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Old 12-16-2016, 09:57 AM   #1
cb0w
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Default One Brake Light Out Even After New Bulb

Hi All,

So I was cruising down the street in the neighborhood at dusk, pulled over to let a car pass only to have the car pull over behind me. Turns out it was the 5.0!! Cart isn't street legal so I was worried for a minute, but as it turns out he just wanted to tell me that I had a brake light out. (If I hadn't hit the brakes and pulled over, he would have never known )

I assumed one of the filaments had blown in the bulb since only one light was affected, however, after replacing the bulb the problem persists.

Here are the details:

86 CC DS 36V
-Driver tail light and brake light function normally.
-Passenger tail light functions normally.
-When brake pedal is pressed, driver side lights up brighter, passenger side goes out completely.
-I have the standard red and brown wires going into the socket and a ground from the housing back to the buss bar. Everything is good and tight.

I've ruled out the brake switch under the floor and pedal assembly since the driver side is functioning normally. Wiring from driver tail light assembly to passenger seems to be in good shape.

Not sure where to go next. Any help is appreciated.
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Old 12-16-2016, 10:36 AM   #2
mrgolf
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Default Re: One Brake Light Out Even After New Bulb

Run a jumper from the brake light that works over to the side that does not work. Sounds like a loss of connection to me.
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Old 12-16-2016, 10:46 AM   #3
Twincam47
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Default Re: One Brake Light Out Even After New Bulb

Generally that is indicative of a bad ground. Ground is good on low amperage draw when taillight is on, then when the brake is activated it causes more load on the circuit and the ground cannot provide enough for both filaments in the bulb to fire. Thus shutting down the taillight too. I don't think it's a matter of the bulb not receiving + power, it's the ground circuits inability to close the circuit and make the lights fire.

Not the ground for the light system....just the ground going to that light socket.

You can verify power to each of the contacts in the socket with a test light or multi meter but you will need to use pack - for the ground and not trust the socket as the ground at this point. Be extremely careful when touching the socket contacts as the socket itself is the ground and could blow a fuse if touched with the probe while also touching the contacts. One of the contacts should be hot with the lights on and the other dead until the brake is pressed. Once You verify power you can then start working out the ground issue.
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Old 12-16-2016, 11:01 AM   #4
cb0w
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Default Re: One Brake Light Out Even After New Bulb

Quote:
Originally Posted by mrgolf View Post
Run a jumper from the brake light that works over to the side that does not work. Sounds like a loss of connection to me.
That's how the lights are already wired. Two wires off the drivers side over to the passenger, then the ground off the housing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Twincam47 View Post
Generally that is indicative of a bad ground. Ground is good on low amperage draw when taillight is on, then when the brake is activated it causes more load on the circuit and the ground cannot provide enough for both filaments in the bulb to fire. Thus shutting down the taillight too. I don't think it's a matter of the bulb not receiving + power, it's the ground circuits inability to close the circuit and make the lights fire.

Not the ground for the light system....just the ground going to that light socket.
OK, that's kind of where my head was at, but I only know just enough to be dangerous. I just had everything apart to install a scottyb conversion kit and noticed that the ground was a little sketchy coming off that housing. Didn't really seem like the most reliable, but I checked that it was tight when re-installing and let it ride.

From what I've read on here, grounding from the housing is fairly common, if not the norm with these older light kits. Is there a better alternative than the nut on that housing? I know all the rules about not frame grounding on electric carts and I'm just wondering if there is a solution I haven't seen floating around here.

Thanks for your help.
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Old 12-16-2016, 11:07 AM   #5
Twincam47
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Default Re: One Brake Light Out Even After New Bulb

I was editing my post when you were responding so take a look at the edit.

The socket for the bulb is the ground. Not sure how your ground wire connects to the light housing and the socket but if you said it was sketchy then I would take a hard look at it.

So you would need to verify that the ground wire going to the housing is connected somehow to the socket.
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Old 12-16-2016, 05:13 PM   #6
Volt_Ampere
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Default Re: One Brake Light Out Even After New Bulb

Brake light and turn signal are on the same bulbs. If the one brake light isn't working it is probably a problem in the turn signal switch. Been there on my 68 mustang (back in the good old days where you could do any kind of work on your car)
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Old 12-16-2016, 05:17 PM   #7
Twincam47
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Default Re: One Brake Light Out Even After New Bulb

Quote:
Originally Posted by Volt_Ampere View Post
Brake light and turn signal are on the same bulbs. If the one brake light isn't working it is probably a problem in the turn signal switch. Been there on my 68 mustang (back in the good old days where you could do any kind of work on your car)
Yep. But his problem is the tail/brake light and that is a dual filament bulb in his case and no mention of malfunction with a turn signal or even if it has one and the one light housing and light is running piggyback of the other.
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Old 12-16-2016, 06:01 PM   #8
blekenbleu
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Default Re: One Brake Light Out Even After New Bulb

Quote:
Originally Posted by Twincam47 View Post
Generally that is indicative of a bad ground. Ground is good on low amperage draw when taillight is on, then when the brake is activated it causes more load on the circuit and the ground cannot provide enough for both filaments in the bulb to fire.
Not quite. Bad ground is correct, but what often happens:
With brakes off, current goes thru passenger tail filament,
then (because not grounded) thru passenger brake light filament,
brake light wiring, driver brake light filament to ground.
Because they pass so much more current than tail, brake filaments
barely get warm and present low resistance to this flow.

When braking, power goes thru brake wiring and driver brake filament to ground.
With brake and tail filaments both hot and no ground, no current flows in passenger bulb.

Many times, ground wiring to socket can be good;
ground contact between bulb and socket is mainly at base pins.
Shining the rest of socket and bulb base is relatively unimportant,
just need good contact between the upper side of base pins and corresponding points in socket slots.
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Old 12-16-2016, 08:01 PM   #9
Twincam47
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Default Re: One Brake Light Out Even After New Bulb

blekenbleu....just trying to keep it simple for him. If you read his post he talks about a sketchy ground wire with a nut to the housing not the socket. I want him to check the ground connection between the housing and the socket. Bulb base pins and socket slots don't do anything if the socket itself isn't grounded.

Lights.jpg
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