Recently purchased a 1989 Ford Mustang GT project car. Did a ton of work today and it is running good. Still have a few issues, one being the rear spoiler brake light and the license plate lights do not work. Changed the bulbs but still nothing. The lower brake lights, turn signals and reverse lights work great. Just not sure where to start on trying to fix the problem above. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.
Get a meter or test light and see if you have 12 V to the lights. If you do check the ground wires.
just do normal electrical diagnostics- start at the bulb and work your way forward to the brake light switch at the pedal.. also, check the ground path..
Check the fuses also.
Slippery wrote: Check the fuses also.
Should be the first stop after checking the bulbs. I good multi-meter is worth it's wieght in gold when working with electrical issues, so get one if you can afford it. I have a Wavetek and would highley reccomend them. Don't be afraid to buy used, these are built to last, if you can snag this one, it looks like a great bargain.
In reply to t25torx: thanks for the info.
If you don't have 12v at the sockets check the point where the wires go from hatch to body, it's usually a rubber boot encased sleeve that allows the wires to pass through, it also flexes every time the hatch is opened, that is the spot the wires on my civic flexed over time to the point of breaking, had to simply but connect the wires back and had my 3rd brake, wiper and rear defrost back.
hatch and 3rd brake light are on the hatch. Check your wires where they go from the body of the car to the hatch
the third brake light on my 86 Camaro works half the time, blinks like crazy a quarter of the time, and doesn't work at all the remaining quarter of the times.. it's because GM decided that it was a better idea to use contacts at the rear of the hatch and on the body back by the latch instead of just running a damn wire to the roof next to where the brake light is mounted. i've seen similar setups for the rear door speakers of 90's Suburbans... maybe your car has something like that?
You'll need to log in to post.
