Strange Brake Light Problem

[280zgod]

Hi I'm new to the club but its been very helpful so far thanks all. Anyway a few days ago my brake lights on my 1975 280z began to act funny. When i depress the brake pedal the driver side light goes on but the right one doesnt. It is not the bulb...I've changed it and found that it's like the second filament in the bulb the one that makes the light brighter when you depress the brake pedal isnt getting andy power to it. I dont know exactly ...well if any of you have had a problem similar to this i would appreciate any input, but as for now im tearing up the electrical system.

Late

[Daniel]

My first choice is socket. They have springs in them that hold the contact against the bulb.They get tired or rusted.Sometimes stretching them will work. Use a test light to begin with and see if there is power.

[280zgod]

well thanks for the advice dan it helped me find the true problem which was the part that touches the bulb was somehow utterly destroyed i dont know how or why but it was like blown in half so i have to go buy a new socket weird stuff anyway thanks alot man late.

[seerex]

before buying a new one which will be big bucks i would look for a partial harness or one from a junk yard , kinda a long shot , but my brothers 260's rear lights went as we went along all of the sockets needed attention so it never hurts to have extra, good luck:geek:

[CNIXZGO]

in my tailight harness and Chloe at Midwest Z got me a used harness for 10 bucks! Takes about 10 minutes to take out the old harness and reinstall. One of my sockets had melted and couldnt make contact anymore.

[280zgod]

yah i went to the nissan parts place by me and they said it would be 50 bucks for the whole jack thing with all 4 sockets....im thinking no...technically i could just put some aluminum foil in between where the wire is and where it needs to hit but that would just be a quick fix and sometime this week i am going to rummage through the nissan yard for wrecks wish me luck and thanks for the heads up late.

[240ZX]

280ZGOD

Sounds like a familiar problem. How if my old brain serves me correctly, I remember having the same issue with my 1970 240Z. What it turned out to be was that the turn signal indicator switch on the steering column was worn out. The brake light circuit runs through this switch assembly. So, I replaced mine and all is well again. I think a new switch assembly is about $90.00 I purchased mine from Courtesy Nissan in Texas. Please don't take this as gospel.....sometimes us older guys have a hard time recalling things, is you know what I mean!!!