Tail Light Help, Brake lights work, tail lights don't Options

[lambowannabe]

When I turn on my headlights, my tail lights do not come on, but when i hit the brakes, the brake lights do come on.
So the brake lights work, but the tail lights don't.
I looked in the fuse box under the dash on the drivers side and the #11 tail fuse looked like it had burned out previously.
I replaced it with another 15amp fuse but the lights still aren't working properly...
Does this mean I have a short in the wire somewhere?
What else could be wrong?

Thanks


I've been lurking for a long time now but I couldn't find an answer through any searching... so now I'm a member!

[kurt95gt]

Are all the rest of your lights working?? Like your dash lights?
Might sound odd but change the fuse for your radio
I've had that fuse burn out an the radio still work but my tail lights an dash lights didn't.

[lambowannabe]

I replaced the radio fuse today too, and it didn't make a difference. All the rest of my lights have been working fine however.
Any other suggestions?

[Galcobar]

Check the bulbs? If I recall correctly, the bulbs in question are 1157 dual-filament bulbs. One filament for the tail lights, the other for the brake lights. Invariably the tail light filament burns out sooner as it runs constantly.

[lambowannabe]

Is there anything I should be looking for on the bulbs? I took them all out, and it looked like the filaments were still intact.

[Galcobar]

You could test the bulbs with a 12V source, but generally the easiest thing to do is to try a new bulb. If the filament broke in the right place it'll look intact short of a magnifying glass.

[Nihil]

When I was replacing my light bulbs on the tail lights, I noticed that connectors were badly corroded and some lights didn't work properly because of it, so I had to clean that. You might want to check this before looking into electrical problem any further...

Also, Voltmeter is great when you need to find an electrical problem, unplug the tail light harness connector in the trunk, put negative of V-meter anywhere on the chassis (groud) and red on each connector pin, then have someone turn on and off all the lights to find out if you get 12V on it. If you do, the problem is not in fuses and wiring, if you don't, there's the problem.

[gen6coupe]

When I was replacing my light bulbs on the tail lights, I noticed that connectors were badly corroded and some lights didn't work properly because of it, so I had to clean that. You might want to check this before looking into electrical problem any further...

Also, Voltmeter is great when you need to find an electrical problem, unplug the tail light harness connector in the trunk, put negative of V-meter anywhere on the chassis (groud) and red on each connector pin, then have someone turn on and off all the lights to find out if you get 12V on it. If you do, the problem is not in fuses and wiring, if you don't, there's the problem.

great advice and the correct way to diagnose the problem. repped if i can.

edit: oh i guess the repping is just for BST.

This post has been edited by gen6coupe: Jul 15, 2013 - 2:35 AM