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Old 08-14-2010, 06:13 PM   #1
Piece of Work
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One tail light is brighter than the other, why?

My right tail light is brighter than the left. I have switched bulbs and the wiring looks good. Any ideas on the cause?
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Old 08-14-2010, 06:23 PM   #2
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Re: One tail light is brighter than the other, why?

Sounds like a ground issue.
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Old 08-14-2010, 06:26 PM   #3
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Re: One tail light is brighter than the other, why?

I was afraid of that. Back through the wiring I go! Maybe I'll just put ground straps everywhere.
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Old 08-14-2010, 06:38 PM   #4
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Re: One tail light is brighter than the other, why?

i would reccomend checking all the grounds for rust. take a piece of sandpaper and make sure everythings metal to metal.
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Old 08-14-2010, 06:38 PM   #5
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Re: One tail light is brighter than the other, why?

Any chance the tail light wire and the stop/turn light wire are crossed?
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Old 08-14-2010, 06:47 PM   #6
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Re: One tail light is brighter than the other, why?

Yep, poor ground on the dim one.
For kicks, take a scrap piece of wire that is long enough to reach a known good ground and connect it to your tail light bucket. You will see it brighten right up!

Ask me how I know this...
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Old 08-14-2010, 06:53 PM   #7
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Re: One tail light is brighter than the other, why?

Poor ground, I had the same issue.
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Old 08-14-2010, 08:20 PM   #8
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Re: One tail light is brighter than the other, why?

Quote:
Originally Posted by vectorit View Post
Yep, poor ground on the dim one.
For kicks, take a scrap piece of wire that is long enough to reach a known good ground and connect it to your tail light bucket. You will see it brighten right up!

Ask me how I know this...
I thought I was the dim one.
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Old 08-14-2010, 08:35 PM   #9
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Re: One tail light is brighter than the other, why?

Umm is the bulb in the socket backwards???
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Old 08-14-2010, 08:47 PM   #10
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Re: One tail light is brighter than the other, why?

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Originally Posted by Hottrucks View Post
Umm is the bulb in the socket backwards???
No, I have tried new bulbs and swapping left and right. I'm going to check the grounds tomorrow.
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Old 08-14-2010, 09:10 PM   #11
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Re: One tail light is brighter than the other, why?

yep, mine are like that as well (left is brighter than right) - and everything back there is brand new except for the bedside lol! - has to be bad ground
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Old 08-15-2010, 12:02 AM   #12
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Re: One tail light is brighter than the other, why?

make sure the bed of the truck is bolted down good i just went through this about 2 weeks ago.
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Old 08-15-2010, 07:08 AM   #13
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Re: One tail light is brighter than the other, why?

take light bucket out clean to bare shiny metal where the bucket mates to bed coat with dielectric grease and reassemble// a ground strap from bedsill to frame crossmember is a good addition
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Old 08-15-2010, 11:21 AM   #14
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Re: One tail light is brighter than the other, why?

Thanks for all the replies! It was a simple ground problem, no more dim bulb.
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Old 08-15-2010, 11:23 AM   #15
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Re: One tail light is brighter than the other, why?

moved to the electrical forum
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