I have followed this site for a long time and have owned a few corvettes and finally decided to join.

I just picked up a 82 collectors edition. I am having an issue trying to find out why the tail lights are out..maybe I can get some of the great advice I usually browse through on here...

a little dignoisis info:

the -headlights, turn signals, back up lights and dome lights all work...the tail lights and the dash lights do not (although I believe the dash lights are on a seperate ciruit)

I found the tail light fuse was blown so I replaced it hoping it was that simple..
but of course thats not my luck..

The tail lights blow the fuse as soon as you pull the light switch..

so I figured a power wire is grounding out somwhere causing it to blow)..I dont think a bad ground would cause that..

I got to tinkering last night and found that someone has tried fixing the problem with out any luck before..

I traced the wires from the rear all the way to the dash..I see nowhere from the back of the car to the dash where a power wire appeared to be grounded...so I figured/HOPING its the switch.. I ordered one just waiting for it to come in...

two things I have found that may or may not be related:

-1) both tag lights appeared to have gotten really hot and melted (slightly) and looked corroded so I cut the wires to see if that could be the short...didnt work still blew the fuse...

-2) I turned the headlights on and noticed the switch gets kinda warm not burning hot just gets a little more warm then I would expect..I flipped the high beams on and noticed if I slowly messed with the pull **** ever so slightly (turning ...not in and out) the lights would go out...

Im really not sure what to do beyond replacing the switch and crossing my fingers...I didnt know what else I could check or if this is something anyone has expierenced...any suggestions/help would be wonderful!!!!

 

90% of the time it's the switch. You can sometimes get lucky pulling and cleaning the dust/gunk that finds its way into the switch. Had this happen on my 81; new switch fixed it.

 

I was surprised there wasnt any gunk in the switch...it was actually clean looking..im a little worried some one already replaced it n it didnt fix it....thanks for the info atleast I know im on a possible track...is this a normal prob

 

Ok now im really confused...I put a new switch in and my hopes were quickly dashed when I replaced the fuse n pulled the switch...the fuse popped again...only when the switch was pulled...now what do I do...? Any other thoughts? Any advice at this point would really help...the only thought I have is reppace the fuses n cut 1 wire at a time until I find the one that doesnt blow a fuse...im not sure if this will help strack the problem or not

 

my '75 had same thing. check brown wire coming from switch, that's the hot wire. check rear ground. my issue was rusted fuse holders on firewall fuse box.

 

I cut each wire from the switch until I found the wire that I cut n the fuse didnt blow...its the orange wire at the switch...but not sure where to go from here..I cut both the orange n white that were tied together n the single orange tht goes to the bk of the car right at the driver sill plate...hooked the orange wire back up the the switch n blew the fuse. ..so the prob has to be under the dash somewhere. ..I looked into the front where the fuses plug n there is no sign of rust or corrosion. ..or where u refering to the back of the fuse box..there r so many orange wires under there its nuts. ...

 

Crap I took a good picture of the wiring under the dash thats not hooked up but I cant post it for someone to tell what the wires r

 

on a '75, the running /dash wire is brown. the actual clips holding the fuses were rusted inside the firewall.

 

just thought, I was told to take one bulb at a time out of tail lights to see if a socket is corroded or wiring grounded.

 

Ill try dropping the fuse box n see what it looks like behind the fuse block...n ill keep u posted

 

The brown wire is what powers up the rear tail lamps... There are several ways you can approach this...

I think I would pull the switch out of the dash.. ground it and then pull it on and see if you have power coming out of the brown wire. If you have the switch in your hand, it should pass continuity between the orange terminal and the brown when the lamps are on.

 

Thanks for that picture of the wiring harness n the info...so when the switch was hooked upthe orange wire at thw switch was the only one that when I cut it it wouldn't blown the fuse...when I cut the brown at the switch it still blew the fuse...could there still be an issue with the brown wire since the orange provided a power? Did I mention how I hate electrical issues..haha

 

I cut the brown wires going to the rear just to check n it still blows the fuse when the orange switch wire is connected. ..so I would think the problem is under the dash n in that orange wire then correct?

 

Ok I might be narrowing it down...I removed the headlight switch n tested the fuse holder n wire both showed 12v...I ran a jumper wire from the constant orange directly to the brown right at the switch n the tail lights came on fine...but when I hook the switch up and turn the lights on is when it blows the fuse...thats a brand new switch how is this possible...am I missing something?

 

Woow I figured it out n it was the dumbest thing....someone must hav been tinkering around n pulled the ground wire out of the headlight plug n put it in the wrong hole....so the ground was plugging into a positive terminal on the switch instead of in the side ground terminal of the switch...wonder how long the guy before me had no tail lights...maybe thats y he sold be a really clean collectors edition for 3500...

Thank u guys so much for the help...