72 challenger

[chongo25]

I bought a new rear light harness because my taillights were out and i only had one brake light. I replace the bulbs first but that did not do anything. So upon getting the new taillight harness my dad and I plug it in and still have the same problem, so i am wondering where should i go to look next? My dad is in town for the night the info would be greatly appreciated. The headlights do work so maybe I have to pull the dash and pull the wires there? Idk.

[Jamiez]

The tail light sockets ground to the housings, if the ground is bad the light won't work.  I would use a multimeter and check the ground.  If the ground is good, I would check the voltage to the socket and see if that is good.  If the voltage isn't good, you'll need to trace it back to the kick panel and see if there is power going to the harness.

[chongo25]

Thanks for the response, the ground is good. We had taillights and brake light but lost them.

[chongo25]

When we lost the brake light, the dome light came on.

[chongo25]

When we lost the brake light, the dome light came on.

I should have said when the brake light went out. We press the brake and the dome light came on.

[Jamiez]

odd.....when you turn on the dome light (either by maxing the dimmer or opening the door) does the brake light come on?

[chongo25]

No. Just only the brake pedal.

[chongo25]

Is there any way to get to the wires in the dash without taking the whole dash apart? or suggestions from anyone?

[Jamiez]

Which wires? The rear harness connects behind the drivers side kick panel. The dimmer panel can be removed with just a few screws.

[chongo25]

Thanks for the responding. We figure it out to take the dimmer part out now.

[tommyg29]

Oh boy, Im no electrical expert by any means but when you operate one device and another operates instead, it is either miswired (probably not your case) or the ground is bad. Bad grounds cause all kinds of weird symptoms.
The current will always seek a path to ground and it may do so by backfeeding through a device that shares a common feed somewhere along the way.

[chongo25]

We are trying to find the bad wire or spot is. We got brake lights now. So now we are working on taillights.

[chongo25]

Couldn't figure it out. Do you guys think it could be wiring up inside the dash if so should I take it all the way off. Also when
We put the switch panel back together, we lost a brake light. So now only one is working.
 

[Jamiez]

I would check the outputs of the connector to the rear harness and verify they are getting close to 12v for the right conditions. (Brake, turn signals, parking lights, dimmer)

[chongo25]

My Dad had to go but I am going to try to figure it out on my own. I think I have a volt meter somewhere so I will get it a try. Not sure if that is the proper name for the instrument. Thanks again.