I searched back a couple years through the Troubleshooting Forum. I found this thread, but the real question was never answered:
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=trouble&Number=301395&Forum=trouble&Words=tail%20light&Match=Entire%20Phrase&Searchpage=3&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=301395&Search=true#Post301395The issue is with my G/F's 97 Mystique (2.5 AT, spoiler, alloys, 4-wheel discs)
The left tail light housing has been leaking. I found the thread for fixing the leak.
However, the water (I imagine) has managed to screw up the working of the tail/brake light.
Both elements in the tail light bulb still work. I've checked to make sure the bulb is seated correctly.
From what I've read, the parking lamp element is something like 5 watts, and the turn/brake lamp element is much more, 25 watts or something. I'll call them the 'low' element and the 'high' element
My problem is this: for the left tail light, when I activate the left-turn signal, the 'low' element blinks. Activating the brakes is the same. When I turn on the parking lights, the 'high' element turns on. It should be the opposite of this.
The other three corners of the car operate as they should, with the following exception:
There are two operational problems with this issue:
1. With the left tail light sending the blinker wattage through the 'low' element, the left-turn signals (front and rear) both flash quickly like there was a burned-out element.
2. During the day, the left brake/turn signal running through the 'low' element is too dim to see, and at night, with the parking lamp running through the 'high' element, the brake/turn signal is again too dim to see.
I have removed the left tail light socket from the car. The bulb has some black soot on the inside like when an element blows, but the elements are both still working.
Do I need to replace the socket (and how much $ from a salvage yard) or is it something else?
Thanks for the help
