89 GT Taillight Problem
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2024
Posts: 147
Likes: 11
From: Orlando, FL
89 GT Taillight Problem
Hi everyone,
Bit of an issue with the taillights. I bought some new bulbs to replace a burnt out taillight bulb on the passenger side. It was originally the left of the two. I replace the bulb and no dice. I did some digging and saw that it's best to replace both bulbs at the same time so I replaced the right one too... no dice. No neither taillight bulb works even if I swap back in the working original bulb to the same housing. All other lights on that taillight work and I did disconnect the battery after swapping in the 2 new ones to reset the bulb controller. I also checked the fuses for the right parking light and backup light. Anyone have any suggestions cause I'm a bit stumped. Also, I sprayed contact cleaner into the housings to get rid of some build-up. Thanks!
PS: tried to upload pictures from phone, getting errors. I'll give it a go when I get home.
Bit of an issue with the taillights. I bought some new bulbs to replace a burnt out taillight bulb on the passenger side. It was originally the left of the two. I replace the bulb and no dice. I did some digging and saw that it's best to replace both bulbs at the same time so I replaced the right one too... no dice. No neither taillight bulb works even if I swap back in the working original bulb to the same housing. All other lights on that taillight work and I did disconnect the battery after swapping in the 2 new ones to reset the bulb controller. I also checked the fuses for the right parking light and backup light. Anyone have any suggestions cause I'm a bit stumped. Also, I sprayed contact cleaner into the housings to get rid of some build-up. Thanks!
PS: tried to upload pictures from phone, getting errors. I'll give it a go when I get home.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 5,424
Likes: 630
From: Bloomfield, MI
Hi, the tail lamps are powered via the Lamp Controller located on the outside edge of the Parcel tray on a left hand drive car it's on the right side.
My first guess would be if you do not have 12v at the tail lamp, then go the the connector at the lamp controller and see if 12v is coming out to the tail lamp wire.
Note: you can jumper the inbound 12v to the output wire to circumvent the controller, doing this will no longer give you the warning (this is also done when using LED's).
My first guess would be if you do not have 12v at the tail lamp, then go the the connector at the lamp controller and see if 12v is coming out to the tail lamp wire.
Note: you can jumper the inbound 12v to the output wire to circumvent the controller, doing this will no longer give you the warning (this is also done when using LED's).
Last edited by davek9; Mar 8, 2024 at 01:42 PM.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jan 2024
Posts: 147
Likes: 11
From: Orlando, FL
Hi, the tail lamps are powered via the Lamp Controller located on the outside edge of the Parcel tray on a left hand drive car it's on the right side.
My first guess would be if you do not have 12v at the tail lamp, then go the the connector at the lamp controller and see if 12v is coming out to the tail lamp wire.
Note: you can jumper the inbound 12v to the output wire to circumvent the controller, doing this will no longer give you the warning (this is also done when using LED's).
My first guess would be if you do not have 12v at the tail lamp, then go the the connector at the lamp controller and see if 12v is coming out to the tail lamp wire.
Note: you can jumper the inbound 12v to the output wire to circumvent the controller, doing this will no longer give you the warning (this is also done when using LED's).
Team Owner
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 31,239
Likes: 4,223
From: Philly PA
To fix the bulb socket failure , without replacing the bulb socket.
remove the lamp housing from the car,
then remove the bulb holder and remove the bulb.
push the broken wire through the light socket ,
solder the wire to the center of the bulb,
use a small piece of closed cell foam ,
and stuff it into the bottom of the bulb socket, this will hold the bulb against its stop.
install the bulb after you have sprayed deoxit 100 into the bulb socket.
remove the lamp housing from the car,
then remove the bulb holder and remove the bulb.
push the broken wire through the light socket ,
solder the wire to the center of the bulb,
use a small piece of closed cell foam ,
and stuff it into the bottom of the bulb socket, this will hold the bulb against its stop.
install the bulb after you have sprayed deoxit 100 into the bulb socket.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 6,115
Likes: 344
From: Texas
The contacts in one of my tailights was missing and obviously the bulb did not work. I had a $1.00 flashlight that used AA batteries that looked promising for decontruction. I removed the battery contacts inside and they were approximately the correct width. I then used needle-nose pliars to bend them to the correct shape and a light dab of superglue to hold the contact in place in the socket. Installed the bulb and voila, the light bulb was functional.
