tail light not working

my drivers side tail light does not work except when i press the brakes. all bulbs have been changed and i need to get this figured out before i get a ticket for it cause the maverick is my only vehicle right now

 

Did you check the grounds?

 

doesnt the peice that the bulb sits in ground to the metal that holds it in place? if not then i dont know where to look for the ground

 

yes it does. Mine were doing the same thing and i had to clean them up like 5 time before they worked.

 

Check the socket for corrosion. Do you have a voltmeter? Or at least a test light? Turn the lights on, put your negative probe to a good ground, and check the contacts inside the socket. (Yes, the socket grounds on the taillights housing.)

 

how did u go about cleaning them, they dont look dirty or coroded. but i did get it to work for a second one time by moving it around

 

I used a piece of 60grit sandpaper.

 

ok will do, thanks ill let u know if it works as soon as i get it back from the tranny shop, hopefully tomorrow

 

ok my drivers side tail light doesnt work, and when i press the break the white light comes on. but also when i use th right blinker its the white light also like it should be

 

Sounds like you have a short or you switched the sockets around accidentally.

 

well its like the blinker and the break light are both going to the same bulb

 

sounds to me like switched socket what happen when you put it in rev. does yor tail light light up?

 

no actually the back up light was not hooked back up after the motor and trans was swaped

 

You have a short in the ckt.Check the wires in the trunk.The harness runs along the tail panel.Betcha got a few frayed wires in there touching where they shouldnt be.

 

yea i looked in there a lil bit but didnt see any split wires