side marker light stopped working- driver side

[jgurnari]

85 911

not the bulb,
not the socket...I connected both bulb and socket from driver side onto the pass side and they worked fine. Nothing works on Driver side

tested power and ground with a circuit tester... I got a faint light reading when touching driver side marker ground wire. seems there is a grounding issue.(?)

Anyone know where this marker is ground? at the bumper or much farther into the car?
where can I trace it to?

Thanks

[timmy2]

Ground from run marker if at bumper location first goes to the turn lamp common ground and then into the headlight bucket and connects to a common ground there.

[jgurnari]

Can the ground be reached if I remove the headlight? Going to check fuses.. haven’t done that... didn’t know there are separate fuses for these lights.

[timmy2]

Check fuses first, ground actually routes back from lamp to headlight housing and then to the post with battery negative cable at body.
If fuses are good and all other lights working normally, I’d be checking the 2 jumper wires between the signal housing and running light housing first, then work back.

[86 911 Targa]

PM me for the factory circuit diagram as needed.

Gerry

[john walker's workshop]

Corrosion between the brass strap and bulb base is the usual ground issue. Stupid design.

[jgurnari]

Mine looks brand new.. also I did a circuit test and got nothing from the power wire and a faint reading from the ground wire.... when I tested directly to the negative on the battery I got a Bright bulb reading. That’s why I believe it’s a loose ground. That Make sense?
I will add, I took off the bad side “socket” and bulb and tried them on the opposite, passenger, side and it worked. Nothing wrong with the bulb or “fixture”

[jgurnari]

Photo is the only side marker socket I found BUT MINE is different. It’s all brass as mentioned by John Walker’s workshop. I can not find the same side marker housing either. Anyone have a different socket from the photo like my all brass one.

Originally Posted by john walker's workshop

Corrosion between the brass strap and bulb base is the usual ground issue. Stupid design.

[timmy2]

Is the side marker you are referencing in the fender at mid-height, or in the bumper?
Maybe post a photo of what you are working with. If in the fender then ignore my comments about wiring in the headlight bucket.

[jgurnari]

This is the side maker that is not working.. tested it is getting no power and a faint ground reading.

Originally Posted by timmy2

Is the side marker you are referencing in the fender at mid-height, or in the bumper?
Maybe post a photo of what you are working with. If in the fender then ignore my comments about wiring in the headlight bucket.

[jgurnari]

Trying to follow the ground.. anyone know where it leads and where its grounded?! I can’t seem to get into the space to trace it. Left front parking marker light 85 911
Thanks

[JRSIII]

Both the ground and the power are daisy chained from the front marker/turn signal assembly. If the front assembly is working, you probably just have a loose connection to the side marker. See photo below.

PS...I assume you know that the bulb holder must be held in by the little brass strap that provides the ground, right?

[timmy2]

I gave you the path for ground earlier.
That housing to the one beside it, then to the headlight bucket, then to the ground stud in the trunk where the battery negative goes.

[jgurnari]

Dennis, you had mentioned in previous ad to disregard what you said about going into the headlight bucket. Should I take out the headlight to access the wiring? Or the battery to find the wire coming into the trunk? Yes I do know the socket clips under the arm. Thanks

[timmy2]

I said to disregard if you were dealing with the fender mounted lamp.

If the adjacent turn signal blinker is working normally, the ground is good from the headlight bucket.your problem is likely between the signal and run housing wiring.

There are 2 wires coming from the blinker housing to the running lamp housing in a sheath. They mount on the back of the signal housing.
The 2 white wires in the photo John posted above go to them on the inside of the signal housing, those 2 terminals then go through to the outside for the run lamp wires to connect to.

Check it all for continuity. (Both wires and terminals)

[jgurnari]

Thank you Dennis. I will pull the headlight and check it out.

[JRSIII]

Don't do that! You'll create in-necessary work. Give me 30 minutes and I'll post some photos that should help and make this easy.

[JRSIII]

Ok...so, first I'm assuming that the front marker that is adjacent to the side marker that is not working, is working. If so, the problem exists in the short wiring from the front to the side marker. First, take off the front marker lens. Then, referring to the first photo below, unscrew the screw that holds in the reflector/bulb assembly and gently pry it forward. Don't get too aggressive since the wires are short and ideally you'd like to not disturb them. As Dennis noted and I was trying to illustrate with the photo in my earlier post, the power and ground to the side marker is via two wires connected to the spade connectors that go through the front marker housing. Check that these, as well as all connections in the front marker, are clean, tight, and intact. If they are and you still have the problem, you'll need to check the connections on the back side of the front marker as shown in the second photo. You may have to do this by feel, working from under the car, but you should be able to do it. The problem almost has to be in one of those connections. PM me if necessary. I am in Houston as well.

[jgurnari]

Too late! I pulled the headlight, but glad I did found some shabby wires.
I have another question.. after playing around with the wires the side maker wires have disconnected from the back of the blinker housing... maybe that is why it wasn’t working properly... question is , is the top connector on the blinker housing ground or power. Mine housing seem to be little different than yours in pictures.
Thanks

Originally Posted by JRSIII

Ok...so, first I'm assuming that the front marker that is adjacent to the side marker that is not working, is working. If so, the problem exists in the short wiring from the front to the side marker. First, take off the front marker lens. Then, referring to the first photo below, unscrew the screw that holds in the reflector/bulb assembly and gently pry it forward. Don't get too aggressive since the wires are short and ideally you'd like to not disturb them. As Dennis noted and I was trying to illustrate with the photo in my earlier post, the power and ground to the side marker is via two wires connected to the spade connectors that go through the front marker housing. Check that these, as well as all connections in the front marker, are clean, tight, and intact. If they are and you still have the problem, you'll need to check the connections on the back side of the front marker as shown in the second photo. You may have to do this by feel, working from under the car, but you should be able to do it. The problem almost has to be in one of those connections. PM me if necessary. I am in Houston as well.

[JRSIII]

On mine, the top is power and the bottom is ground. Looking back up at post 12, you can see the brown wire is daisy chained to the bottom spade connector.