Bad Ground in Taillight

Does anyone have any advice in chasing a bad ground in a taillight? The car is a 1953 Pontiac chieftain. I was thinking the turnsignal unit in the steering column would be a good place to start but i didn't want to tear that apart before i asked if there are any common areas for bad grounds in the taillight.

Thanks for all help!

Chris

 

Make sure the bulb is grounded good in the socket. Then make sure the tail light is grounded good to the body. Odds are it's at the bulb.

 

where it grounds at the tail light! most times

 

Well i put a test light on the ground wire of the light that's bad, and on the positive of the one that's good and no light. I also switched the sockets from one side to the other with no luck. Both bulbs are New. Do most taillights ground on the body or with a ground wire?

Thanks!

Chris

 

What are tha symptoms? Turn signal ,brake, both. If both then stay out of the steering column.Have you checked to be sure you are getting juice at the socket when you are supposed to?

 

Well im not sure if the brake light is working, but i dont think it is (just went through all the brakes and car has been off the road for awhile). My one tail light works the other does not. Im getting a light on my test light on the bad side when i use a different ground. So i'm getting power, but no ground.

 

Most old cars the bulb grounds through the socket, which grounds through the mounting screws into the body. When the socket gets crusty, the ground goes away, or when the screws are stripped out or the area where the screws enter the body is rusty, the ground goes away.

Since you have power to the test light when you use a different ground, either your bulb socket is bad or the mounting screws are not making a good connection. You may be able to run a different new wire from the light fixture to a good ground and have it work. It it works, do the same thing to the other side, it can't be long before it doesn't work either. Gene

 

i weld a tab to the socket for a spade connector and then run a wire to a good ground. to test make a test wire, ground it and then touch the outside of the socket, if it lights up you have a bad ground.

 

The china junk bulbs we get nowdays. Try to find some good bulbs and it might clear up.

 

Puttin an extra ground wire on lights never hurts.

 

If i take the wires off of the socket and hold them to the buld on the drivers side (working side) the bolb lights. If i do the same to the passenger side (broken side) the bulb does not work. This is why im thinking this has a ground wire, and not a body-mount ground. I have two wires going to the bulb, is the one just the flahsher, or is one brake and the other lights, or is the second wire a ground?

Thanks for all help so far!

Chris

 

One parking lamp wire .. One stop turn wire... Light fixture grounds to body r
Through fasting screws ??

 

The socket is held in place by a triangular spring. IF this second wire is power for the stop light than i just need to ground it to the body via a small lead. I did try to ground it by just holding it to the body but it kept poping the fuse?

Attached is a wireing diagram for a 55 poncho, its similar but not exact.

Thanks again,

Chris

 

Sockets that rely on friction for a ground are always subject to give trouble,if theres paint under them they don't ground,if there ain't paint under em they rust and won't ground.I like to soilder a wire on the side of the socket and go to a screw somewhere.

 

take some emery cloth or sand paper an sand the inside of the socket, then run a wire from the socket housing to the body or frame. If the bulb has two contacts on the bottom then it is for tail light and brake light or turn signal. On my 53 the upper bulb is tail lights and turn signal, and the lower is tail lights and brake lights, yours is probably the same.

 

Your statement isn't perfectly clear here, but the way I interpreted it, I think that you are wrong. If there are two wires going to the socket then one is for your tail lights and the other is for brakes/turn signal (brakes and turn signal use the same light filament in the bulb). If you are grounding one of these wires, yes you will blow a fuse every time.

Oilslinger is right on with his advice.
The two wires need to run to the socket, they probably go into the 'bottom' of the socket and are attached to little button style terminals that are visible when you look into the socket with the bulb removed. The ground will go from the outside part of the socket itself. If there is not a wire running from the outside of the socket and attached to the body somewhere close by then you should try to attach a wire in that manner to act as a ground.
It's simple once you get your head around it, and you will, just be persistent.

Scott

 

Thanks for all the help. Tonight I'm going to try to clean/and ground the socket better, and we will see what happens.

Thanks again!

Chris