64’ No taillights

[MY64RIVIERA]

Damn taillights are driving me crazy. Got pulled over because they weren’t working. I have brake lights and turn signals, just no taillights. Played with them and thought I had them fixed.  Recommendations?

 

thanks

robert

[RivNut]

Dedicated ground wire.

[MY64RIVIERA]

Still learning. I just swapped out my battery and the problem started. Would this be the ground wire that is attached to the negative terminal sitting off to the side?  They were working before my battery went dead.

 

Thanks,

Robert

[1965rivgs]

Hi Robert,

  Sometimes troubleshooting/reasoning involves determining what the problem is NOT. Your issue is not a ground. If your issue was ground you wouldnt have brake and turn signal lights either.

  Have you checked the taillight fuse? Check your owners manual (dont have access to any reference material at the moment) to see what other circuits are on the taillight fuse....maybe dash lights? If those other circuits are non op the fuse is probably blown.

Tom Mooney

[telriv]

ALWAYS remember the KISS principal.  Keep it simple stupid.  Sometimes we pass over the simple things looking for something more serious OR from suggestions of others. Check the bulbs 1st.  DON'T over think the problem. Start with the basics.

 

Tom T.

[Turbinator]

Sir, in the event you do ground your metal tail light bulb sockets. Fan out the copper wire strands and solder to the metal bulb socket. Ground that wire to the car body.

works real good.

As TelRiv mentioned one the filaments in the bulb  could be burned out.

Turbinator

[60FlatTop]

Test your grounds wwith a jumper wire from the bulb socket to the negative post of the battery. If you get a nice, bright light, solder on some ground wires.

[MY64RIVIERA]

Thanks all.  It's definitely a ground issue.  The bulb does not appear to fit tight within the socket and with the bouncing around it loses the ground.  I'll try the above and see if that fixes my problem.

 

 

[RivNut]

39 minutes ago, MY64RIVIERA said:

Thanks all.  It's definitely a ground issue.  The bulb does not appear to fit tight within the socket and with the bouncing around it loses the ground.  I'll try the above and see if that fixes my problem.

 

 

They should fit snuggly.  What bulb # are you using?  Or do you think someone chang3d outvthe sockets some time in the past?

[1965rivgs]

11 hours ago, MY64RIVIERA said:

Thanks all.  It's definitely a ground issue.  The bulb does not appear to fit tight within the socket and with the bouncing around it loses the ground.  I'll try the above and see if that fixes my problem.

 

 

If the problem is the ground at the bulb how do the brake/turn signals work???? Maybe you have multiple issues? Or was your tail light problem occurring when the brake/turn signals were operational also??

Should be an 1157 double contact bulb?

Tom Mooney

Edited July 8, 2019 by 1965rivgs (see edit history)

[MY64RIVIERA]

The problem seems to be that the bulbs are loose within the metal housing and eventually lose contact with the socket (same setup as the pictures posted by 60Flattop).  The metal housing within the taillight socket does not hold the bulb tight and therefore when this happens I lose blinkers, taillights and/or brake lights.  I've seen other guys with similar GM taillights try and solder that metal housing closed to keep the bulb tight in the socket.  I'll continue to explore different options.  Just frustrating to continue to mess with it.  I am definitely using the correct bulb.   

[KongaMan]

14 minutes ago, MY64RIVIERA said:

The problem seems to be that the bulbs are loose within the metal housing and eventually lose contact with the socket (same setup as the pictures posted by 60Flattop).  The metal housing within the taillight socket does not hold the bulb tight and therefore when this happens I lose blinkers, taillights and/or brake lights.  I've seen other guys with similar GM taillights try and solder that metal housing closed to keep the bulb tight in the socket.  I'll continue to explore different options.  Just frustrating to continue to mess with it.  I am definitely using the correct bulb.   

That's not an unusual problem -- nor is your frustration in trying to deal with it.  The best solution may be to replace the sockets, as this seems to be a common issue with the stock parts.  If you want to hold the socket closed, try putting a thin shim (piece of business card, etc.) between the socket and case.  You might have to play around to find the right thickness.

 

If it's only the taillights which are going out (that is, your turn signals and brakes always work), check the wires where they enter the socket.  They get hard and inflexible, and the spring that pushes the contact against the bulb isn't strong enough to overcome that.  The wire needs to be able to move freely into the socket.  Straightening the wire accompanied by a drop of lubricant may help.  In the worst case, you might have to cut off the hard end of the wire and resolder the lug to a more flexible section.

[telriv]

Depending on other problems one of the things I have done in the past is to add a drop of solder onto the bulb tips, usually both for tail/signal/brakes.  Then you can use a file to make the tips the correct depth for your needs.

 

Tom T.