tail light problem

[jamesmetairie]

05 base vibe. about 120,000 miles on it., automatic tranny. never wrecked or flooded.

drivers side rear tail light not working. it does not have a
brunt out look to it.

i replaced it with bulb 7443 and still getting no light.

should i try replacing the socket ?
is there some fuse involved ?


as always thanks for any advice.

[andrewclaus]

Get a 12V tester and probe the socket for power. If positive, check continuity to ground. Both taillights and both license plate lights are fed from the same junction connector.

Also check your new bulb for continuity. Don't rely on a visual check. Never underestimate the chances of buying a bad one.

[jamesmetairie]

on a second look I see the brake light does light up with the old bulb.
but the regular tail light function does not.

the new bulb didn,t feel right when I put it in.

so it does have juice. just not to the tail light portion of the bulb.
I don,t have the probe you mentioned so I,ll try replacing the socket next.

thanks for the reply.

[joatmon]

before you replace the socket, test the new bulb in the other side just to make sure its a good bulb.

[andrewclaus]

One of those cheap multimeters from Harbor Freight, that they sometimes give away with a coupon, will probe for 12 VDC and will check the bulb filament with an ohmmeter. It would be a handy tool to have for verification of electrical issues like this.

[jamesmetairie]

i have a salvage yard replacement in hand.
our vibe = 2005 socket when pulled apart
has 2 pins inside.

the replacement socket when pulled apart and looked inside has 3 pins connecting.

3 wires = white
green
green and white.

this morning i will look for the color of the existing wires and consider splicing the replacement in.

[joatmon]

Hold on there ...

There are two light bulb sockets in the back corner. One is for a single filament 7440 bulb that is the turn signal and emergency flasher light. THat light socket has two wires going to it. The other is for a dual filament 7443 bulb, one filament is for the tail/running lights, the other is for the brake light. This second socket has three wires, with the colors that you found on the replacement socket.

Before you try to replace the socket, make sure you are working on the correct socket. If you replaced bulb in the two wire socket, that won't affect your tail light. Also, if you put a dual filament 7443 where the 7440 should go, you should put a 7440 back in there.

Just be sure before you cut any wires, the two wire socket is turn/flasher, 7440, the three wire socket is both tail and brake, 7443

[jamesmetairie]

joatmon
you hit the nail on the head.

there,s so much cargo in the area I couldn,t get a good look. I assumed the turn signal bulb was much lower. I was dealing with the wrong socket.

thanks for the replys .
and thanks to all the genvibe online community. you guys are great.