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Brake light fault - what's the problem?


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As per previous post on headlights I'm no electrical whizz

 

My tail lights work

 

My brake lights work if my lights aren't on

 

If my lights are on, my passenger brake light works, but my driver side one just goes out

 

I've replaced the globes

 

Only one filament on the drivers side lights up - the same one when the brake light goes on and when the taillights are on

 

Any ideas?

 

Graze

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Pete

 

Thanks, I must say the lights, bulb holders and boot cavities had never been cleaned in 38 years, so this could be the problem

 

Will go over it tomorrow

 

Graze

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Graze

 

As has Pete said, have a good look at the earths, have had this on mine, and its strange how

it manifests itself.

 

http://www.buckeyetriumphs.org/technical/Electrical/TR6Sockets/TR6Sockets.htm

 

http://tr6.danielsonfamily.org/TailLights.htm

 

Cheers

Guy

Edited by Jersey Royal
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You have an earth problem in one or more of the bulb holders. It's nothing -usually- to do with the bulb itself. The problem is well known on TR 6 as, even if the main metal tail light assembly is earthed, each individual bulb holder needs to earth to the assembly. Each bilb holder has a small earth strap which connect to the bulb barrel by contact but the thin steel strip that runs up the side of the bulb holder makes its earth to the tag by contact only and this corrodes and loses contact very readily. The trick is to take out the bulb holder, remove bulb and plastic shroud and examine the earth connectiion. If possible, bead blast it and SOLDER the tag connection to the thin strip, reassemble and all will be well. If you can't bead blast, then simply abrade the connections using a small screwdriver or stanley knife, resolder etc. Good luck

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I've used this test often, a length of cable with a croc clip at one end, attach it to a known earth point and use the other end to prove

Or disprove the earth problem by simply supplying a proved earth to the bulb holder.. Works for me.

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All sorted last night

 

Cleaned the earths, cleaned the bulb holders and reassembled

 

All now working

 

Many thanks guys

 

Graze

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All sorted last night

 

Cleaned the earths, cleaned the bulb holders and reassembled

 

All now working

 

Many thanks guys

 

Graze

"All now working" - for the time being!!

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You've reminded me of the electrics on the caravan we bought in the UK in '76.

It had one common earth for all the lights via a brass ring connector bolted to aluminium.

Over time the galvanic action would build up a pile of insulating crud that made the path to earth rather tortuous.

On one of our trips coming through northern Holland, just at knock-off time, I noticed I was getting weird reactions to my turn signals from the hundreds of pushbike riders.

I pulled over as soon as I could and found that when I put a turn signal on, all the lights on the van flashed in time with the flasher, as the current tried to get back to earth through all the filaments it could find.

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