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Tail light bulb question


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Recently while driving my '85 Brat GL I got a warning light pop on stating that a brake light was out. I never knew that this Brat even had such a warning light. Anyhow, I established that the passenger side brake light was out, took off the tail light assembly to find three bulb sockets backsides. Knowing it was the middle one I tried to get it to come free from the housing. No luck. I didn't want to break anything. I don't see a way to separate the lens from the housing to get access to the bulb from the front.  Any advise?

BRAT10.JPG

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Access is from the lens side.

It should just be sealed with a rubber gasket, maybe a previous owner used a sealant to "fix" a water leak. Maybe try working around with a thin putty knife or similar.

It is also possible your wiring has failed rather than the globe - I've had a couple like that due to the age of the copper and the connection.

Edited by dfoyl
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As Dean says .... sometimes this components just stick fast together and may need a gentle poke and twist at several spots with a flat blade screwdriver. But not if someone has sealed it with black sticky goo that is used to bond car panels and glass in with. Heat from a hairdryer instead of too hot heat gun can get some give in this super tacky stuff

Gotta love the blown bulb indicator circuits...so easy and simple yet many manufacturers today not caught up with the idea.

Nice ute too :)

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Thanks Aussies! I was able to gently pry apart the lens from the housing. It must have been on there for a long time. After pulling the bulb I'm pretty sure that's the problem based on it's cloudy grey appearance.

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When I have to replace a bulb in a light that comes in pairs (left & right) I replace both sides at the same time. That way both bulbs are the same "age". And if you're right there doing one, might as well do both sides. Bulbs are cheap.

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