bicycle_ben Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 i got pulled over in sherwood at 11:30 last night in my little 400 dollar subaru. the cop followed me for a little while. i knew i was going to get pulled over because i had noticed a brake light out the day before but just didnt have time to fix it(bad news its a broken wire somewhere not a burnt bulb). finally he lights me up and i pull over. he comes up and asks for my paper work. i give him my license and tell him the rest of the paper work is in a folder in the back. he asks if its not in the glove box and i show him its empty. he takes my license and goes back to his car with it. when he comes back with it he hands it to me and says "ok bud get that fixed, ive got to go!" the cop then proceeds to race around my car and pull into a parking lot 200 yards away where there are already 2 other cop cars sitting in the parking lot. the flashy lights are off but i saw at least one officer out of his car - no idea what they were up to but it was important enough to prevent me from getting a pointless ticket oh yeah i also noticed that my headlights and turn signals pull my voltage meter down a little and this doesnt seem like a good thing to me - is that a bad / dieing alternator ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 wofc watch out for critters. you might have a rodent chewed wire somewhere....that can cause voltage to drop etc... or it could be something else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Check the stop lamp fuse before tearing into wiring. If the fuse is good test for voltage at the switch on the pedal. If you get voltage to it, but none out when pedal is pressed it's the switch. ONLY if you have power coming out of the switch, and no power at the bulb socket should you start digging into the harness. And it is normal for a small drop on the Voltgauge from headlights, and turn signals. If it is dimming the lights with it then you have a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bicycle_ben Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 one brake light still works the other worked some times and not others, now it doesnt work at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 one brake light still works the other worked some times and not others, now it doesnt work at all Ahhh.... I see. So OK, get someone to hit the brakes, and probe the inner contacts of the bulb socket for 12v with a test light. One of them should have it. the other is tail/ running light, which should be turned off. carefull not to touch the sides of the socket with the tester, it will short. Think *operation* the game. If you have voltage at the socket, I'll bet the culprit is the sockets ground wire. Slide the metal portion of the socket out of the plastic holder, and you can see how the wire is just sandwhiched against the metal. Clean the wire and the metal on the socket it will touch. Shove it all back toghether and go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4x4_Welder Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Most of the time, the problem is the contacts pull through the little insulator holder at the base of the socket. This piece is available by itself with pigtail wires attached, you can find it at any auto parts store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 oh yeah i also noticed that my headlights and turn signals pull my voltage meter down a little and this doesnt seem like a good thing to me - is that a bad / dieing alternator ? I've seen the voltmeter start to drop more than normal (at idle) when the battery is at end of life, 5+ years old. A couple of things with the alternator could show up also: one of the slip ring brushes worn out. one of the rectifier diodes open. Either would reduce the maximum current output, making it less likely to keep up with the loads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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