Wire Harness Fun?

[smaceng]

Hi All,
So the new wire harness in my BE had been sitting for a number of years, how many? I don't know. It was inside and unmolested. So after hooking up all the electrical and finishing my dash with reconditioned gauges, the left taillight and stop light were on the fritz. The ground (black wire) was intermittant and the stop light (blue/purple) would not work. Long story short, the bullet ends for the STOCK harness, did not make a good connection with the wires for those two wires (the only suspect ones in the car, so far). I replaced the ends and all is well. In the picture, you will see a sewing needle pushed through the wire. I have used this as an old trick to be able to hook an alligator clip onto it to check the status of the wire, without stripping the insulation and making a mess. The motto here is, never assume a brand new harness is without problems.
Scott in CA

 

[smaceng]

Sorry wrong picture!

 

[JPSmit]

glad it works!

 

[ichthos]

The wrong picture was just what I needed, thanks. Hey, I don't suppose you have a picture of which wire goes where on that tail light you posted. I am slowly figuring things out, but some things are not clear to me on my wiring diagram.
Kevin

 

[smaceng]

I can tell you about the wiring.
Left side hole is for the red wire (taillights)
Right side hole is for the brake light (green/purple).
Black (ground) can go through either hole.
This description is for both right and left rear brake lights.
Left side is driver's side (America).
Scott in CA

 

[DrEntropy]

I don't like the pin-thru-the-insulation thing, just put a meter on bullet connector and the other end. Introducing those holes allows atmosphere ingress at least and water at most. I've seen plenty of harnesses made into junk as a result of oxidation of the multi-strand copper.

 

[ichthos]

My tail light does not look exactly like yours. What do you mean the black can go through either hole? I have a left side, right side, and bottom connection on mine. Are you saying the black goes through to the bottom connector?

 

[smaceng]

Sorry,I did not understand your question.
the BE taillight uses three wires each.
The red wire connects to the left side of the lamp holder, which is the low power or running lamp (tail light) portion of the bulb.
The green/purple attaches to the right side or the high power side (stop lamp) of the tail light bulb.
The black wire is the ground and is connected to the outside base of the bulb.
Hope this helps.
Scott in CA

 

[ichthos]

My tail light has a connction just below the bulb. I looked at my old pictures before I took my car apart, and there was definitely a wire plugged in there. I just couldn't tell what color it was. Based on your description, it has to be the black wire. Thanks, Scott.
Kevin