Problem with Tailights

[Jessidog]

I removed the rear taillight assemblies to paint the rear bumper on my daughter's 2003 Mustang. I removed the eight bulb sockets, but did not disconnect any wiring. The front turn signals work, the front driving lights work and the center brake light on the trunk works. However, none of the eight bulbs that go into the headlight housing are working. They were all working before I removed the light assembly. I thought it might be that the housing serves as the ground connection, but it does not look like it works that way. Any suggestions of where to look would be greatly appreciated.

David

 

[yaboy4life93]

I removed the rear taillight assemblies to paint the rear bumper on my daughter's 2003 Mustang. I removed the eight bulb sockets, but did not disconnect any wiring. The front turn signals work, the front driving lights work and the center brake light on the trunk works. However, none of the eight bulbs that go into the headlight housing are working. They were all working before I removed the light assembly. I thought it might be that the housing serves as the ground connection, but it does not look like it works that way. Any suggestions of where to look would be greatly appreciated.

David

Hey man, that is really weird. I always mess around back there and nothing like that has ever happened. Perhaps like a string of christmas lights, if one bulb or socket is short circuited it causes all of them to go out-I doubt that though. Maybe it is a fuse that has blown, or maybe one of the bulbs needs some grease in order to make full contact. It can be a number of things. Good luck man, and I hope you find the culprit. If and when you do, if you can post what was causing it, that would be great.

 

[Jessidog]

Hey man, that is really weird. I always mess around back there and nothing like that has ever happened. Perhaps like a string of christmas lights, if one bulb or socket is short circuited it causes all of them to go out-I doubt that though. Maybe it is a fuse that has blown, or maybe one of the bulbs needs some grease in order to make full contact. It can be a number of things. Good luck man, and I hope you find the culprit. If and when you do, if you can post what was causing it, that would be great.

I found the problem - a senior moment on my part. I forgot that I unplugged the lights from the harness because I thought the wiring for the lights would come out with the housing. The connector is behind the liner in the trunk and I had quite a bit of paper and tape for the overspray so I did not see them at first. After reconnecting the plugs, all the lights are working fine.

Thanks for the assist.

David