I just picked up a new car and found out that the previous owner replaced the rear tail light bulbs with the wrong ones. I tried replacing them with the right ones but when I turned the lights on, the bulb blew. I replaced it again and turned the lights on and it blew again. This is what the bulb looks like after it blows:
I took out the socket to see if it was the cause and this is what I saw on one of the contacts:
Whats going on and how can I fix it?
lol did the old wrong ones work? if so shove thoes back in there
moisture… a short… my tail lights used to do that often… theyd short, due to water in the light, then theyd fog up like that
The taillights aren’t fogged on them and there isn’t any moisture near them. It hasn’t rained here (NC) in a few weeks. I dont even know where/what to start checking
Here are some pictures of the housing:
Tab furthest from view is the one that im having issues with
Closest in view is the issue
Right side of socket in this picture is the one is question
Blue wire you see is a jumper so that the bulb illuminates when you hit the brakes along with the standard brake lights. Also this is on a 94 325is
check the ground maybe its loose enough that when u click it on it arcs n blows your bulb out
I took some sand paper and sanded the one contact on the terminal and it is now working. I probably should have thought of this before:/
Possibly the wrong bulb caused a higher current draw and melted something, somewhere and now with the correct bulb you complete the circuit with a dead short. Grab a DMM and check what you have for voltage and current. From the looks of that bulb, you are definately smoking those fuckers with too much current.
