ERA turn signal and tail light help

d_ford · #1 (**permalink**) 04-19-2006, 10:20 AM

I don't have either rear turn signal and only one tail light. I don't know for sure if this just happened or if I bought the car this way, I know I've checked front turns before (they still work) but I can't remember if I've ever checked the rears. I had the tail lamp socket out today to replace the gasket and after I re-installed it the tail light didn't work either. I've got power on the wire, using a test light, but the bulb won't illuminate. this car has the loop type connectors on the socket that a male bullet connector slips into. The connectors seem loose on the socket and can be wiggled back and forth. Are they prone to lose connection and are they still available or is there an updated version? I'm going to investigate this further when I get home tonight but was wondering if I could get any ideas before I start on it.
Thanks.

REDSC400 · #2 (**permalink**) 04-19-2006, 10:32 AM

Doug:
Check this trouble shooting guide out... (thanks to Bob and ERA for making such a wonderful step by step guide for us!)

http://www.erareplicas.com/427man/wiring/sigtrouble.htm

Also make sure your ground is good. The front and rear signals are on separate wire looms. Make sure the bullet male connectors do indeed have a good connection. You may have to slightly tighten the crimp on the female barrel.

Tongue Pirate · #3 (**permalink**) 04-19-2006, 12:06 PM

If your car is new check to make sure the connections are all in correct order first. I had the left & right wires the wrong color in my cars rear loom. I had to pull & swap them at the connection. Everything works great now. DOn't know if they changed things at some point, if the manual was wrong or if it was a simple mistake during the wiring loom assembly. I checked it three times to make sure.

d_ford · #4 (**permalink**) 04-19-2006, 05:13 PM

Thanks guys! This is a good starting point. The bullet connectors are tight in the loops of the connectors on the lamp housing, it's the loop connectors made on the housing that are loose making me think they've lost connection. I'll look into it further and check out your advice and I'll let you know if I don't find the problem.

d_ford · #5 (**permalink**) 04-19-2006, 05:43 PM

Fixed it! It WAS a bad ground. Got it working fine now. Thanks once again!

Excaliber · #6 (**permalink**) 04-19-2006, 06:11 PM

"Stuff" keeps shifting around in the trunk area of my ERA and disconnects those dang 'bullet style' light connectors. I keep an eye on them if I driving at night to make sure I still have tail and turn signals.

For future referrence...

HSSS427 · #7 (**permalink**) 04-19-2006, 06:14 PM

It seems that grounding is the culprit 75% of the time on these cars. I was having trouble with left rear turn signal and brake light and finally narrowed down to the modular connections between the dash wiring harness and the harness that runs to the rear of the car on the left side.

I also like the trick where if your front right turn signal bulb is loose, the tail lights don't work. Sometimes I feel like I'm working on one of the @%#&^ christmas tree light strings!

d_ford · #8 (**permalink**) 04-19-2006, 08:00 PM

I was wondering myself about those exposed connections in the trunk. A bigger worry for me is having hot bulbs exposed and something combustible coming in contact with them. (a car cover in the trunk comes to mind) I wonder if there's a retrofit cover to protect the tail light assy or if I should just fabricate them myself.

HSSS427 · #9 (**permalink**) 04-19-2006, 08:23 PM

d ford
There is a cover that ERA makes, or you can make yourself from their diagrams. Bob has posted here on this, and it's on the owner's download supplement site at ERA.

REDSC400 · #10 (**permalink**) 04-19-2006, 11:23 PM

The grounds are a sure cause of electrical issues, especially on older Cobras. My issues with the ground were traced back to the thick powder coating of the chasis and the subsequent assembly of the wires. The powder coating is a pretty good insulator. What I had to do was scrape the powder coating off of the chasis at the ground points to insure a good ground. Also, a dab of dielectric grease to the bolt / screw hole helps.

Dim headlights and weird direction light symptoms will be the symptoms of a bad or floating ground. Sometimes this can happen on rough roads with BUMPS.

Regarding the rear lights, you can make a shroud to protect items from touching the hot bulbs. Hsss427 is correct... look in the supplement area.
Bob did the autocad for them.