day time running lights not working in rear

[stephen15935]

i have a 1994 ford ranger and when i wbought it i noticed that the DRL in the rar are not working, but the ones in the fron are. iv checked all fuses and reokaced the bulb and that did not solve anythin. all of the break light work as well as all of the dash light and dimmer switch. im stumped. can anyone please help?

im talking about the the light that runs off the same bulb as the break light, not like dead light running light, my front yellow marker light are coming on, just not in the rear when i turn my head lights on in either posiosion , probably more like marker/parking lights

 

[Surrey]

I could be wrong, but I think DRLs only turn on headlights, not tail lights

 

[stephen15935]

but shoudnt there be lights that come on in the rear when i turn my head lights on, like every other car that you see driving lol. at night there are no lights on in the bact until i hit the breaks, shoudnt there be the red lights that are always on? like the marker/ parking lights?

 

[Surrey]

but shoudnt there be lights that come on in the rear when i turn my head lights on, like every other car that you see driving lol. at night there are no lights on in the bact until i hit the breaks, shoudnt there be the red lights that are always on? like the marker/ parking lights?

DRLs are daytime running lights. These are madatory in any car from 1996 and new In CANADA. In the USA, I couldnt really say (although I do know for a while DRLs were not standard in US models, when they were in Canada)

They are Headlights ONLY.

They are low-brightness headlights (dimmer than your standard low beam) and turn on when the car is running, without headlights on. They do not do anything in the back end. Also, they are often tied into your E-brake, so they only turn on with the ebrake off.

When you turn your Head lights on, you should get tail lights in the back end.
I assume this is what you are actually asking about???

 

[Surrey]

If your tail lights DO NOT work, but the brake lights do, check all your fuses. If they are good, check your bulbs. Often tail lights and brake lights use a two-filament bulb similar to a headlight, where only one filament does the tail light and the other (or both) do the brake lights (hence why brakes are brighter)

Also, it is good to note that the middle brake light is not connected to the tail lights, only the side ones.

 

[adsm08]

DRLs have never been mandatory in the US (at least not on Federal level like in Canada), and to my knowledge have rarely been standard on anything but Chevies.

If your tails don't work with the parking or headlights on and you have already checked the fuses, check the bulbs as said before. Look for dark spots on the glass (hold them up to a piece of paper) and look closely at the filaments. If the bulbs are OK both should appear very smooth. If they are burnt one will look very rough if not completely broken.

 

[stephen15935]

Yes I'm talking about the parking lights in the rear. Sorry for the confusion. But I have checked all of my fuses and I have replaced the dual filimate bulbs. Still nothing. I just need to get this fixed because I don't want to get pulled over lol. I have also checked the connector under the bed near the middle back end and I'm not getting power in any if the power there. Maybe I'm doing it wrong ? Where is the ground for the parking lights does anyone know?

 

[stephen15935]

Iv just taken a test light hooked up to the positive post on the battery and probed all the wires coming into the tail light. And when I gave each wire power the test light lit up? Does that mean that they are all grounded out? I'm so confused

 

[Andy D]

Iv just taken a test light hooked up to the positive post on the battery and probed all the wires coming into the tail light. And when I gave each wire power the test light lit up? Does that mean that they are all grounded out? I'm so confused

If you have the test lamp clipped to the positive post, any time you touch the probe to a ground, the test lamp will light . Go the other way, clip to a ground, Turn on the headlights. Start probing the tail lights, when you find power, the lamp will shine. I dont enough about the Ranger to tell you which fuse(s) feed the tail lights But that is where I would start Good luck

 

[stephen15935]

I found the problem. I harness that connects the two tail lights from the connector under the bed back , is bad. There is a short somewhere, I was able to wiggle the harness up and down and saw the lights come on. So I used a jumper wire from the brown wire before the connector to right up to the light. This still works with the switch. Thanks for all the help!