1994 Class A chassis electrical issue

[highdesertranger]

yeah that's some mickey mouse wiring there. In the end once you have the problem figured out those wire nuts and the Scotch Locks got to go.

So as far as I can tell the problem lies in the license plate light where both wires are grounded, correct?

Are both wires still grounded now that the other socket is disconnected?

Highdesertranger

 

[Rhianntp]

I'll definitely be hooking it up proper once this is all settled.. I think its in the license plate light as well.. or part of it anyway... lemme go check that BRB

 

[Rhianntp]

yeah that's some mickey mouse wiring there.  In the end once you have the problem figured out those wire nuts and the Scotch Locks got to go.

So as far as I can tell the problem lies in the license plate light where both wires are grounded,  correct?

Are both wires still grounded now that the other socket is disconnected?

Highdesertranger

Yes.. Both of the wires for the plate holder light give tone to the bare metal frame spot

 

[bullfrog]

Well wire nuts don't belong on a vehicle in my opinion.
So the Black wires are the power for the reverse lights
the Green wires going to all four sockets are the ground wires
the _____ wire that goes to both dual element bulb sockets on both sides is power for the tail lights
the _____wire that is the odd colored wire on the passenger side is the power for the passenger side brake light
the yellow wire on the driver's side is the driver's side power for the driver's side brake light

So fill in the blanks so we know where everything goes and let me know what the blanks are. I await your reply.

 

[highdesertranger]

So the next step I would recommend is to remove all the bulbs in the tail light running light system, then retest the license plate socket. Highdesertranger

 

[highdesertranger]

Once all the bulbs are out you could also check the the brake light circuit and see if it works. Highdesertranger

 

[Rhianntp]

Well wire nuts don't belong on a vehicle in my opinion.
So the Black wires are the power for the reverse lights
    the Green wires going to all four sockets are the ground wires
    the _____ wire that goes to both dual element bulb sockets on both sides is power for the tail lights
    the _____wire that is the odd colored wire on the passenger side is the power for the passenger side brake light
    the yellow wire on the driver's side is the driver's side power for the driver's side brake light

So fill in the blanks so we know where everything goes and let me know what the blanks are. I await your reply.

the Black wires are the power for the reverse lights
the White wires going to all four sockets are the ground wires
the Brown wire that goes to both dual element bulb sockets on both sides is power for the tail lights
the Green wire that is the odd colored wire on the passenger side is the power for the passenger side brake light the yellow wire on the driver's side is the driver's side power for the driver's side brake light

The Green wires you see on the driver side coming out of the hole..provide power, one is going down to the license plate light and the other I believe runs up to the top running lights of the back side ( presumably the wire that powers the non working running lights, as the front top running lights all work)

 

[Rhianntp]

Clearer shot of the driver side

 

[Rhianntp]

Inside the 3rd brake light.. there are two wires... One red which must provide power and one white that ties into the passenger side ground wire nut

 

[Rhianntp]

Once all the bulbs are out you could also check the the brake light circuit and see if it works.  Highdesertranger

I could just remove the sockets completely and just have bare wires since I need to fix the wire nut problem anyways

 

[Rhianntp]

I wonder if there might be a ground wire that is supposed to be for those top running lights disconnected up there.. maybe its supposed to drop down and join a wire nut and isnt ?

 

[Rhianntp]

Just thinking out loud here... I wonder if the problem does exist up there in those top rear running lights.. if disconnecting the green wire that runs up there from the brown wire connections might help?  Is it possible something up there is causing power to feed to the negative side of the fixtures?  Maybe we can disconnect the top running lights and see if the rest of the system functions?  Lemme know what you guys think is best to try given everything I have reported back over the last several posts

 

[Rhianntp]

Incidentally if you guys ever meet up or attend RTR or some other get together, we here would gladly buy you a case of beer or whatever it is you like to drink for all this help 

 

[highdesertranger]

yes you could try that. highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

Okay first too many posts for my internet to keep up! Lol!!!
So: the Green wire is the passenger side brake light
the Yellow wire is the driver's side brake light
the Brown wire is the tail/running light
the black wire is the reverse lights
the white wire is the ground
So the third brake light should have a white ground wire and a ______ power wire ( just two wires right?) Picture of the wires and socket please.
the license plate should have a white ground wire and _______ power wire ( just two wires right? Picture of the wires and sockets please.

I am unfamiliar with third brake lights as I imagine they have some type of control module built in that senses steady current so they don't flash when the turn signal flashes the right or left brake light and most likely are powered by one of the brake lights. You may have shorted out the module if there is one I'll have to research that, time to update myself I guess! Lol!!!

 

[Rhianntp]

3rd brake light has a red wire that disappears towards the drivers side front... and a white wire that connected to ground wire nut on the passengers side...Don't have pictures of the license plate socket as its disconnected.. just the two wires hanging down.. one white that connects to the driver side ground wire nut and a green wire that connects to the drivers side Brown wire nut. There is nothing remarkable about the 3rd brake light socket other than its dirty and easy to take out of the loop as its also wire nutted.

 

[Rhianntp]

Maybe that 3rd brake light should have its own ground rather than being tired into the ground of the other brake lights?

 

[bullfrog]

I was confused about "another green wire" and the wire nut with green and white wires in the picture. The manufacture surly didn't use a green wire where a Brown running light wire should have been run and a green wire where a White ground wire should have been run. Maybe someone had a bunch of green wire left? That might make identifying different circuits difficult! Make sure you label everything so you know which wire goes where before you disconnect it. Yes the more you can get rid of beyond the drivers side where the wires come from the front the easier it will be to test. Fill in the blanks and take the pictures from post #195 please.

 

[Rhianntp]

Refresh your browser or look back a few posts. I answered stuff from #195

 

[Rhianntp]

I think you might be on to something when you mentioned I might have burned out whatever controls the 3rd brake light. To be honest I don't care if the 3rd brake light ever works again.. just want everything else to work.  There is an after market trailer wiring harness installed and associated brake controller thing by the dash. I do not need either of these items as I never intend to tow anything, much less something thats large enough to need a brake controller. I wonder if that 3rd brake light is controlled by that after market brake controller?