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Rear Running Lights

nuteguy

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Hi everyone. I'm working on a 1972 Plymouth Satellite and I'm having troubling getting the rear running lights working. The turn signals and brake lights work so I know the lights are getting power. The backup lights do not work but I don't think that has anything to do with it.

Has anyone had any experience with this? Any advice would be helpful and I'll do my best to answer any questions.
 
Does the dome light stay on all the time? If yes you have a blown fuse.
 
The 20 amp glass fuse in the 69 just blew. It controlled tail lights and cig lighter.
 
The first thing you need to check are the light sockets. I chased gremlins through my light for hours until I pulled the bulbs and saw there was decades of crud in them. I cleaned them out, shined up the contacts, and the lights worked fine. Once you know the sockets are good, and the bulbs are good, start checking the wiring.

Be sure to check the wiring where it passes through any holes in the bumper. I had an issue with my tail lights one time that ended up being a tiny area on the underside of the wire had chafed from where it had been rubbing against the bottom the bumper hole it had been passed through for 40 years. :)
 
I don't have a dome light and I know my fuses are good so I know it's not that. The light sockets and lights are fine because they work with brake lights. I'll be sure to check for wire chafe. Thanks for pointing that out!
 
Those housings use two 1157 bulbs per housing. The 1157 bulb is a dual filament, the park circuit is separate from the brake/turn sig circuit, can’t assume the bulbs or sockets are OK because one or the other circuit is functional. Check the black wire at the 4-way rear body harness connector, on the trunk floor, driver’s side, for voltage. If present with no bulb function, the problem is in the bumper harness or sockets & bulbs. If no voltage present, work your way up to the six-way connector at the dash harness(driver’s kick panel), then on to the headlight switch.
 
I would think that if all four of the running/parking lights are not working, that it wouldn't be the sockets because all four would have to be bad. I would start with the wiring. It's not a bad idea to make sure that the sockets are clean but the chance that all four are bad on the parking side only is pretty low.
 
On this application, not likely to be a ground problem if all brake & turn signals are working. Everything in the rear bumper, including the right side marker lamps grounds through the bumper harness. The left side marker lamp grounds separately, common body screw in the trunk, and is fed directly from the rear body harness good bulb & ground there, should tell you if you are getting voltage at the rear bumper harness. Agree, there are six total filaments running off that bumper harness, including the license plate light & right side marker, slim chance they are all out.
 
I dont know this for a fact, but the headlight switch may be to blame. My 73 SSP didnt have any dash lights, and all the bulbs good. wiring good, found on the back of the switch one of the plugs had slid back just enough to lose contact. that one post out of 5 or 6 ? on the back of the headlight switch ran just the dash lights. just wonder if one runs just the rear park lights? Easy to tell with a test light. and battery try back feeding power from the bulb and see what lights up. Hope this helps.
 
According to the wiring diagram, the output post on the headlight switch is the same for the front and rear parking lights. The headlight switch connector should have two wires on that terminal, black for the rear and black/yellow for the front parking lights. The ground for the rear has to be good because the turn signals work and each socket, left & right has its own ground. Start at the harness connection behind the drivers side kick panel. With a test light or voltmeter, unplug the harness, turn the lights on and check for voltage on the black wire of the connector going toward the switch. If there is 12v there, plug it back together and work back toward the rear. If you don't get 12v, go forward into the dash harness.
For the rear wiring look at diagram "B".
http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1972/72SatelliteA.JPG
http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1972/72SatelliteB.JPG
 
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