Backstory: about half a decade a go my father passed away leaving his 1968 corvette in my possession. he had completely disassembled the car for a full on off frame rebuild and engine rebuild. everything except for the steering wheel came out of the car. over the years, me and a cousin where able to get it 90% rebuilt, having to change and update parts here and there. i was able to install the original wiring harness which is still in perfect condition surprisingly. the car starts up and runs really well with new heads, lifters, cam, carburetor, etc.

the problem i have run into recently is the tail lights. it has been a confusing mess. after following a wiring diagram and making sure all the grounds where correct i still ran into some issues. when i turn on the running lights (no break lights) the drivers side lights up brighter than the passengers side. (both filaments) that is with the steering column comb disconnected. with the comb connected and break peddle depressed, the passengers side lights up just as bright as the drivers side. when i turn on the hazards, the passengers side lights up brighter than the drivers side. for some reason the turn signals are not working and i cant remember what happened since it was almost 10 years ago since i rode with my dad in the car. also there is a weird resistor under the steering column that was connected with a T-splitter into the orange wire of the break switch but the other end was disconnected. does anyone have any suggestions on what i should do next? i pulled out the wiring harness and redid the grounds and cleaned all connections. also the dash is taken apart. would there be any grounds in the dash that my be affecting the lights? any suggestions will be helpful!

 

The "weird" resistor might be a OEM capacitor to eliminate radio static. Post a photo here for feedback.

I would get the electrical diagram and a volt ohm meter and check out the whole circuit and each component isolated one by one for shorts and proper operation. check out the dash light switch, brake switch, tail light housing, turn signal switch etc one by one. Logical trouble shooting sequence will isolate the problem eventually. Electrical problems drive people insane and intermittent electrical problem are even worse. Good luck and hope this helps. Assume you have a factory 68 Corvette AIM (Assembly Instruction Manual) which is a necessity, IMHO.

Sounds like a Cool 68 Corvette, post a photo too!

 

You may know this, but I suggest you pull out all the bulbs as you try to "ring out" the connections. Otherwise the filaments look like a dead short.

 

the bulb could be forced in so that they are backwards, thats why they are bright like brake lights when they arent supposded to be. I would take your time and check all your connections. Hook up your steering column wiring and switches as well to get everything straightened out