Brake light and turn signal problems

[PapaMurph3218]

I am having issues with my 89 bronco 2 rear turns signals and brake lights. My driver said brake light works but my passenger side doesn’t. I’m thinking maybe bad wiring idk honestly. With my turns signals they come on but they don’t blink and I can’t find anything to help me. If anyone has any tips that will be helpful thanks

 

[RobbieD]

Make sure that both passenger side bulbs (front and rear) are good first, if you haven't yet. Do the parking and reverse lights work on the pass side?

 

[PapaMurph3218]

Make sure that both passenger side bulbs (front and rear) are good first, if you haven't yet. Do the parking and reverse lights work on the pass side?

Bulbs are brand new and they work cause I switch them with the drivers side so it’s not the bulbs and parking and reverse work on the drivers side but not passenger

 

[RobbieD]

Bulbs are brand new and they work cause I switch them with the drivers side so it’s not the bulbs and parking and reverse work on the drivers side but not passenger

Okay; right turn signal on, or hazards on, does the passenger front turn bulb come on at all?

 

[PapaMurph3218]

Okay; right turn signal on, or hazards on, does the passenger front turn bulb come on at all?

yep front passenger comes on but it doesn’t blink. It only blinks with the hazard lights on

 

[RobbieD]

parking and reverse work on the drivers side but not passenger

If all three of those circuits don't work (stop/turn, park & reverse), that means it's not likely the combination switch on the steering column, but rather it's more likely a harness problem. Chances are the fault is in the back, underneath and behind the bumper.

First thing I'd check, is locate the this harness in the rear, running from beneath the driver tail light, and follow it's run over to the passenger tail light. Look for any evidence of a trailer harness, or signs that a trailer harness was added in the past. Temporarily remove the protecting tubing off of the wires to look for any breaks in the wires' insulation, and look for blue or pink "ScotchLok" type splices. These are guaranteed to rot, and even if removed they leave a "bite" in the insulation, and the conductors corrode and break.

Beneath the driver tail light is a 4-pin connector (C213) that has the wires going over to the passenger tail light. Check that that connector is plugged tight, and that there's no corrosion or "green rust" on the terminals or wire conductors.

The ground for the tail light functions is actually up front, on the driver fender well. Doubt is just a bad ground, as the driver side functions OK.

In a lot these cases, a past hack job trailer plug is the culprit, or C213 became unplugged.

 

[RobbieD]

yep front passenger comes on but it doesn’t blink. It only blinks with the hazard lights on

Take a real good look at that rear harness.

Good luck!

 

[Josh B]

Let us know if you find it so we can try fixing ours too

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I’ve seen bad grounds before cause issues, I’m a firm believer in cleaning grounds and coating them in dielectric grease or No-Alox (found in electrical and hardware stores, electricians use it for preventing corrosion on aluminum wire).

A cheap multi-meter or even better a cheap electrical tester (I have a knock off of the Power Probe that was like $20-30 on Amazon) can help a lot with troubleshooting.

Also it sounds like the blinker module may be hors-de-combat. It will be a round canister in the fuse panel under the dash on the drivers side. I can’t remember offhand, there might be one too and bottom, if there is, one is turn signal and one is 4-ways.

 

[PapaMurph3218]

Let us know if you find it so we can try fixing ours too

I found the issue. I clean some connections and my lights starting working but my turn signals weren’t blinking still. I finally put my fuse for the flasher it’s a big round fuse under the dash was bad replaced it and they worked.

 

[PapaMurph3218]

I’ve seen bad grounds before cause issues, I’m a firm believer in cleaning grounds and coating them in dielectric grease or No-Alox (found in electrical and hardware stores, electricians use it for preventing corrosion on aluminum wire).

A cheap multi-meter or even better a cheap electrical tester (I have a knock off of the Power Probe that was like $20-30 on Amazon) can help a lot with troubleshooting.

Also it sounds like the blinker module may be hors-de-combat. It will be a round canister in the fuse panel under the dash on the drivers side. I can’t remember offhand, there might be one too and bottom, if there is, one is turn signal and one is 4-ways.

Thank you for the tips. I cleaned my connections and replaced the module and it fixed the problems

 

[Josh B]

How long you been in Ft Campbell PapaMurph ?

 

[PapaMurph3218]

How long you been in Ft Campbell PapaMurph ?

Little over a year now

 

[Josh B]

Well thank you sir for being there

 

[Cees Klumper]

Good you solved your iseues. Just to add, in my case that was similar symptoms, it turned out to be a poor connection in the steering column. Just had to plug a wire/plug back in that had come semi-loose.