Passenger Side brake light fix

[tparker]

Today I was able to fix my passenger side brake lights and wanted to share what I encountered in case it helps anyone else.

First of all, i need to thank @Cuda Cody and @Chryco Psycho for additional help in the form of a video and post:

• Cuda Cody's E body Steering Column resto vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GhnnUm94oA
• Chryco Psyco's troubleshooting comment at bottom of page: https://forum.e-bodies.org/electrical-and-audio/11/70-challenger-tail-light-problems/8542/

I have been trying to fix my electrical issues and was focusing on head lights, tail lights, turn signals, brake lights, etc. I had every thing working except for both passenger side brake lights. It wasn't clear to me from the wiring diagram what should be going on. It turns out the tail lights get power from one wire when they are turned on, and blink from the turn signal, brake lights, and hazards from another wire. And all that is grounded through the light housing, which means the lights go out if you pull the bulbs or the ground is bad.

I was trying to figure out how to start troubleshooting where the problem might lie and that is where Chryco's post comes in. Simply start by checking power at the kick panel connector. There is a green and brown wire (I believe those are the color, check the diagram) that you can test with a volt meter or test probe. One came on and the other didn't. The drivers side lit up as expected but the passenger side did not. That means the problem was forward of that connector.

You can ask your wife or friend or what not to help you check the light, but that didn't go well after a while, so a tip is to unbolt the brake switch from the pedal. The switch is on when the plunger is out and on when it is pressed in. So it is a normally on switch. Pull the tan wire to kill the working brake light if it takes a couple days to finish so the battery won't be drained from the drivers side brake light being on.

The brake lights go up to the steering wheel into the turn signal mechanism. So that was the next place to check. And sure enough the brown wire wasn't getting power. Power feeds in through the white wire on one side of the connector, goes through the turn signal mechanism (which does it's magic) and comes out through the brown and dark green wire. So that means something is jacked up in side the steering wheel.

And that is where Cody's vids come in. I tore down the steering wheel to get to the switch then started to inspect it which wasn't easy but you can trace it through.

I didn't take any photos but I'll try to describe it. The turn signal mechanism mounts on top of a plastic base plate. The turn signal mechanism rotates and makes some contacts that directs out electricity as appropriate. The passenger side brake light wire is on top of the turn signal mechanism while the drivers side is on the base plate. The I used a test light to verify what was working and what wasn't. The Green wire wasn't getting signal.

You cant see how the green wire was being feed so  you will need to pull off the plastic turn signal mechanism. Very gently, pry it off with a flathead or something similar. Be very gentle. It is only held in place by a screw and the post with flat sides that it screws into. The backside has two wires that contact 4 terminals. One is low power and one is high power. You can test it with a test light. One is brighter than the other. One of these wires carries the input current to the green wire. I was able to test it and it worked fine. Some how when the the turn signal and base plate are assembled the wire isn't contacting the terminal correctly. Playing with it will make it intermediately work.

I think what was going on was the wire was being pushed away from the contact when the turn signal switch was placed on the base plate. I bent the wire upwards with needle nose pliers just a touch then tested and everything worked fine.

There are several things that can go wrong with the brake lights in the steering wheel, so if you can't figure things out, tear down the steering wheel and check out the turn signal mechanisms and make sure all the wires and contacts are clean, intact, and supplying current correctly.

Hope this helps someone troubleshooting why one side works but not the other.

[Chryco Psycho]

Glad to be able to help out !

[Jsand73440]

I have been trying to replace the wiring up the steering column, do you know where they might be available? Year one doesn't list one separate.

[anlauto]

I have been trying to replace the wiring up the steering column, do you know where they might be available? Year one doesn't list one separate.

Do you mean the signal light switch ?

[tparker]

I can't remember where I got mine but probably yearone. The quality wasn't great but it worked. I had to play around with it a bit and bend the metal wire a bit to get it to work. I installed it way before I was ready to check wiring, so I had to tear apart the steering wheel to fix it once I figured out it was the issue.

Here is one on ebay that a search brought up .

https://www.ebay.com/itm/402688540841?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=402688540841&targetid=1645685075408&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=9032532&poi=&campaignid=16730423415&mkgroupid=135815925780&rlsatarget=pla-1645685075408&abcId=9300841&merchantid=6571044&gclid=CjwKCAiAv9ucBhBXEiwA6N8nYBqDKr1bYrUMWTbtnTwnth-BzU9H_KNMQl_Ri28yhLGBTAdYh3M4GhoCvyEQAvD_BwE