I know, there are many threads about this exact issue. But I wanted to be a little more specific.

LHD tail light has 3 wires in bulb, and is working fine. RHD has 2 wires going into the bulb, but needs grounded. The housing is metal, and when the housing is grounded, the grounding tabs on the bulb housing contact the housing and it works fine. So you'd think logically, if i run a grounding strap to the one of the housing pegs, it should work right? Wrong. For some reason, the ground strap only works when touching the actual housing and not the pegs and have a nut to secure to the body.

My dad says I should just wedge the wire in between the housing and the body and clamp it shut. But I'd like a more elegant solution and would love your feedback.

Thanks!

 

The three wires on the LH socket are two from the dash harness (LH turn/brake and tail light) and the one tail light circuit wire that runs from the LH to the RH socket. The RH socket has the other end of that tail light circuit wire and the one for the RH turn/brake circuit.

The housing should ground through the studs to the body. You've likely got corrosion between the steel studs and the pot metal housing. Be sure the bosses on the housing where it touches the body tabs are clean of sealer goop. Consider using star washers between the body and the housing boss to promote conduction.

 

thanks Joe, to pop that housing off, i have to remove the bumper, correct?

 

Yes

 

hey Joe, I took that taillight and and cleaned it up, fixed the grounding issue.

but now that right reverse light is on constantly. Any idea what I could have messed with to cause that? It’s just that one side.

 

Define constantly a little better.
With ALL lights in the OFF position, when you turn the IGN SW to ON, does reverse lamp illuminate e,g, no other lights turned on?

 

correct. It’s always on. And just that one reverse light.