brake light works, but tail light doesnt?

[sherwindy]

hey guys i just got a 95 vr a couple weeks ago and recently i got told my back brake light wasnt working, so i went to supercheap and got a new bulb yesterday and replaced it, then tested it and the brake lights work when i press them, but the tail light on the side i replaced the bulb doesnt work when the lights are on.. the little light on the boot works though but yeh not sure what to do. there was some yellow sticky looking stuff in the bulb socket not sure if thats meant to be there? im thinking clean that out with a tissue?

so this is what it looks like when my lights are switched on, but then the whole thing lights up properly when i brake... (not my car btw lol)



cheers guys

[Brett_jjj]

The yellow stuff inside the bulb holders is some sort of grease to help stop corrosion etc. My tail lights in my vs has it in them too, Ive seen it in quite a few of these cars now so it must be put there at the factory..

[axemurderer101]

try swapping the good bulb to the side that doesnt work, also check the wiring for any breaks.

[RX25SE]

Are all the brake lights the same brightness when on?

Check to see if the globe is the correct way around. The pins are offset.

[sherwindy]

hey guys yeah i think the problem is in the bulb socket, i checked the wires all seem fine, then i swapped the bulbs from the left side and right side and the problem stayed in the right side so its not the bulb. then i turned the lights on with the bulb exposed and it didnt turn on, so i tried pushing it in a bit deeper and then the light came on, tried twisting it around and stuff to make it stay in that deeper position but as soon as i let go the bulb comes out a tiny bit and the light goes off... do i need to get a new socket installed or is there a way to get the bulb in better ?

cheers

[Tim Smtih]

Not sure if the tail lights you have a similar to the ones on my old VN, but if so i had water leaking in through worn seals which corroded the cluster/connection. Check to see if there's any corrosion whatsoever, hopefully this won't be the case as they can be hard to replace.

[sherwindy]

hmm not sure buddy cause it all looked fine, the brake lights work and the tail light stays on when i hold it down :S

im thinking maybe if its wrecked, go to pickapart and get one and then just cut the wires and solder the new one on?

or would this work.. get some stripped wire and put it in the bottom of the socket so there is a connection

[Bizmark]

Try using contact cleaner/conditioner in the socket and see if it makes a difference. You can find it at any decent electronics shop, such as Jaycar.

[sherwindy]

yeh ended up gettin it workin.. for now lol i just twisted it on a weird angle with the light switch on and found a spot where it stayed in and delicately put it back in the tail light case, hopefully it holds lol

[UW1SH]

yes that yellow stuff is suppose to be there. check the bulb itself you may of gotten a bulb with only one wire thingy (not albert einstein here) lol because the tail lights have 2 seperate wire thingys in the bulb that light up. one for when the lights are on and one for brakes so if you got one that has one wire then that MAY be the problem.

[9C1pack]

Check that you bought a dual filament globe (essentially 2 globes in 1). Look close and you will see the 2 wires that light up, one for brake and one for tail light. These have staggered locating pins and will only go in one way, so if its a tight fit, turn the globe half a turn and try again.
You may have bought a single filament globe which has only one filament (used for indicators etc)

[RX25SE]

yes that yellow stuff is suppose to be there. check the bulb itself you may of gotten a bulb with only one wire thingy (not albert einstein here) lol because the tail lights have 2 seperate wire thingys in the bulb that light up. one for when the lights are on and one for brakes so if you got one that has one wire then that MAY be the problem.

Check that you bought a dual filament globe (essentially 2 globes in 1). Look close and you will see the 2 wires that light up, one for brake and one for tail light. These have staggered locating pins and will only go in one way, so if its a tight fit, turn the globe half a turn and try again.
You may have bought a single filament globe which has only one filament (used for indicators etc)

Fitting a single filament globe in place of a dual filament, will often cause the park lamps to come on when the brake pedal is pressed.


From the OPs last post I would say the contacts in the socket need to be bent out a bit, or the socket replaced.