You have an intermittant short in the wire going to that particular brake/signal lamp

Original wiring?????
Aftermarket wiring kit????
do it yourself wiring from from rolls bought at autos zone???


OEM wire----IF it is the same as my 59 Chevy ElCamino, the left turn/brake wire is pink

Aftemarket wiring kit will most likely be a yellow wire

you will be looking for a short in this wire between the turn signal switch and the lamp itself.
That particular wire only feeds the brake/turn on the left rear.

Any other wiring---still pretty much the same thing----the wire feeding the bright side of the bulb should go back straight to the turn switch.

Might get a meter and check for a short in that wire---remove bulb first or you will get a false reading. But seeing how it is internittant, I would guess the wire is rubbbing on something on the frame or under the floor covering.

 

You have an intermittant short in the wire going to that particular brake/signal lamp

Original wiring?????


you will be looking for a short in this wire between the turn signal switch and the lamp itself.
That particular wire only feeds the brake/turn on the left rear.

Highly doubtful that its a short.

Make sure your issue is in fact a burned out bulb filament in each of the burned out bulbs. Can you see that the filament is broken?
A burned out filament can be caused by high voltage, vibration, end of life span or poor quality manufacture.
I would 1st look at poor quality. Try another source for the bulb. Could be a bad batch. It happens.
Then go to vibration.
vicrod

What he said. Most likely bad/cheap 1157's or severe vibration. I've put as much as 16 volts through 1157's w/o burning out.

 

oh---not likely to be a turn switch issue-----being shorted internall like that UNLESS you have a GM tilt steering column.
Frequent flexing of the wiring in the column will eventually break the isulation or even the wiring inside and short to ground.

I had one instance where I only had brake lights and turn signals if the wheel was all the way down.
Years later thos same wires broke again giving me the same issues you are having.

 

Make sure your issue is in fact a burned out bulb filament in each of the burned out bulbs. Can you see that the filament is broken?
A burned out filament can be caused by high voltage, vibration, end of life span or poor quality manufacture.
I would 1st look at poor quality. Try another source for the bulb. Could be a bad batch. It happens.
Then go to vibration.
Or go to an LED 1157 and an LED TS flasher from LED Lights, Bulbs & LED Lighting Accessories - SUPER BRIGHT LEDS. End of problem.

vicrod

 

Thanks to all.

The wiring is an EZ Wire kit.

Yes, the filament was indeed burnout.

Bulbs were the same brand from different stores.

I'll check the wiring from the column (stock 50 Chevy with a United Pacific signal assembly) to the light.

While trying to again dissect the problem there may be a common denominator, each blown bulb was discovered after long stops in traffic, foot on the brake. Didn't seem to bother the left bulb though.

I am planning to switch to LEDs so I can use a "Attention Getter" module for added safety. I have one on my other truck with LED's, I've noticed tailgaters backing off when it flashes.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/UPD-90655/

 

Problem, the right rear bulb repeatedly blows the brake/signal portion of he bulb. The running light works fine. Yesterday the brake portion again went out for the 5th time in the last year. Both left and right lights are mounted in the same fashion, securely bolted to the bed side. The lights and the rest of the truck are wired with a kit from EZ Wire, no other electrical issues.

Whoops----somehow I imagined that you were having issues with the left.
At any rate The right wire will be a dark green one with the aftermarket wiring.

Vicrod suggested going to LED and the related flasher---might be worth a shot
Trophyman suggests no short at all and that it is a poor quality bulb issue--along with Vicrod.

I can see why they want to go there.

Try squeezing the socket a bit to get a better contact
Check the aftermarket turn switch carefully
Check the contacts in the socket

I suggested a short----'cause it happened to me---more than once.

 

I think that if it was a short the light would not light at all. He says that the major filament is actually burnt out. Since he said that the lights came from a "big box store" sounds to me likely a bad socket (loose allowing vibration).

just my 2 cent

 

Thanks again for all the suggestions, gonna get on it tomorrow!

 

Check the installtion of the bulb into the socket to be sure that the final twist to lock action isn't pulling the contact for the tail light and that brake/turn filaments such that they touch each other. Also be sure the light assembly from socket to "ground" has a good, solid, well bonded connection.

Also purchasing bulbs of the same maker form different retail stores down't necessarily improve the odds of getting bulbs from different production batches. Retail stores buy from a warehouse that buys in batch from the manufacturer so the odds are pretty high that bulbs in different local retail stores came from the same source. One thing I'd try, if you havent, is to take the left side and put it into the right just to test if it is bulbs or something else.

Bogie

 

Slightly Bad or dirty ground causing over amps. Just a thought

 

Spent most of Sunday afternoon tracing wires, nothing looked out of the ordinary. Traced the light circuit from the socket to the column switch. I wired the truck and used solder/shrink tubing and the main sections run inside a boxed frame. Next up, moving the tail lights from side to side to see is the problem moves.

Thanks again for all replies.

 

Doubt you have a short. If a short was present the fuse should blow first. Check the ground to that side, check to make sure the socket crimp to t/l housing is tight and check your alt output. To high a voltage can butn out a bulb and not blow the fuse. If the t/l housing doesn't use a wire ground unbolt the housing from the body and scrap the paint off so as to make a good metal to metal contact between housing and body.
Things to check.

BB :thumbup::thumbup: