Author Topic: Left rear brake light weirdness  (Read 1807 times)

Offline 340_6pak

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Left rear brake light weirdness
« on: November 13, 2008 - 08:51:30 AM »
I am trying to get an inspection sticker from the State of Texas, and it is proving difficult because of the left rear brake light. It just does not want to come on. The flashers all work, the turn signals all work, the running lights and the right rear brake light all work fine. The wiring harness in the trunk is new, as is the dash harness and the turn signal harness and guts in the steering column. All from Year 1. I switched out the bulb with a known good one.

I grabbed the volt-ohm meter, and worked my way backwards from the trunk to the junction where the tail light harness plugs into the under dash harness. I plugged into the brown wire, (right brake light), stepped on the brake pedal and saw 12+ volts. The Green wire which handles the left brake light was cold. 

Going farther upstream where the dash harness plugs into the steering column harness, I got the same result. So now I am thinking I have an out-of-box failure of the turn signal assembly in the steering column.

So, assuming it is the turn signal assembly, can I jump the green wire and the brown wire to power the left brake light? If so, will this affect the turn signals/flashers, etc? I know it is a hack, but if you guys say no, I have to tear into the column and replace/fix the turn signal assembly. Or is there something I am missing?

Thanks much!
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Offline 71 DEPUTY

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Re: Left rear brake light weirdness
« Reply #1 on: November 13, 2008 - 09:07:15 AM »
IF YOU JUMPER IT OUT- EVERY TIME YOU SIGNAL EITHER LEFT OR RIGHT- both lights will come on!!!!

does sound like a turn signal switch problem. if new then you will have to take the steering wheel off and check to see if it is making contact on that side- contact could be almost touching as maybe the plastic holder is out of wack!

Offline 340_6pak

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Re: Left rear brake light weirdness
« Reply #2 on: November 13, 2008 - 11:24:27 AM »
Thanks, that what I thought would happen. Looks like surgery on the steering column tonight.
« Last Edit: November 13, 2008 - 11:26:04 AM by 340_6pak »
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Offline Chryco Psycho

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Re: Left rear brake light weirdness
« Reply #3 on: November 13, 2008 - 12:09:19 PM »
I agree
 Standard Part # is TW7

Challenger - You`ll wish You Hadn`t

Offline 340_6pak

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Re: Left rear brake light weirdness
« Reply #4 on: November 14, 2008 - 08:23:19 AM »
Update: After getting into the turn signal switch, the bad connection seems to be in the moving part of the switch, i.e. the plastic part that is toggled when the turn signal is used. The way the switch is built, I think I will destroy it if I try to take it apart. ( I will post a picture if anyone is interested.) I might be able to put it back together, but then I would always worry about a failure and since this particular part is difficult to get to, I think I will just put in another one.

Thanks for the help everyone!
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Offline Bullitt-

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Re: Left rear brake light weirdness
« Reply #6 on: November 15, 2008 - 06:38:53 AM »
year one seels replacement. I bought one.....

Offline 340_6pak

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Re: Left rear brake light weirdness
« Reply #7 on: November 15, 2008 - 03:01:10 PM »
I got one from Year one as well. It should be here on Monday. The cam that is pictured above posted by bullitt99 is similar, but only has two wires in it as far as I can tell. The one in my Challenger has much more wiring in it. Here is a photo. (If I attached it right.) It is not only the cam, but the entire switch. Mopar wired the horn, turn signals, flashers, etc all through one piece. What I was not able to do is seperate the cam from the rest of the switch which I needed to do to repair it.

The bronze or copper post sticking up is the horn connection, and on the outside of the part you can see the number 426. Right behind that there is a round black piece of metal that holds the cam to the switch. This piece is where the turn signal lever attaches to the unit, and you can just see where the black  piece comes through the white plastic cam and is spread out on the bottom of the unit. Look at the black blob just under the pink wire just under the 426. The problem here is that this looks like some sort of a crimp fit, and the metal itself will not bend without breaking. Thats what I meant when I previously said I could not get the unit apart without breaking it.

Because so many of the lights are controlled by this one part, I decided to buy a new one rather break this one, try to fix the original issue, then fix what I broke to get it apart, then hope that I did not create any new issues with the patch job fix.

One thing to note. The one that is pictured and that is getting replaced, is a Year One unit that is about 18 months old. It worked when it was installed, and since then the car has been in various shops and my garage undergoing restoration. In other words there are very few miles on this unit. Before I install the new one, I will triple check it with the volt-ohm meter. No disrespect or bashing of Year One, I just feel the design of this piece could be a little better, especially since it is such a pain to access.

(Sorry if this double posts, The picture and I are having a fight!)
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