Tail light assy. faul/failure

didoug

New member
Partway through northern Nevada on the way to Montana I had to hit the brakes quick; coming down a hill as a big rig pulled in front of me. The ESP, Traction, and ABS fault lights came on immediately, but the brakes were good. I pulled in to fuel up in a station in the middle of nowhere, got fuel, and discovered I was locked out of putting the thing back into gear (out of park). I was stuck at the pump until I turned to sprinter-source to sort out if I could override the park lockout. Bingo, thank you sprinter-source. A pencil pushing gently on the release in the hole below the D on the shift panel.

After faking the brake lights, using the tail lights for a long ways, I finally had time to sort the problem. The failure was in the left tail light assembly, but only with the bulb inserted. It wasn't the bulb. The contact for the bulb had worked loose and when the bulb was inserted it would rock the top edge of of the contact towards the Gnd/Rtn plate material that makes up the base connector for the bulb. I pushed the contact down into the block and then covered the base where it was in contact with some electrical tape for the time-being.
 

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Partway through northern Nevada on the way to Montana I had to hit the brakes quick; coming down a hill as a big rig pulled in front of me. The ESP, Traction, and ABS fault lights came on immediately, but the brakes were good. I pulled in to fuel up in a station in the middle of nowhere, got fuel, and discovered I was locked out of putting the thing back into gear (out of park). I was stuck at the pump until I turned to sprinter-source to sort out if I could override the park lockout. Bingo, thank you sprinter-source. A pencil pushing gently on the release in the hole below the D on the shift panel.



After faking the brake lights, using the tail lights for a long ways, I finally had time to sort the problem. The failure was in the left tail light assembly, but only with the bulb inserted. It wasn't the bulb. The contact for the bulb had worked loose and when the bulb was inserted it would rock the top edge of of the contact towards the Gnd/Rtn plate material that makes up the base connector for the bulb. I pushed the contact down into the block and then covered the base where it was in contact with some electrical tape for the time-being.
Amazing. I am always learning from the participants on the forums.

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220629

Well-known member
So, does taking the bulb out work as a temporary fix?

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Possibly. That will release the tension on the contacts, but no guarantee.

The fix is easy. A cable tie, match stick (remove the tip), doubled short toothpick pieces, etc. will work as a temporary repair.

:cheers: vic
 

didoug

New member
So, does taking the bulb out work as a temporary fix?

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It did for me, but I could see that as not always being the case.

The gap left over was rather small even with the bulb pulled. After sacrificing a couple fuses I narrowed it down to the module. I didn't really notice the real issue until I'd pushed on the contact with my meter probe at which point the gap became larger and the fault went away. When I put the bulb back in, the gap closed and was able to see the issue.

I'm thinking a mechanical fix that'll really keep that contact mated solidly to the "circuit" metal it what's needed. Hopefully I can get back home before having to re-address it.
 

didoug

New member
My trip is over so I pulled the tail-light modules today to make a more permanent fix. I noticed on this version of the module that the failure point is in one of two places that are designed/executed differently than the rest of the bulb contacts. In every other contact, the metal "trace/circuit" piece traps the contact. The two contacts for the brake light bulb do not have this arrangement. I ended up trapping them by drilling a couple holes in the backside of the module and cinching a nylon zip tie over the top of the contacts so they can't again work their way out.
 

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