Tailight problem: brake and running lights swapped?! [solved]

[jackdog1]

So I have an interesting issue. I have a 97 Honda Civic EX Coupe, and I know the previous owner installed aftermarket taillights, but I just noticed that the brake and running lights on the left side (the two red ones) are swapped. Any idea where along the wiring harness they may be mis-connected? All the other lights work perfectly.

 

[CamdSingleSlam]

shouldnt matter really, cross them back in any random spot

 

[jackdog1]

shouldnt matter really, cross them back in any random spot

Not "any random spot," half of each taillight is in the trunk lid with a four-wire cable feeding each pair of red and white/yellow lights. That's why I'm trying to figure out where all those individual sets of wires converge again.

 

[5SpeedEJ6]

I doubt this is a wiring issue. It seems to be to be that one of your light bulbs (or actually multiple ones) are broken. Check all of them, and try moving some around to figure out which one is broken.

 

[jackdog1]

I doubt this is a wiring issue. It seems to be to be that one of your light bulbs (or actually multiple ones) are broken. Check all of them, and try moving some around to figure out which one is broken.

Nope, the two red ones that are off in that picture will light up when I press the brake pedal. They all work, but two are just hooked up wrong. The really weird thing is that the flashers and reverse lights are all hooked up up properly, even though they share wires with the brake/running lights.

 

[HeX]

Have you tried just swapping the bulb sockets. If theyre switched, that just means you need to switch them back.

 

[jackdog1]

Have you tried just swapping the bulb sockets. If theyre switched, that just means you need to switch them back.

I can't "just swap the bulb sockets" since they're in different halves of the taillight. The half with what's supposed to be the brake light is in the trunk lid, and the half with what's supposed to be the running light is in the frame. If I did swap them, I'd rip them both out the next time I opened the trunk (it's physically impossible to swap the sockets with the trunk open).

 

[HeX]

Ah. My mistake. Trace down the wiring from the trunk lid to ensure theres no "rig" wiring. Keep in mind though that all 4 lights are suppose to light up when the brake is engaged, not just 2, and all 4 are suppose to always light up the same. So your issue may be the aftermarket wiring and not your car.

 

[jackdog1]

Ah. My mistake. Trace down the wiring from the trunk lid to ensure theres no "rig" wiring. Keep in mind though that all 4 lights are suppose to light up when the brake is engaged, not just 2, and all 4 are suppose to always light up the same. So your issue may be the aftermarket wiring and not your car.

All four do light up when I press the brake pedal, so yeah it's got to be something somewhere with the wiring harness. It's just a matter of where. That's what's so weird; the functionality is perfect, just in the wrong order for those two lights.

 

[jackdog1]

Problemo solved. That has to be one of the freakiest coincidences that's ever happened to me car wise. The same filament in each of those two dual-filament bulbs (left-left and right-left) blew at pretty much the exact same time.

 

[HeX]

Ha! Sometimes its such a simple yet odd resolution. Welcome to the club of odd coincidences yet simple fixes. The lesson here is to start simple even if its unlikely.

 

[jackdog1]

Ha! Sometimes its such a simple yet odd resolution. Welcome to the club of odd coincidences yet simple fixes. The lesson here is to start simple even if its unlikely.

Yep. I figured it was a wiring problem because I thought "There's no way both could half-blow at once." I went ahead and replaced all four. The new ones are twice as bright as the old ones, so the ones that were in there must have just been really old.

 

[5SpeedEJ6]

So my comment of checking the bulbs wasn't so off huh.. who would have thought? lmao.

 

[jackdog1]

So my comment of checking the bulbs wasn't so off huh.. who would have thought? lmao.

Yeah, sorry. That's why I went back and "liked" it. I thought it couldn't be broken bulbs because they still partially worked, but I keep forgetting that only half-breaking is possible for those bulbs.