Tail Light Problem 83SC

I am enlisting the help of the wisdom of this board to help locate a problem I am having with left rear tail light on my 1983 911SC. A few months ago my tail light went out(inc. brake light) on the left side. I checked the fuse, and alas, it was blown. No problem I said, I'll replace it. Did that and it blew again. Crap! During a trip to my wrench for other issues, he said it was a bad light box and replaced it. It ran OK for a few months (part time driving)although I noticed the tail light was pretty bright compared to the other side and the brake light (when applied) didn't illuminate too much over the normal light level in the tail light. I just noticed the last time I was out that the left side brake and tail light are no longer working, again. My wrench is real honest and would probably not charge me for "refix", but I wanted to know what I could look for before I took the time to take it to him. Am I dealing with a bad ground wire somewhere? If so, where are the possible locations. Is this a situation where I have to remove the ground wire and polish or clean the connection? Or could it be something totally different? Your wisdom is appreciated and always welcome.

Eric
'83 SC

I woudl surely check all wiring and connections between the fuse and the bulb. By the way, I know someone who has complete used tail light assemblies that need good homes.

------------------
'83 SC

I had the same problem with the brake light being dim and the regular lights appearing bright after replacing a tail light assembly. I found that the new light assembly (an OEM bosch part) had the wires backwards for the dual filament bulb used for the brake lights and regular lights. This bulb uses one filament for the brakes and the other for the rear lights. As it turns out when the lights were on the brake filament(bright filament) was on and when the brakes were applied the rear light filament (less bright) was on. All I did was take the light assembly out, remove the back cover and switch the two wires for the bulb in question. After that all worked fine. For the fuse blowing I don’t know, but maybe it is related to having the brake light on all of the time instead of the dimmer rear lights.

Mark ‘86 911