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Brake light and blinker trouble

4K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  Randy35630 
#1 ·
My driver side brake lights do not light when I depress the brake pedal. The passenger side works. Also, left turn signal doesn't work. When left blinker is engaged, the front cornering light and blinked come on and burn steady, but no light in back. The problem has been intermittently occurring with longer periods of not working correctly. Any suggestions? I thought it was a bulb, but the only one I haven't checked is the upper center brake light in the
rear window.
 
#3 ·
Thank you sir. The lights come on when you turn on the headlight switch, but they don't get bright like the other side when you press the brake. It's a 1987 Brougham, by the way, just turned 46,000 miles yesterday. Beautiful car, but Sat unproven for over ten years. I'm surprised at how well it managed to hold up. Garaged, and so far the main problems have been disintegrated exhaust system that I've already replaced, and same problem with the heater core. The A.C. works but isn't cold. I'll have the whole system rebuilt in the fall. But this blinker problem can't wait.
 
#4 ·
Does it work when you activate your hazard lights?

You say you checked the bulb. How? Visual inspection, or test with power?
There are 2 filaments in the brake light bulb. One for running lights (which works) and and additional one that lights up for the brakes or turn signal. You could have the second filament blown.

If the bulb is okay, I would continue to investigate a possible wiring issue as cadillac_al suggested.
 
#5 ·
Ok, I had a similar problem with my 85.

If you can rule out bad bulbs, wiring is at the taillight is good, then you have a different problem.

The problem on my 85 was the wiring running down the steering column was bad, dealer charged me 1/2 hour of labor & knock on wood it has been fine since.

Try this, while holding the brake peddle, tilt the wheel up & down while looking at the indicator lights to see if the light works, or you can have someone look on the outside.

Good luck
 
#7 ·
I did not know the bulbs were dual filament. I went and bought new bulbs first thing but didn't change them. The running lights always work. The brake light is intermittent on the back driver side, and when you engage the blinker the front turn signal and cornering light comes on steady and doesn't blink when the malfunction is occurring. Otherwise if the brake light works the blinker works. I drove the car for an hour today and it worked correctly for thirty minutes. I suspect a short, but I will change the bulbs and hope that's it. Thanks for the info everyone.
 
#9 ·
I took the tail light apart today and changed both bulbs. Sockets were very clean with no sign of dirt or corrosion. So far, everything is working hunky-doory, so at any rate, whether a bulb was shot (one looked a bit like some filament was broken) or things needed scraping, it has worked perfectly after I reassembled the tail light. Thanks for all the suggestions. They all helped my thought process.
 
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