the bulb, clean the contacts and housing of the bulb, clean the bulb socket and contacts inside the housing.
carefully (!) pry the contacts in the housing outward (towards you) with needlenose pliers until the bulb makes good contact.


if that doesn't help, it's time to take the whole tailight housing apart and look for brittle wires and lose connections behind the reflectors.
Andy

i have a feeling ill be doing that


my reverse lights can be pretty intermitten too


ill check it out though, and see how the initial contact is..


i do have some time though, casue i wont be driving the car until summer because i need to save for new brake lines.


thanks for the info

I found that its the sidewall of the housing that the bulb goes in. Its some odd metal that I need to clean every year.

A dremmel with a small wire brush is perfect...
Just take out the bulb, run the dremel in each socket...works wonders.

Rich

It is also not a bad idea to put some silicone grease in the socket after it is cleaned to reduce the reappearance of corrosion.

Corrosion. Clean and lubricate.

not too sure how corroded it could be though


when i replaced another bulb, the housing and stuff looked pretty clean


ill check though, and see exactly what is going on. who knows, it could be. Thanks though, i have a few options to select from, and ill test them all out. It isnt like its bad, the light works, just needs a love tap lol

die-electric grease more spacifically is designed to eliminate further corrosion and better contact. check the ground, a majority of electrical problems can be traced to grounding issues.

mike