Warning, this is a long story but i wanted to document everything I've done to this point:
I've been slowly trying to resolve a rapid flashing issue I've had with presumably my tail lights as all front DRL lights work properly. At first I thought it was just the turn signal bulbs and one brake light bulb, so I replaced all 6 with new ones just to be thorough. Still, the rapid blinking persisted on both sides and so after digging around on these forums and others, decided to see if a new flasher relay would be an inexpensive possible solution, and I picked up an HD flasher relay from NAPA (#EP29). Still, the problems persisted but I noticed sometimes it was both sides, or just one that would hyper-flash.
So next I took to testing the tail light pig tail connectors with a test light and probes. Running lights, brake/turn, and reverse pins all lit up as expected. I pinned the ground wire and hooked the test light clip to check continuity and passed that test as well. For the sake of being thorough, I removed the ground cable, sanded the frame and ring terminals, greased and re-mounted it. Ran through all the test again, and everything passed. I then checked all 6 bulbs for continuity with no issues.
My next target was the circuit boards. They were both OEM and likely the originals. The sockets on both honestly looked terrible with a lot of yellow/brown build-up in the sockets. I connected the boards and re-did my probe tests from the sockets. I had to dig around a lot to get the tester to light up properly, even after trying to brush out a lot of that yellowish gunk, and so I went about getting a set of TYC-brand replacement circuit boards.
Today, I hooked everything up expecting to finally be rid of the issue, but alas, continued rapid blinking on both sides and the bulbs seemed to work randomly. I was doing a test on the reverse bulbs when I happened to tap the circuit board on the body (trying to prop it up). For a brief moment, the reverse bulb lit up, weakened, and died. Fiddling around I found that if I squeezed the weatherpack connector and circuit board together, that the lights would come on. I was able to get the driver's side board to light up using the same technique, which made me a bit suspicious. I grabbed the OEM boards and tried squeezing the connector/board together to see if the bulbs would light up, but it didn't work (likely since they're in such bad shape to begin with).
There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the weatherpack connectors; I even de-pinned the wires, inspected them for corrosion, and connected them directly to the TYC circuit boards. It's just that in order to ensure the bulbs work, I have to apply pressure even after they connector and board are latched together, and I'm starting to reach the bottom of my bag of tricks to resolve this issue. Should I try something risky like adding solder to the circuit board or wire pins to help facilitate a stronger connection? Try new weatherpack housings although nothing appears to be wrong with the pins themselves? Any ideas are appreciated at this point, or if anybody else experienced the same problems.
Other details:
I've been slowly trying to resolve a rapid flashing issue I've had with presumably my tail lights as all front DRL lights work properly. At first I thought it was just the turn signal bulbs and one brake light bulb, so I replaced all 6 with new ones just to be thorough. Still, the rapid blinking persisted on both sides and so after digging around on these forums and others, decided to see if a new flasher relay would be an inexpensive possible solution, and I picked up an HD flasher relay from NAPA (#EP29). Still, the problems persisted but I noticed sometimes it was both sides, or just one that would hyper-flash.
So next I took to testing the tail light pig tail connectors with a test light and probes. Running lights, brake/turn, and reverse pins all lit up as expected. I pinned the ground wire and hooked the test light clip to check continuity and passed that test as well. For the sake of being thorough, I removed the ground cable, sanded the frame and ring terminals, greased and re-mounted it. Ran through all the test again, and everything passed. I then checked all 6 bulbs for continuity with no issues.
My next target was the circuit boards. They were both OEM and likely the originals. The sockets on both honestly looked terrible with a lot of yellow/brown build-up in the sockets. I connected the boards and re-did my probe tests from the sockets. I had to dig around a lot to get the tester to light up properly, even after trying to brush out a lot of that yellowish gunk, and so I went about getting a set of TYC-brand replacement circuit boards.
Today, I hooked everything up expecting to finally be rid of the issue, but alas, continued rapid blinking on both sides and the bulbs seemed to work randomly. I was doing a test on the reverse bulbs when I happened to tap the circuit board on the body (trying to prop it up). For a brief moment, the reverse bulb lit up, weakened, and died. Fiddling around I found that if I squeezed the weatherpack connector and circuit board together, that the lights would come on. I was able to get the driver's side board to light up using the same technique, which made me a bit suspicious. I grabbed the OEM boards and tried squeezing the connector/board together to see if the bulbs would light up, but it didn't work (likely since they're in such bad shape to begin with).
There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the weatherpack connectors; I even de-pinned the wires, inspected them for corrosion, and connected them directly to the TYC circuit boards. It's just that in order to ensure the bulbs work, I have to apply pressure even after they connector and board are latched together, and I'm starting to reach the bottom of my bag of tricks to resolve this issue. Should I try something risky like adding solder to the circuit board or wire pins to help facilitate a stronger connection? Try new weatherpack housings although nothing appears to be wrong with the pins themselves? Any ideas are appreciated at this point, or if anybody else experienced the same problems.
Other details:
- All 6 front lights work
- Hazard lights flash normally
- The right turn signals flash even faster when the headlights are turned on (?!)
- Fuses were tested with a light probe, visually inspected, and swapped to confirm that they're good
- Headlight switch was replaced ~6 months ago, but I don't think it plays a part here.
