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Rear turn signal bulbs come on when applying brake


dccarpenter

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2000
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Ford
Engine Type
2.5 (4 Cylinder)
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Hello, was hoping someone could point me in the right direction of what kind of wiring problem to look for on my tail lights. It is a 2000 Ranger 2wd , 2.5 4 cyl manual transmission regular cab.

When I hit the turn signal I get the fast flashing bulb, when I apply the brake pedal I get my tail lights to come on like normal but the rear turn bulbs comes on when braking as well. It does not come on when just the headlights/tail lights are on.

Both of my rear turn signal bulbs come on when I go for either a right or left turn (I believe tail lights flash as well).

All of my bulbs appear to be working. All of my lighting worked correctly as of a week ago.

My wiring is a little messy with a previous owner spliced in trailer light plug, I checked all of those connections and wires today though and they were tight and not corroded as far as I could see and as of a week ago all lighting was working correctly.

I've had intermittent corrosion problems at one of the tail lights, I've had to hit the bulb contact metal with sandpaper. In these instances it was always a light not working that clued me in, but this time the bulbs are all coming on. Should I focus on cleaning all my bulb sockets in the back and opening every splice and inspecting it? Or do I have a possible switch problem at the steering column? My front turn signals are working correctly.
 


ericbphoto

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1993
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Ford Ranger
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Check the ground connection. It is often on the rear crossmember. It needs to be a clean, tight metal to metal contact.
 

dccarpenter

Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2019
Messages
39
Reaction score
22
Points
8
Location
Owings, MD
Vehicle Year
2000
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
2.5 (4 Cylinder)
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
Thanks for the assist Eric. I got under the truck after work and checked everything out, the ground looked ok. I removed the wirenut where the trailer hitch got power and there was some corrosion so I cleaned that off. One of the crimped on butt connectors was a little loose on one of the other wires in the taillight harness so I tightened that up.

The combination of those efforts got my lights working normally again , a big relief as the Ranger is my only ride.
 

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