Gentlemen, I fear I've made a hash of things and I'm in need of some guidance here. My left brake light does not work, which seems a simple problem, but alas nothing is ever easy. I've checked and replaced the socket and ground, as well as swapped the bulb with the right side, just to make sure it's good as well. Everything seems to be working properly, expect that I get no brake light when I depress the peddle. Last night I swapped out my dimmer switch, it was going bad (lights wouldn't come on sometimes, other times they'd flicker when I drove, bad scene altogether), messed with my driver side door a little (it's got a wiggle, no biggie), and then decided to take yet another look at that tail light. I wiggled some wires, tried to get eyes on the brake switch (I managed that feat, but boy howdy is that thing hiding out). I pulled the bulb and looked at the wiring again, then put it all back together and called it a night. It was a half an hour of doing not much at all, truthfully. Well, this morning the bad brake light status quo is maintained, however now my left turn signal won't blink. Good news is, my right side works fine, so I got that going for me. Lights on - No left brake light (right is fine). Rear running light lights up. Front and rear left turn indicators light up, no blinking. Left side indicators will light up but shut off when left turn is signaled (normal, I believe). Lights off - No left brake light (right is fine). Front, rear, and side indicators all light up, no blinking. Any ideas what might be going on? I'm assuming I've goofed something last night that has killed my left side indicator, but the brake thing has been an issue for a few months now. The car is a '71 Maverick with auto transmission.
I agree with Craig, brake lights run through the switch and can do strange stuff. You might try holding the brake and slowly move the turn signal switch toward a right turn. My old Pontiac would do the same thing, I figured it had to do with 30 or more years of the lever and gravity pulling on it that wears on the left side more than the right. Another thing that makes them weird out is a bad hazard flasher and the hazard switch in the on position.
Sounds like a good bet to me then. I'll check the switch as Miller suggested and go from there. It looks like this is about a $13 part, so if it turns out not to be the issue after replacing the part, it's no biggie. Thank you for the info!
The thing was being marketed as a switch on one website I was looking at, not a stop-gap fix kit, which it actually is. My mistake for not accounting for shady item naming. Looks like Advance Auto may have a part, but I'll wait until I've got eyes on the piece in my car before I think "this is it." Either way, I'm learning a lot!
They work, but the left side lights do not work as indicators when the headlights are on. The left side will light up when the headlights are on, but then they go dark when I signal a left turn (when the front and rear lights light up). If the headlights are off, then all four lights will light up, but no flash, just a constant on. The right works fine on all fronts.
I'm never one to turn my nose up at a helping hand! Especially when I can learn something. EDIT - After coming home I got a chance to test it, like Miller suggested and right on the money, I got some response from the brake light when the signal lever moved right/up. Problem successfully diagnosed!
