Tail Light

[nohitter64]

Riddle me this: Driver side tail light, son comes in and says the neighbor told him the "running light" is not working but specifically stated the brake light still worked in the unit. With new bulb in hand, junior and I test the lights. However, now the brake light is not working and the running light is. I swapped the bulbs even though it turns out the old bulb is still good. No change: running light but no break light. Fuses are good. I replaced the sockets this summer and they were working fine. Next, I am going to try swapping the sockets. They are not oem so I am thinking that may be the issue. Thoughts?

 

[LibertyTC]

That is odd. Possible corrosion inside socket? Try using some emery cloth to clean inside socket & base?

 

[jeepop]

The sockets get so hot they sometimes melt the plastic under them and make the connections not as great. Pull out the new sockets and look at what it looks like underneath. You may need to chip some plastic and raise the metal tab a little.

I just replaced my upper sockets too. Mine looks good underneath, not like some you see on youtube where they are totally melted.

 

[runfor5]

Funny, this literally happened to me on the passenger side tail light just last week. Haven’t gotten around to unhooking and see what’s going on however. Let me know what you find as the culprit!

 

[hbushell]

Same
I didn't catch a picture beforehand but yes the contact in the bezel/ housing got hot and the contact melted and sunk into where the socket contact could not reach it. whittled at it with a knife until I could get underneath it to pry it up.

 

[nohitter64]

Figured I would close the loop on this. It turns out that I was over rotating the after market socket in the housing. This caused the tab to not make proper contact. Hope this helps someone.