2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Small electrical problem...

[Roamer]

I recently purchased my truck from the original owner and it's in great shape with only about 111k miles. But there's one little electrical problem I was hoping you experts could help with: When I step on the brakes, the right-front parking light illuminates (you know, the yellow light next to the headlight, which is also the turn signal). It doesn't blink, just comes on steady. Not a big deal really - there are no other electrical problems as far as I know - but this really bugs me and I'd like to fix it.

Any idea what's causing this, and how I might fix it?

Thanks in advance!

 

[B.G. Smith]

Bad ground or loose bulb in the right rear tail/stop light. bg

 

[Roamer]

Thanks. I thought it might be related to the rear tail light. I remember dealing with problems like that back in the day when I was putting 1960s muscle cars back together from junk. I didn't realize more modern vehicles still had the same oddities. I'll give that a look ASAP.

 

[Road Dog]

Sometimes -- in a dual filament bulb -- the filaments stretch and touch causing interesting side effects.

 

[tripl-e]

Ground fault-brake light energy finding a ground path through right side marker light circuit. Rear bulb holder or lamp assembly has lost its ground path.

 

[Roamer]

Well I got to pulling the lights off to have a look at the bulbs and it turns out this problem is not related to the bulbs - at all! It looks like one of the OEM wires serving the right-front turn signal got fried, possibly due to battery corrosion. So somebody cut it and patched in a wire running all the way back to the right rear turn signal. This was apparently done so the front signal would blink when necessary. But it also causes the light to glow when the brake lights are on. Oo. Back in the day, this is what we used to call, politely, a Mickey Mouse repair job.

When I have more time, I'm gonna see if the proper wire has a good section left in the loom where I can reattach the light.

 

[Missouri Mule]

Here we call it afro engineering!