Tail lights = No beer. Help

[prof.tripp]

i've got a 75' scout II 345. i've been pressing my luck, driving with a non-working drivers side tail light, brake light, and turn signal for years. i've changed the bulbs, fuse & traced the wires and all looks good. all my other lights work fine. is there an in-line fuse i'm missing? not sure where to go from here. any help would be much appreciated.

thanks,
David

[scoutboy74]

It looks good? That can mean next to nothing. Have you verified the presence of voltage at the socket terminals with a test light? How about the grounds? Those lights all receive ground via the tenuous bucket to sheet metal contact. It gets real rusty and grimy back there.

[GregF]

Originally Posted by scoutboy74

It looks good? That can mean next to nothing. Have you verified the presence of voltage at the socket terminals with a test light? How about the grounds? Those lights all receive ground via the tenuous bucket to sheet metal contact. It gets real rusty and grimy back there.

I'm with SB on this. The ground was my problem and so I just put on my own new ground
with new screws in new holes. Problem gone.

Greg

[FishWagon]

Same here. Going through grounds always fixes my light issues when it's not the bulb.

[prof.tripp]

good stuff. i'll check my grounds and test it with a meter. not much on rust back there, in So Cal. tenuous bucket?

thanks all

[fredsterra]

I have had issues with these import crap light sockets keeping a good ground on the bulb. I have tried everything from bending the tab ground in the socket to a dab of solder on the bulb to the ground.

You just can't find good ones anymore since all of the OEM's went to the 3157 bulbs.

[scoutboy74]

Well, it isn't the rust belt up north of you in Orygawn, but there is enough of it from mud and rain exposure to be a nuisance. I find myself shining up the ground points about once a year to stay ahead of malfunctioning exterior lights.