Help! replacing tail light assemblies. More wires on new than on old
 

I recently refreshed all the suspension bushings in Phoenix and had 21/27 TBs installed. All is great and the suspension is nice and stiff.

The only side effect is the new stiffness has amplified the long standing nagging problem of the tail lights/ brakelights going out as the bulbs loosen in their 34 year old sockets.

After trying many different ways to fix this over the years and the need to get Phoenix inspected tomorrow, I broke down and purchased 2 brand new tail light assemblies.

The problem is that there are more wires on the new "correct" assemblies than on the old (3 strands on the old and 4 on the new). The extra wire strand contains one red and one white wire with the red being covered by a 90 degree grommet. Not sure where this goes. Could it be for a side marker light on "newer" cars (Phoenix is a 73 911)?

If so, can I just tape it off and install as per the original?

(for all Porsche's engineering genius - you thing the would have made the connection in the back of the assembly a simple plug in and out. then there would be no need to mess with the wiring harness at all.)

Any help would be most appreciated.

Perhaps the wiring "codes" are similar? This is from my 69.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1182603507.jpg

You didn't tell us what year you are. My 74 taillights also include wires intended for the oil tank level sender and for the license plate lights. The test will be if everything operates as normal. Otherwise just tape it up.

Thanks Mo and Money.

The passenger side is the one with the extra strand. Everything works fine with all other wires installed. I initially thought the wire was for an optional rear fog light though why would you use one on the passenger side. I taped it up and tie-strapped it so it won't get in the way of anything.

Interestingly, the connectors for the oil sender on the new harness were significantly smaller than the originals. I cut them off and replaced with the matching size. Just a pinch job for now to get me through the inspection. I'll solder and heat shrink later.

The good news is that the driver side seems much simpler and more accessable.

Many thanks...