Left rear tail lights go out intermitantly. I can apply slight pressure on the connector and get them to come back on. This implys to me a short in the wiring. Local repair shop says whole tail light assembly and 5 point connector needs to be replaced at @ $400.00.
How can I tell if all this work really needs to be done?
Hi,
Your post/description:
1. "...can apply slight pressure...connector...come back on...: indicates a loose connection or probably corroded terminals. The easy way is to spray it with electrical contact cleaner. The preferred method is to disconnect connector and with a thin sharp object scrape the pins (both male & female). An indicator of corrosion is dull greenish/grayish discoloration of the terminals. At times when the color is brown indicates probability of high current or loose connection. Same cleaning would and should rectify. On some instances, the female connector might be loose where the male will no longer contact tightly. Applying a slight squeeze with a pliers should tighten it up a bit making the joint firm and solid. Of course, safe practice should be exercised and verify the ign/acc is off before doing any electrical work. Please make sure that you don't remove your battery terminals since most current models of car radio units will go into protective/lock mode when battery is disengaged.
2. "...short in the wiring..." beg to disagree. If it were a short, a fuse will blow and it will not light up even intermittently.
Hope this be of some help/idea. Pls post back how things turned up or should you need further information.
Good luck and kind regards.
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