Hello, Let me start by stating that I dont know anything about electrical/wiring. I have a 1975 Ford Pinto 2.3 liter auto hatchback. The problem was that the brakelights didnt work with the headlights on. The turn signals also didnt work(because I think the front socket was bad). I brought my Pinto to the shop and they rewired only the bad wires. Everything worked at the shop, but when I got home same problem with the tail lights. This time the bulb was burnt though. I accidentally touched the socket to medal on the car and it started to spark. Is it normal for that to happen or is it grounding out? ??? I noticed that the shop didnt put the socket into the tail light assembly. Would that make a difference or not? Any help would be great. Thanks Tim
I could be wrong (because I am wrong often), but it sounds like the original problem was a bad ground.
Open up each tail light assembly & with your test light figure out which wire is for brake lights, then tail lights. Don't have them both on at the same time at this point. The remaing wire should be for ground.
Check the ground wire to make sure it is not broken and that it is making good contact at the body.
With just the tail lights on, wiggle the ground wire from one end to the other to check for a "small" break or bad connection in a connector. If you get any flicker or it even kills the light, you've located the "hidden" problem that worked at the shop & failed while driving.
Hope this helps.
AL. :lol:
Be on the lookout for a greenish powder or a greenish looking greasy deposit. This is what a deteriorated copper wire or copper containg connector will likely have if there is much corrosion present. The greasy deposit will be from a connection that had some electrically conductive product (a dielectric compound), the dry powder from one that did not.
And once you get the lights all working, take all the bulbs out of the sockets, make sure that the sockets and all the connections are at least CLEAN and preferably shiny, and then apply a thin film of dielectric compound to them all. (((take the lighting circuit fuses out so that you aren't likely to blow the fuse if you clean with a metal tool))) Be sure to do the headlights too. Doing this will either prevent oxidation entirely, or will dramatically slow it's return to any of the electrical connections that have already started to corrode.
Exterior lighting circuits are extremely susceptible to corrosion related problems, especially if you are in, or the car is from an area that is coastal, near any source of salt, such as the Utah area's desert, a salt marsh, or basically anywhere which uses road salt. The same deterioration takes place everywhere, it just takes LONGER where salt isn't as prevalent. It's basically the same as what happens with car bodies, and if you are in a place that car bodies don't last, the electricals also tend to need more attention across the board.
You can get a tube of the dielectric compound from most auto parts stores, and with judicious use, it will last for a very long time. This is basically the same stuff that is used inside of spark plug wires at the plug boots, although it comes in various viscosities. The Ford OEM version used to be a white paste that LOOKS like white lithium grease, but isn't. This may already be in some of your connectors.
Many of the newer era cars are using better electrical connectors, most of which have internal "o" ring seals and in additiuon, some of these come from the factory with the dielectric compound inside of the connectors, which make for more reliable and longer lasting electrics throughout the vehicle.