1977 tail lights dead

[dinosabella]

1977 Spider. Almost nothing worked in the lights department.

Cleaned all connectors with sand paper and or steel wool
cleaned light bulb ends, sockets with wire brush, and cleaned the little copper piece inside the sockets.
replaced all ground wires on passenger side light since it was broken
used dielectric grease everywhere.

What now works great(very bright)
- break lights, both
- flashers, both (including hazard switch)
- reverse lights, both

What doesn't work:
- tail lights
- side markers
- license plate lights

Any tips and or suggestions?

[vandor]

Those are on 2 circuits, one for the left side, one for the right, make sure you are getting power to those 2 circuits.
You may have bad/corroded fuses.

[spider2081]

I have a portion of the wire diagram for a 77. I don't have the index page that shows what each symbol is (like signal light or marker light). For the circuits I think is your problem is in, it shows a C21 connector being common to all that is not working. Problem is I can't tell where it might be located. The schematic shows the wires originate at fuses G and H then to C21 and separate to the front and rear of the car. So I think the connector is behind the dash. I am also assuming the light symbols are the lights you are having a problem with.

Maybe someone with a complete drawing could help

[wizard124]

Dielectric grease is a non-conductive, silicone-based grease that's designed to seal out moisture and prevent corrosion on electrical connectors.

Remove the dielectric grease and see what works.

[majicwrench]

From the Permatex web site: "extends the life of bulb sockets"

No need to clean it out.

Fuses, don't just look at them, test, got a test light??

[dinosabella]

Im hoping its the fuses as well. Hard to find old style fuses here in Montreal, not sure what spares I still have! Also, I noticed my fiber optics no longer work.

[spider2081]

For trouble shooting I make a test fuse. I use an standard automotive in-line fuse holder with alligator clips attached to its leads. Clip it in place of the blown fuse when trouble shooting. I use the 3AG style fuse holder as they are the most easily found here in USA. If the fuse blows its easy to replace with another 3AG until the problem is resolved. Then install the proper fuse.

[rjkoop]

1977 Spider. Almost nothing worked in the lights department.

Cleaned all connectors with sand paper and or steel wool
cleaned light bulb ends, sockets with wire brush, and cleaned the little copper piece inside the sockets.
replaced all ground wires on passenger side light since it was broken
used dielectric grease everywhere.

What now works great(very bright)
- break lights, both
- flashers, both (including hazard switch)
- reverse lights, both

What doesn't work:
- tail lights
- side markers
- license plate lights

Any tips and or suggestions?

Do you have a multimeter? I found the circuit boards had connectivity issues. Even after cleaning everything with brass wirewheel on dremel tool still didn't have connectivity. Couldn't get the lights socket to connect. Had to remove rivets/eyelets, pull out sockets, clean with dremel on the board and the bottom of the socket and then everything worked fine.

[rjkoop]

Im hoping its the fuses as well. Hard to find old style fuses here in Montreal, not sure what spares I still have! Also, I noticed my fiber optics no longer work.

I got the fuses for my '81 at Cdn Tire. $4 for a pack of 5 I think.

Richard

[spider2081]

An alternative to removing the rivets and sockets is to clean the green sealer off the board, clean both the socket outside edge and copper on the board in small area. Use a good electrical paste solder flux and solder then solder the socket to the copper strip on the board. I use a 50 watt iron and place the tip on the socket so the heat doesn't damage the board.

[dinosabella]

Eureka,

Finally found a bunch of fuses at a Carquest, Will have to make a bulk order online to keep for the future.

All lights are now working.

Thank you everyone for your help.

Dash lights are still not on but I will get around to that. Could be just a light bulb.

[dinosabella]

Help.!!!!

So everything on the back end of the car is perfect.

I changed a bunch of fuses and now a lot of lights are working fine, including my dash lights.

One last gremlin.

I am bumper-less and installed two turn signals that i picked up from an auto parts store. They both work, although the flashers do operate fast as if a bulb was burned. I attached the Ground (black) and the live (blue).

When I turn on the headlights only the passenger new front turn signal is on and the front passenger side marker does not work. When the headlights are on, and I turn on the hazards, the front turn signals blink off beat.

Im thinking ground for the front turn signals and side markers but I cant find where they are!