How To Fix Tail Light Wiring? 5 Simple Steps To Follow

Our vehicles often face many issues, but it’s not necessary to visit mechanics for every small issue. There are a few problems you can deal with on your own if you have enough knowledge and equipment with you. For instance, Tail Light wiring repair.

If your car’s Tail lighting system is faulty or not illuminating, it needs to be fixed as soon as possible, as it can risk your safety and the safety of other people on the road. You can call out professionals to deal with it or try to fix it on your own to save some bucks. Just follow five basic repair steps to fix tail light wiring, and you are good to go.

What Is Tail Lighting?

Lights that fix at the rear or back of the vehicle, like a tail, are known as Tail lighting. The function of these lights is to display the vehicle’s backside to give the driver an idea of the vehicle’s dimensions, like size and shape. These headlights feature an automatic sensor that automatically turns on when required. Also, it has another name called Rear fog lights because tail lighting allows vehicles visibility in bad weather like fog, snow, and rain.

Why Tail Light Wiring Malfunction?

There are plenty of reasons that can cause a malfunction in Tail Light Wiring. Let’s dive into the root causes of this issue.

Broken Turn Signal Switch

The Turn Signal Switch, also known as the Headlight switch, is on the column side of the steering. It is a lever that the body control module regulates. This switch transmits an electrical wave to activate the light system of a vehicle, like taillights, headlights, and parking lights. When the Turn Signal Switch break for some reason, it will not be able to transmit those electrical signals to the vehicle’s lighting systems to turn them on.

Blown Fuse

The Brake light and the tail light circuit are guarded with a fuse from overcurrent. However, much electric load on the tail light can blow a fuse and stop the tail light from working.

Damaged Tail Light Bulb 

Every car brand uses a specific kind of light bulb to fit the car’s design. Some use LED bulbs in cars, while others install Halo or Xenon light bulbs. Typically, the Tail lights and Brake lights use a similar dual filament bulb. So if ever the bulb’s filament get breaks, the brake light will work, but the Tail light will stop functioning.

Broken Light Socket

The tail light socket holds the bulb and attaches it to the circuit. When the tail lights of the car are not correctly sealed with silicone, they get exposed to dust, wind, and water. This exposure majorly affects the socket of the rear tail light, which is prone to corrosion and rust. Any malfunction in the light socket unable the transmission of electric current from the vehicle’s battery to the tail lights and leads to complications.

Bad Electrical Ground & Faulty Wiring

A car’s wiring transmits power from the battery to different other units such as Reverse lights, Dash lights, Tail lights, and the 3rd Brake Lights. The distribution of power to the different components prevents the voltaic load from cross-feeding key parts of the car. If the fuse and the light sockets are in a good state, then it is a chance that the tail lighting malfunction of a faulty electrical ground wire. The corroded or faulty wiring cannot prevent the current from cross-feeding the car’s crucial parts.

Damaged Ambient Light Sensor

The new car models feature automated tail lights and headlights configured by a sensor. This ambient sensor detects dimness outside and lights on switches accordingly. It also regulates the parking light, license plate light, and daytime running light. The running light helps in driving during the daytime, while the parking light assists in driving at night. The fault in the ambient light sensor impacts the functioning of the tail light and headlight, which reduces safety. Also, the malfunction of the running light and parking light can be a reason for the non-functioning of Tail lights.

What Are The Must-Have Tools In Fixing Tail Light Wiring?

To tackle the situation of tail light wiring damage, keeping a couple of Tail light bulbs in your toolbox is a smarter thing to do in the first place. But they won’t benefit the situation if you can’t detach the circuit board or lens assembly. There are a few must-have tools that can help you deal with Tail light wiring repair and simplify the situation. A multi-bit screwdriver ratchet and an assorted Torx bit set makes repair work easier and quicker.

How To Fix Tail Light Wiring?

If you have replaced the bulb, and still the Tail Light Wiring is not working, then don’t invest your energy in further thinking. Because your vehicle’s Tail lighting is faulty, it’s time to fix it. If there is an issue with the vehicle’s Tail Light Wiring, you can fix it by following five basic steps. Just figure out the cause of the light wiring damage and start fixing it accordingly, following the steps below.

Step 1

Switch on the parking lights and confirm that only the tail light is not functioning. If both the License plate and Tail lights are not illuminating, check the vehicle fuses.

Step 2

Detach the non-functioning lens from the Tail light and replace the old damaged bulb with a new one. If the bulb does not light up, detach it and use the test light to examine the socket or multimeter for measuring power. If power is in the socket, the issue is a bad ground connection. However, if there is no power, the wire must be visually examined along its length until power is discovered.

Step 3

Detach the connection of the first tail light wiring harness and check the vehicle for power. Finding power in the vehicle indicates that the issue is with the wire between the socket and the connector. Switch the connector again and examine every few inches of the wire until no power is found.

Step 4

Check backward beside the wire until the power is found back in. Switch off the lights, separate the wire, and use a butt connector to join a 16-gauge of new automotive wire to the side’s cut-off wire. Note the wire shade that you cut off should be placed at the socket of the Tail light.

Step 5

Bind these connections securely to avoid corrosion leading to reduce the light’s voltage. Turn on the parking lights again to see if the repair goes successful.

How Much Does Tail Light Wiring Cost?

Cost is a considerable point in Tail light wiring repair. The charges of fixing Light Wiring Costs are not constant; they fluctuate. It is true that if you fix the tail light wiring by yourself, it will cost you comparatively less than hiring professionals. But it’s also true that expert hands are a lot better for such tasks. There are different charges for different solutions. Like on average, the replacement costs of tail lights lie somewhere between $81.00 to $110.00.

Replacement of a single defective bulb costs around $10 to $60, including both bulb and labor costs. The average cost is from $5 to $15 if you are considering changing the socket to treat the issue. Replacement of the socket for an LED light will cost you much more. And finally, fixing and replacement of the fuse of affected lights will cost you around $50 to $150.

If you want to go on another route and save time with tail lighting repair, you can get expert and affordable tail light repair services in Glendale, Arizona, with Bills Mobile Hitch and Tow Bar Installation.

Contact No.- (623) 210-5427