my tail lights wont work, and im out of ideas. i need help! | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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my tail lights wont work, and im out of ideas. i need help!

LONO100

Explorer Addict
Joined
March 23, 2011
Messages
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City, State
Bay Area CA
Year, Model & Trim Level
03 sport trac XLT
hey all,

the other night the lights in my gauge cluster and ac controls went dark while i was driving. when i finally parked, i noticed that my tail lights were out too. my brake lights still came on when i stepped on the pedal though.

here's how i troubled shot it:
-checked fuses, fuses were good. checked bulbs, bulbs were good.
-unhooked battery, opened the dash and replaced the HEAD LIGHT SWITCH which i got from autozone for 20 bucks.
-hooked my battery back up, and my gauge lights came on, ac control lights came on, but the tail lights were still out, and now my ABS light on my dash flipped on.

-then i called ford and was told there wasnt a relay for the tail lights, but a brake light switch attached to the brak pedal. i got a new one from kragen for 13 bucks and replaced the old one.
-no luck, the tail lights still wont work, and the ABS is light is still on.

im thinking the ABS came on because of the bigger tires (33") that i recently put on. my main concern are the tail lights because now i cant drive at night.

can anyone help me with this problem? i really dont want to pay a guy to fix this. any help would be greatly appreciated.
 



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Change the fuse anyway. Ive had fuses look good, but still be faulty.
 






will do sport. if it isnt my fuses, do you have any other advice? also, if my brake lights light up, but my tail lights dont, would it be worth it to change out the bulbs too!?
 






will do sport. if it isnt my fuses, do you have any other advice? also, if my brake lights light up, but my tail lights dont, would it be worth it to change out the bulbs too!?

I wonder if the tail lights and brake lights are the same fuse. You could change the bulbs, but I suspect something bigger, because the dash lights went out too.

Is there any corrosion in the tail light sockets, or in the housing somewhere, or any cuts in the wires that you can see? Chevy trucks are known to get corrosion in the lights and that causes similar issues to what you are having.
 






check that, i found it! now which relay should i be testing? there are about 5 of them.

Man, you've been beating your head on the wall since I've been gone haven't you?

Sending you a schematic of the parking lamp circuit and the position in the Relay Box 2 of the parking lamp relay. If you replaced the headlamp switch and got your dash lamps back then your relay must be good. You must have a problem in the wiring to the rear lights themselves. Did you or did you not have front parking lamps?

Forget the brake lamps. They are completely separate circuits from the park/tail lights.
 






here's how i troubled shot it:
-checked fuses, fuses were good. checked bulbs, bulbs were good. Good
-unhooked battery, opened the dash and replaced the HEAD LIGHT SWITCH which i got from autozone for 20 bucks.Good again, you got dash lights
-hooked my battery back up, and my gauge lights came on, ac control lights came on, but the tail lights were still out, and now my ABS light on my dash flipped on.

-then i called ford and was told there wasnt a relay for the tail lights, They were wrong in relation to the TAIL LIGHTS but a brake light switch attached to the brake pedal. Which is not your problem i got a new one from kragen for 13 bucks and replaced the old one. You wasted that $13
-no luck, the tail lights still wont work, and the ABS is light is still on. Do you have FRONT parking lamps????
 






thanks ranchero. front parking lamps are good and turn on. the only lights in my entire truck that are not working are my tail lights. i had to come to work and probably have to leave early before the sun goes down so i can get home without getting pulled over or getting slammed by someone else. i think i can return the brake light switch, those guys at kragen are pretty easy about stuff like that.

ranchero - do you think this might have anything to do with the connector on my tow hitch? im really stumped on this one. thanks guys for all the help. ill let you know if i get it fixed.
 






The trailer connection could be a likely issue. It could have shorted where it is spliced in, or have a cut in it somewhere. Was it raining when this all started?
 






If you have front parking lamps and dash lamps then all of your switches are good. The problem will be in the harness/connectors to the rear. Did you check for power in the black connector on the left rear frame rail? BROWN WIRE
SportTracTailLightConnector005.jpg


TailLampHarnessConnectorC421-1.jpg
 






The trailer connection could be a likely issue. It could have shorted where it is spliced in, or have a cut in it somewhere. Was it raining when this all started?

Yep, depending on where they spliced it in. If they CUT the harness to splice it in then it could have come apart. If it was "shorted" it would be blowing fuses though.
 






Yep, depending on where they spliced it in. If they CUT the harness to splice it in then it could have come apart. If it was "shorted" it would be blowing fuses though.

True...
 












Check the connections for corrosion on the connecters, that'll cause shorts like stated above.
 






so i should be checking for cuts or breaks in the tow hitch line where its spliced into the harness? thanks guys, you guysv are the S
hit

just wondering if that's what you meant.

yes, check where modifications have been made to the wiring harness, look for rubbing, chaffing. Also you could measure with a meter - which of the signals is missing at the bulb socket. (power or ground)
 






i have a meter, how exactly should i test the tail light? should i be testing it where the light bulbs plug into the socket? im testing for voltage right?

also, it's been dry as a bone out here where i live for the past three months. would disconnecting the tow hitch connection solve the problem? i feel like a reverse vampire right now being that i cant be out once the sun gores down.
 






well fellas, i solved the mystery!!! i was sitting here at work racking my brain about why these damn tailights werent working, then i started looking at the diagram ranchero sent me for the taillamp harness. i didnt have my miltimeter with me but i went out to the parking lot, and started testing the lights again. the brake pedal lit the light up, and the turn signals were working, so i knew it wasnt the bulb. so i started following the plastic hose from where it connects on the rear left of the frame, to where it makes its way toward the front of the car.

then i noticed a small dent in the plastic hose. it wasnt even severed, just a dent like if a rock hit it. so i cut the plastic hose and what do i see, the yellow, green white and brown wires passing through. guess which wire was severed!? the brown one! it was like a one in a million rock shot that hit that hose and cut that one wire because the rest of them were fine. so i pulled out my trusty leather mean, and reconnected the brown wire together and taped it with box tape so i can make it through the night. im going to fix it properly in the morning but at least i know what happened and now i can get home safely tonight.

just want to thank everyone again who chimed in with tips, advice and help. you guys are awesome. the one thing i want to know is how this shorted out my headlight switch which i had to replace last night as well. now on to that damn ABS light!
 






I'm too g through this problem. I will exercise the suggestions.
 












LONO100, can you tell me where abouts you found this cut in the wire in relation to the vehicle? I am having this exact problem right now. all my lights work except the tail lights….even the tow harness has power. my brown wire has to be severed somewhere….
 



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