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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Focus / February 2009Tail light on passenger side not working, bulb OK
I noticed that the passenger side tail light wasn't working on my 04 Focus Zetec (UK), so I replaced the bulb (correct dual filament) but it still doesn't work. The brake light filament works fine, however. I then noticed that the bulb I took out wasn't broken, and I could verify this by temporarily installing it on the driver side (I also tested the new bulb in this way). I checked a few light related fuses (not sure which actually covered the tail light circuit though - side lights?) and all seemed OK. Anyone have any ideas as to what could be wrong, or what I could do to further diagnose the problem? >I noticed that the passenger side tail light wasn't working on my 04 > Focus Zetec (UK), so I replaced the bulb (correct dual filament) but [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Anyone have any ideas as to what could be wrong, or what I could do to > further diagnose the problem? A common problem in many cars is the ground connection to the socket. If that is the case the brake light won't work when the taillight is on (but not lighting). The way that works is that the brake light can find a circuit through the tail light filament (the tail light filament is the one actually supplying most of the light, but it isn't obvious) as long as the tail light doesn't have power on it. The ground comes through the other lights on the circuit. When the taillight is powered on that ground goes away and the brake light no longer works on that side. Mike > <eazily...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message > [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Mike Hi Mike, Dunno if I interpreted your post correctly but the problem I have is that the tail light doesn't work, but the brake light does (not the other way round). Could this still be caused by a grounding problem? Rick On Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:27:16 -0800, eazilyled wrote: >> <eazily...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message news:c21d0260-2b3f-4aa9-89ff-9d45d042ed91@r15g2000prh.googlegroups.com... >> >I noticed that the passenger side tail light wasn't working on my 04 >> > Focus Zetec (UK), so I replaced the bulb (correct dual filament) but [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > Rick Unlikely. Either there is no feed to the light cluster, or the cluster is faulty. On the assumption that you don't have any test equipment, the easiest way to narrow down the fault is to plug in the cluster from the opposite side of the car. If the light then works, it's the cluster, if it doesn't then there is no feed. If the fault is in the cluster, careful visual examination might reveal the bulb contact bent, broken or corroded for example. If there is no feed, trace the wiring loom back to the nearest multi-plug and disconnect/re-connect that a few times. Chris  SignatureRemove prejudice to reply. OK thanks Chris, I also have a digital multimeter at my disposal. Would that make it any easier to check feed / cluster? Cheers, Rick On Mon, 26 Jan 2009 06:28:51 -0800, eazilyled wrote: > OK thanks Chris, > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Cheers, > Rick Yep; remove the bulb, set meter to Vdc, connect the negative lead to a good earth point, switch lights on and carefully test on the two bulb connections. You should see 12ish volts on one if them. If voltage is present, the bit of metal may just need careful bending in order to get it to make contact. Also, check that the two blobs on the new bulb are roughly at the same height; I have known a badly-made bulb cause connection problems. If no voltage at the bulb connection, you need to visually identify the wire, and trace it back to the multi-plug. Carry out a test here for voltage. If you are certain that there is no voltage present on the correct pin of the multi-plug, you will next need either a wiring diagram and the ability to read it, or an auto electrician. Chris SignatureRemove prejudice to reply. Just as a follow up, I finally fixed this. The bulb socket was faulty meaning that no voltage was getting through to the tail light metal connection. Got a replacement socket from Ford (£5), fitted it (very easy, just unplug old one and plug in new one), and problem was resolved! Cheers, Rick > Hi Mike, > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Rick The check is if the brake light works when the headlight switch is off but not when it is on. That is a strong indication of a bad ground, while if the brake light works either way you need to find out what happened to the voltage. Chris has you going on that part. Older cars often have the ground problem, but I've seen it in newer cars, too. Mike Thanks Chris and Mike, The brake light does work with the lights on or off, so I'll start investigating the voltage (probably at the w/end when there is some daylight!). One final question - how do these dual filament bulbs work? Does each blob on the bottom of the bulb supply positive voltage to a filament, with a common ground on the barrel? Cheers, Rick On Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:43:42 -0800, eazilyled wrote: > One final question - how do these dual filament bulbs work? Does each > blob on the bottom of the bulb supply positive voltage to a filament, > with a common ground on the barrel? > > Cheers, > Rick Essentially, yes; they are not polarity dependent of course, so equally you could put the negatives to the solder blob, and make the positive common. Or supply them from an ac source. If you think about how they are connected internally, if the common (ground) connection fails, then the two filaments are in series. This is what provides the odd effects Michael Pardee was describing. Chris SignatureRemove prejudice to reply. eazilyled@yahoo.co.uk wrote in news:c21d0260-2b3f-4aa9-89ff-9d45d042ed91 @r15g2000prh.googlegroups.com: > I noticed that the passenger side tail light wasn't working on my 04 > Focus Zetec (UK), so I replaced the bulb (correct dual filament) but [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Anyone have any ideas as to what could be wrong, or what I could do to > further diagnose the problem? I had the same problem. Believe it or not, each SIDE of the car has a different fuse when it comes to tail lights, NOT one fuse for both. Check your fuses and you find the problem. Friggin thing had me going for a bit.... |
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