rear taillights

[Weelan]

My left taillight doesn't do anything. No brake lights or turn signals. I pulled the circuit board for the left side and it looks like this

See those black spots? Are those bad? The only light on my taillights that work is the right brake light.
Which brings me to the next question, the turn signal only works for the left. It doesn't indicate to the right. I'm guessing grounding, but I don't know where to look. Any pictures for reference would help a bunch.

[azruss]

your bulb panel looks very good. may want to give it a very close inspection for cracks, especially where the circuits run. may want to clean the board where it plugs in. also look at the inside of the socket to make sure everything is clean. sometimes the center tongue gets tired and doesnt make contact with the bulb base anymore. the ground will be a wire that attaches to one of the bolts. definity start there. usually multiple bulb issues can be traced to a bad ground.

[Weelan]

I took the bulls out and wiped them down. They had a bunch of white stuff on them. I put all the bulls through the known working terminal. Some only work if you wiggle them around. So I guess I need to get something abrasive to clean the bulb holders.

[htchevyii]

I used one of those brushes they sell for cleaning battery terminals and it worked well.

[Weelan]

Oh sweet. I'll look into something like that. see what kinda metal brush or something I can come up with. Think I'm gonna try fitting the light's socket thing better.

Any ideas when to start on getting the right blinker working at all? It doesn't even set the ticker sound off. No light even on the dash.

[leeputmanjr]

Find, clean, and use dielectric grease on ALL your grounds!

You can also use this on your bulbs (lightly), to prevent that white powdery build-up. That's corrosion. Pinch the bulb sockets very gently so they grip the bulbs better.

[Weelan]

Thanks! Good ideas. I'll hit that tomorrow and post back. would a standard auto shop have that dielectric grease?

[124JOE]

yes or bulb grease

[spider2081]

the ground for all the lights left and right side is on the drivers side of the car. If some of the lights work and some don't the ground connection to the body is probably good. Sometimes it is made under one of the left tail light mounting bolts sometimes it is made directly to the metal with a small screw.

Are the black spots on the board missing copper?? if it is it could be part of you problem. Plug in the connector and see if the spots are the point of contact for the pins on the connector. If they are and there is no copper material there the current can not flow. There are PC board repair kits sold that will bridge the spots if needed.

I looks like you have already cleaned the board to connector areas of you PC boards. Have you also cleaned the connector pins??
Sometimes gently squeezing the light socket so the bulb fits tighter helps correct intermittent operation. if you have a solder iron adding a little solder to the base of the bulb helps. That makes the bulb push harder on the center contact.

The big shortcoming with the PC board design is the rivets that hold the sockets to the PC boards. Over time the current through the rivets loosens the electrical connection between the board and the socket. The best cure for this is to clean off the lacquer then use electrical flux and solder. Solder the socket to the board at every rivet. Then reseal the board with a lacquer or pc board sealer. A 60-80 watt solder iron works well for this.

[124JOE]

i have a test light that has red and green /pos and neg

i would chase down the pos as far as it goes
where it stops is where thw problem is

same for the neg,but its a lot shorter

[Weelan]

OK, just finished giving the bulbs and sockets a really good cleaning and made the fits nice and tight. I also scratched off a good amount of the black spots off those port spots. They have good copper under where the black spots were. Gonna give it a try soon, watching f1 right now haha.

[jimmycakes401]

How did this work out for you? I just cleaned mine up last night. A lot more of it is working, but my side rear blinkers still don't work and now... for some reason, one of the rear passenger bulbs turns on and stays on. I believe it is a blinker bulb.

[AZ79]

I've had to drill the rivets to clean the contacts better, then elec grease and re-rivet.

[Weelan]

Oh forgot to update, my lights were fine after a good cleaning on the bulb and socket.

[jimmycakes401]

Mine did as well. Still trying to figure out why one of my tail lights is stuck in the on position. Whether the car is on or off. Stuck relay maybe?