35 brake switch help

[Solo_909]

So digging into the britghtnes situation I found out that rear taillight plugs do not match. Is that normal?

[JSeery]

Nope

[V8COOPMAN]

Wow...There's a slight problem to begin with. Those look like SINGLE FILAMENT bulbs. Do they only have ONE shiny contact as it appears in the picture? And, do the sockets that they twist in to have ONE of TWO shiny contacts? DD

[Solo_909]

Originally Posted by V8COOPMAN

Wow...There's a slight problem to begin with. Those look like SINGLE FILAMENT bulbs. Do they only have ONE shiny contact as it appears in the picture? And, do the sockets that they twist in to have ONE of TWO shiny contacts? DD

Both the bulb and sockets have two shiny contacts. It looks like someone replaced the PS socket at one point. There has to be something wrong with the wiring but I don’t know what.

I switched the wires going to the brake switch but it didn’t correct anything.

When I turn on the lights both bulbs are the same brightness but when I step on the brakes the DS will turn off and turn back on when the pedal is released.

When the lights are off the both brake lights will turn on however the DS is really dim.

[V8COOPMAN]

Looking a little closer at those two bulbs, they're not even the same. I wouldn't even be surprised if one was 6 volt and the other 12 volt. I say this based on the two little "tits" sticking out of the brass base. On one, they're straight across from one another, whereas on the second one they're staggered....at a different depth in the socket. Better pics of the two bulbs, and a pic of EACH socket that the bulbs fit into. We're gonna figure this out! DD

[V8COOPMAN]

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Originally Posted by Solo_909

Both the bulb and sockets have two shiny contacts. It looks like someone replaced the PS socket at one point. There has to be something wrong with the wiring but I don’t know what.

I switched the wires going to the brake switch but it didn’t correct anything.

When I turn on the lights both bulbs are the same brightness but when I step on the brakes the DS will turn off and turn back on when the pedal is released.

When the lights are off the both brake lights will turn on however the DS is really dim.

Swapping brake SWITCH wires makes no difference!

Do both bulbs feel like they fit PROPERLY into the sockets?

Are you able to swap bulbs side to side?

Hasn't your car been changed over to 12 volt?

Good pics of bulbs and sockets would surely help. DD

[V8COOPMAN]

Can we assume that you DO NOT have turn signals? DD

[Solo_909]

Do both bulbs feel like they fit PROPERLY into the sockets? Yes

Are you able to swap bulbs side to side? No, because both sockets are different.

Hasn't your car been changed over to 12 volt? Yes it has been converted.

Yes I also have turn signals.

The two bulbs have different candle lit power. Looks as if the PS lightbulb housing has been replaced. Here’s some photos.

How do you remove the bulb socket from the taillight housing?

[V8COOPMAN]

I really was hoping for pics showing the contacts on the bottom of the bulbs, as well as the two contacts INSIDE of EACH socket.

Do those bulbs have possibly different numbers on them? There's a reason that those little tits are different on the two bulbs.

Did you try the tests using the volt meter? That should tell us something, especially with a voltage reading.

Tell us a little about your directional signal unit. Brake lights are normally wired through a signal device.....yeah, for real!

Really need to do the volt meter tests with running lights ON, and OFF! DD

[Solo_909]

Originally Posted by V8COOPMAN

I really was hoping for pics showing the contacts on the bottom of the bulbs, as well as the two contacts INSIDE of EACH socket.

Do those bulbs have possibly different numbers on them? There's a reason that those little tits are different on the two bulbs.

Did you try the tests using the volt meter? That should tell us something, especially with a voltage reading.

Tell us a little about your directional signal unit. Brake lights are normally wired through a signal device.....yeah, for real!

Really need to do the volt meter tests with running lights ON, and OFF! DD

Yes both bulbs have different candle lit power however I purchased two of the same bulbs and put them both in and still have the same issue. Attached is photos of the connections of both tail lights.

Turn singles is just a toggle switch mounted to the dash. See attached photos.

As for the multimeter I don’t know how to use one.

[V8COOPMAN]

I'm waiting on the results of the volt meter testing. If you do it thoroughly, we should be able to conclude SOMETHING.

WHAT WERE THE NUMBERS on the new bulbs you bought? One of them should be an 1157. What was the second one? DD

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by Solo_909

Turn singles is just a toggle switch mounted to the dash. See attached photos.

I'm sure there is much more to the turn signals than just the toggle switch, it is just part of the circuit. Far as I know a pure toggle switch setup would require a separate bulb in addition to the two filament bulbs. It most likely has something like a trailer light converter in the circuit to incorporate the brake lights into the turn signals and use the two filament bulbs.

[Solo_909]

Originally Posted by V8COOPMAN

I'm waiting on the results of the volt meter testing. If you do it thoroughly, we should be able to conclude SOMETHING.

WHAT WERE THE NUMBERS on the new bulbs you bought? One of them should be an 1157. What was the second one? DD

So I don’t really know how to use a multimeter and the only reading I could get was from the two orange wires. That showed 12.11ish. The other side would read and the sockets wouldn’t show anything either. Like I said though I don’t know how to use them.

The bulbs are two different bulbs however when I put two of the same bulbs in both sockets the same issues happen.

[Solo_909]

Originally Posted by JSeery

I'm sure there is much more to the turn signals than just the toggle switch, it is just part of the circuit. Far as I know a pure toggle switch setup would require a separate bulb in addition to the two filament bulbs. It most likely has something like a trailer light converter in the circuit to incorporate the brake lights into the turn signals and use the two filament bulbs.

No idea, I bought the car wires the way it is.

[JSeery]

Might be helpful to get some help from someone who is handy with a voltmeter. It is going to be difficult to troubleshoot this without good measurements. I'm sure someone could get you up to speed with taking measurements in a short period of time.

[Randy in ca]

Brake/Signal/Tail lights are notorious for doing some very strange things in the absence of a good ground circuit. In this case this is likely primarily completed through the hardware attaching the cup to the mount, the mount to the fender and the fender to the frame. That driver's side assembly looks pretty corroded on the inside. Running a test wire from the bulb receptacle to a cleaned spot on the frame would quickly check this.

[Solo_909]

Originally Posted by V8COOPMAN

I'm waiting on the results of the volt meter testing. If you do it thoroughly, we should be able to conclude SOMETHING.

WHAT WERE THE NUMBERS on the new bulbs you bought? One of them should be an 1157. What was the second one? DD

Okay so here’s the results of the multimeter.

PS taillight with motor turned off it’s at 11.75 with the motor on it’s at 11.66.

DS taillight with motor turned off it’s at 2.48 with the motor turned on it’s at 2.25.

[JSeery]

Well, that might be a problem!

[Solo_909]

Originally Posted by JSeery

Well, that might be a problem!

Yes lol. So how do we figure out what it is?

[JSeery]

I would start working my way up the circuit to find where the problem is. The PS is ok and the problem is on the DS, so I would go to where they split apart and check there. I would guess the problem might be in the turn signal setup. A good start would be to sort that out and figure out were the brake light wiring comes from at the turn signal control.