Half the rear lights working. Right Side Only. Help.

Gotta love that wiring . . .
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Jzagro

Half the rear lights working. Right Side Only. Help.

Post by Jzagro »

All my electrical has been pretty good, except I have encountered one problem maybe someone could help me with.

When turning on the lights, only the right half works. Everything on the right works. (Reverse lights, Taillights, Etc.) Even the right license plate light works but not the left.

Now I am assuming that the left and right are wired differently or split somewhere along the lines to two different directions.

Could this be a fuse? a chewed wire? Anyone know where I may start to look? Ill post if I find anything before hand.

Thanks!
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70spider
Posts: 676
Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2014 3:05 pm
Your car is a: 1970 Fiat spider
Location: N.E. New Mexico

Re: Half the rear lights working. Right Side Only. Help.

Post by 70spider »

I had a similar problem when I first got my Spider, none of the rear lights worked. I followed the advice of others here and cleaned all the connections, replaced all the bulbs, replaced a bad hazard switch, and repositioned the grounds. This worked for me. Good luck.
1970 Fiat Spider 124 Sport aka "Pesto"
2002 Mazda Protege5
2013 Buddy 170i
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focodave
Patron 2018
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Posts: 704
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 10:35 am
Your car is a: 1980 Spider 2000 F.I.
Location: Fort Collins, CO

Re: Half the rear lights working. Right Side Only. Help.

Post by focodave »

Your problem is most likely on the left-hand tail light circuit board -- or -- on the connector at the left-hand board.
The right hand board is "fed" from the left board and connector.
I would disconnect the left board and clean the circuit board metal tracks that the connector plugs on to.
Also, clean the actual metal connectors inside the plastic connector housing. You will have to be creative in how you get those internal metal connectors clean, but small strips of fine sandpaper, an exacto knife, a small sharp screwdriver blade, etc., can all be used as tools to get the metal nice and shiny again either by scraping or rubbing the metal to reveal a new shiny surface.
On the board tracks, where the connector plugs on to the board, you might try using some fine steel wool to get them nice and shiny again.
Once you are done, you need to blow or brush all of the residue you have created off of the board and connector before you plug things back together.
Check your ground at the left board, also.
Things will probably work fine afterward.
1980 Spider 2000 F.I. (my hobby)
1970 MGB GT (my other hobby)
2008 Ford Expedition (daily driver)
2019 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Standard
2019 Harley-Davidson Iron 883 Sportster
Jzagro

Re: Half the rear lights working. Right Side Only. Help.

Post by Jzagro »

Thanks a ton guys! I cleaned it all up and got the left side to work again! Just got to replace two bulbs and it'll be all set!

Thanks.
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