1968 Need help

[Duker]

I need some input people. I almost got wiped out from behind by a tractor trailer in the summer. I didn't notice till the end of the season when I was doing a light check around the car my tailights were dim during the day.

My rear tailights are giving me problems.:sad: When we tested the brake lights they are bright and will blind you. It's when the indecator lights are on at the same time they go dim.

I have been told this could be a ground, the flashers, ect.

Can you help please

Duker

 

[CougarCJ]

I think that have the right idea checking all grounds and socket connections.
Might want to check the insides of your housings. They need a reflective capability.
Check out this thread to get my meaning:
http://www.californiaspecial.com/forums/showthread.php?p=61182#post61182

Another problem is that the Ford's of our era did not have alternators that were capable of producing much voltage at idle.
Every notice your headlights and dash lights dim when waiting at a stop light?

 

[Mosesatm]

Switching to LEDs may help. Around $5 each at any auto parts store.

 

[mechanicalguy48]

If your like me you have a sequential setup and just replacing the bulbs messes up the resistance for the blinkers. Mustang Project has a kit that replaces all the bulbs and gives you the sequential blinkers in LED. Its bright,,, I have their shelby style lights on my 65 and its twice as bright as a regular tailight.
http://www.mustangproject.com/ProductDisplay.aspx?ID=8835866b-94f3-4ee7-92e0-62d3ac8e0e4c

 

[franklinair]

GT/CS Tail lights:
These lights are not sequential in their stock configuration.
The tail light bulb elements & the brake light elements use the same ground point which is throught the bulb's brass casing/socket housing in the tail light housing. Therefore, if the brake lights work OK,the ground is OK. It's a good idea to check this, but chances are the grounds are OK.
The inside housing of the tail lights should be a shiny, reflective quality. The thread that Scott mentioned above is well worth checking out.
I installed LED bulbs in my CS for 2 reasons: they are brighter and draw much less current than the 1157 incandescent bulbs (and your turn signal switch will last longer).
I purchased mine from superbrightleds.com (19LED's, white, 1157 base). They work great and are very bright, with less current draw. Mustangprojects has a good rep, but in MHO, too pricey. Hope this helps.

Neil Hoppe

 

[J.Bart]

on my 69 cobra i had a problem with dim taillights. the 69 torino's and cobra's have an issue because the lamp is behind the reverse light housing. i disassembled the complete housing, and painted the reflective housing with paint can chrome. it made a big difference and i still use stock lamps

 

[rvrtrash]

I would check the ground as well, and the condition of the bulbs and sockets. If one or more sockets aren't grounded in the housing correctly, the power will feed back through the other element and find a ground in another socket. It won't be able to do this when both elements have power to them (lights and brakes on at same time). I won't go into voltage drops and resistance values, but a loose or corroded socket or bad bulb could be your problem. I did a tech tip on how to correct this a while back.

Steve

 

[robert campbell]

Neil,
I went on superbrightleds.com and they have a few choices based on the number of "leds". Which one did you get? They also have narrow and wide angle. And then they have they 5 watt super bright! 25 bucks a pop!! Owe!!

Rob