Thread: need tail light help again

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I just replaced the tail light socket in the driver side of my Rambler with a Ron Francis RR-33 socket.. put in a German version of the 1157 ( the solder on the side of a standard 1157 interferes, this german version does not have that, and It seems to work good )... anyway, lights work perfectly until I turn the parking lights on, then, hitting the brakes will shut the lights off completley ( no parking lights or brake lights. but turn signals will still function. what could be causing this? only happens on that side, passanger side works fine

sounds like you don't have a good ground to your new socket. Hank

that is what I diagnosed earlier... the Rambler's taillight assemblys are held in by the 2 screws that hold the lense on. there are 2 tabs on the back side attached to the body that the screws go into... I was testing, and testing and everything tested that it should work but it didn't ( this was with the lense off, and therefor a loose housing ).. went in here and posted the thread, then went back out and turned everything on ( with the lense/ housing fully attached ) and everything was working.

If the Ron Francis socket is anodized, there could be a intermittent ground problem since anodize is a non-conductor....the anodize may need to be removed in the ground path to ensure a good bond. Also, rust is a poor conductor.

the socket is aluminum, no annodizing on it.. the tail light housing is also aluminum, so conductor is no problem.. what is the problem is that, it essentially grounds through only the 2 bolts that hold the lense/ housing in.. it's a poor design. I think I'm going to run a ground wire from both sockets to a good ground.

If I understand your reply, you are saying that a Rambler in Arkansas has no tail lights when the screws fall out and the lenses break.....but, under Arkansas vehicle code, there must be at least one broken tail light, a cracked windshield, and the trunk lock mechanism must have a 30-06 bullet hole instead of a key receptacle.

well.. I don't quite follow you exactly but, if the screws come out, the entire assembly would likely come out, leaving only the wires to hold it in.

That's exactly how Kenny Davis does it in Arkansas!!
Multiple use for wires....holds the tail light from hitting the road.