tail lights staying on

[diymirage]

hey guys

I noticed an interesting problem over the last few days
it appears my tail lights stay on when the ignition is off
of course over the timespan of a night this is enough to drain the battery and ive found out that modern cars don't have the juice to crank the old V8 around

so, where should I start looking?
oh, almost forgot, if I pull the tail light out of the housing it will still stay on, is that correct or is it supposed to ground through the frame?

 

[diymirage]

it looks like both wires on the passenger side are black, which makes it hard to figure out which one has power BUT the on one the driver side is definitely green

 

[TrailBeast]

Push the headlight switch in all the way

 

[KitCarlson]

It is normal to be able to turn the lights on with the ignition off.

 

[diymirage]

Push the headlight switch in all the way

I would buy that if my headlights were staying on aswell
but its is only the tail lights
(oh, and I checked, it is the driving lights, not the brake lights)

It is normal to be able to turn the lights on with the ignition off.

yes, but they are on a timer, controlled by the battery

 

[superchargeddrt]

Are you sure that it's not the brake lights? Try pulling up on the brake pedal and see it the go out, the switch may need adjusted.

 

[diymirage]

Are you sure that it's not the brake lights? Try pulling up on the brake pedal and see it the go out, the switch may need adjusted.

I guess I wasn't sure about that
I popped in under the dash and the switch was not touching the arm of the brake pedal
just to be sure I disconnected it and the lights went out


so I guess ill replace that switch and hopefully that fixes my problem

makes me wonder if the person who installed the towing package in my duster wasn't sure what they were doing?

 

[superchargeddrt]

There you go, glad I could help. I had the same thing happen to me. I adjusted the switch and now no problems. Good Luck!

 

[moparmat2000]

It may just be an adjustment on the brakelight switch to where it hits the pedal. I wouldent replace it if it just needs adjusted.

 

[65Vart]

I had the same problem with my brake light switch on a 65 Valiant I had, might need some adjustment.

 

[67Dart273]

Last time I bought a switch (from NAPA) they showed two, "OEM" and adjustable.

 

[momoparman]

That's some pretty shady looking wiring in that trunk. Leads to all kinds of problems in old cars.

A soldering iron, solder and shrink wrap are less than $20.00 and if you have more of whats in your trunk then it would be time and money well spent.

Not trying to be a dk but an ounce of prevention as they say.