- Joined
- Jun 16, 2007
- Threads
- 24
- Messages
- 205
- Location
- Huntersville, NC
- Website
- www.charvoniadesign.com
Hi fellow Cruiserheads! I recently had an issue with the tail lights on my '87 FJ60 that some of you might also encounter, and wanted to share my fix so hopefully it saves someone else some trouble.
Symptoms:
Both green arrows in instrument cluster randomly illuminated while driving.
Turn signals worked intermittently
Pressing brake illuminated green arrows in instrument cluster
Pressing brake illuminated turn signal lights instead of brake lights. Power was swapping from bulb to bulb somewhere.
Front driver marker light did not work, had power on both wires - no ground.
Findings:
The horn plug and marker light plug are the same! Horn has two green wires, both hot. Marker light has a green hot and a white/black ground. Once I figured this out and swapped them that problem was solved.
Pulled all bulbs, checked out fine.
Checked all fuses, fine.
Found t-taps on rear lighting harness under back of truck, right behind the bumper area. Removed t-taps to find wires partially broken. Repaired wires, still not fixed.
Solution:
Ground under back of truck in center was not making good contact. I removed the 10mm head bolt and discovered 1: corrosion/dirt on the ground ring terminal and 2: painted surface where ground attaches.
I cleaned the terminal with a wire brush and used a dremel to remove the paint on the body. Put it all back together and problem solved!
I know checking grounds is a basic concept, but I was chasing my tail on this issue until I realized the tail lights share a common ground at the back of the truck. Fortunately I also discovered a couple of other issues and fixed them while I was at it, but the root cause was one simple ground, and a five minute fix.
Symptoms:
Both green arrows in instrument cluster randomly illuminated while driving.
Turn signals worked intermittently
Pressing brake illuminated green arrows in instrument cluster
Pressing brake illuminated turn signal lights instead of brake lights. Power was swapping from bulb to bulb somewhere.
Front driver marker light did not work, had power on both wires - no ground.
Findings:
The horn plug and marker light plug are the same! Horn has two green wires, both hot. Marker light has a green hot and a white/black ground. Once I figured this out and swapped them that problem was solved.
Pulled all bulbs, checked out fine.
Checked all fuses, fine.
Found t-taps on rear lighting harness under back of truck, right behind the bumper area. Removed t-taps to find wires partially broken. Repaired wires, still not fixed.
Solution:
Ground under back of truck in center was not making good contact. I removed the 10mm head bolt and discovered 1: corrosion/dirt on the ground ring terminal and 2: painted surface where ground attaches.
I cleaned the terminal with a wire brush and used a dremel to remove the paint on the body. Put it all back together and problem solved!
I know checking grounds is a basic concept, but I was chasing my tail on this issue until I realized the tail lights share a common ground at the back of the truck. Fortunately I also discovered a couple of other issues and fixed them while I was at it, but the root cause was one simple ground, and a five minute fix.
