peteinohio
Member
I've been told that not having plate lights can get you a traffic ticket, so I decided to put some extra effort fixing mine. Note: there are no questions for the experts, just comments, which I'm willing to receive feedback on being right or wrong.
My 2002 ex-FedEx van (extra long wheel base) has obviously been worked on by different mechanics over the years, chasing various wiring issues, as there are butt-connectors all over the place, along with after market wire added in to replace rotted or missing wiring. Here in the midwest, we love putting salt on the roads to melt snow and ice, and it takes a huge toll on everything, especially wiring.
Note to you aspiring mechanics: if you spend the extra money for connectors which include heat shrink material, use a heat gun to shrink that material in order to make a weather-proof seal and aid in holding the connector to the wire. The mechanics who previously worked on this van did not apply heat to the connectors and they fell off all over the place.
I printed out the entire wiring section of the repair manual referenced on this site elsewhere. It takes up two binders. I started at the front of the vehicle in order to rule out fuses, grounds and relays. The manual indicates that they are spliced off of the tail lights, and since the left tail light works, I figured the fuse and relay were working right. I'm thinking there may not be a relay, just a switch, but I'll have to rule that out some other time.
I did clean the grounds at the front of the vehicle, under the seat (where the relays and Fuse panel 2 are located) and at the rear of the vehicle.
I then went to the back of the vehicle and started tracing backwards. The bulbs and wiring in the door checked good. The door has spring loaded contacts, which also checked good.
On the body side there are flat contacts molded into a plastic base. You can carefully pry out the plastic base from the body to gain access to the wires.
Six inches from the associated connectors (on the flat contacts and plastic base) someone had spliced in after market wire for about a foot. The wire after that was original but had butt-connectors (see above) and broken insulation with green corrosion showing. This was the case almost to the fuel tank. I replaced wire and connectors the whole way and now have properly working license plate lights.
The big thing I learned was, just because you find one bad connector or open insulation, don't give up, keep tracing the wire as there could be more bad spots along the way.
My 2002 ex-FedEx van (extra long wheel base) has obviously been worked on by different mechanics over the years, chasing various wiring issues, as there are butt-connectors all over the place, along with after market wire added in to replace rotted or missing wiring. Here in the midwest, we love putting salt on the roads to melt snow and ice, and it takes a huge toll on everything, especially wiring.
Note to you aspiring mechanics: if you spend the extra money for connectors which include heat shrink material, use a heat gun to shrink that material in order to make a weather-proof seal and aid in holding the connector to the wire. The mechanics who previously worked on this van did not apply heat to the connectors and they fell off all over the place.
I printed out the entire wiring section of the repair manual referenced on this site elsewhere. It takes up two binders. I started at the front of the vehicle in order to rule out fuses, grounds and relays. The manual indicates that they are spliced off of the tail lights, and since the left tail light works, I figured the fuse and relay were working right. I'm thinking there may not be a relay, just a switch, but I'll have to rule that out some other time.
I did clean the grounds at the front of the vehicle, under the seat (where the relays and Fuse panel 2 are located) and at the rear of the vehicle.
I then went to the back of the vehicle and started tracing backwards. The bulbs and wiring in the door checked good. The door has spring loaded contacts, which also checked good.
On the body side there are flat contacts molded into a plastic base. You can carefully pry out the plastic base from the body to gain access to the wires.
Six inches from the associated connectors (on the flat contacts and plastic base) someone had spliced in after market wire for about a foot. The wire after that was original but had butt-connectors (see above) and broken insulation with green corrosion showing. This was the case almost to the fuel tank. I replaced wire and connectors the whole way and now have properly working license plate lights.
The big thing I learned was, just because you find one bad connector or open insulation, don't give up, keep tracing the wire as there could be more bad spots along the way.
