tail gate help

hi i could use some help. i was messing around with a new 3rd brake light on my wagon and had tims wagon also with me. i found the 2 terminals that stick out of tailgate for the 3rd brake light where wired different between the two wagons. if i could get a couple guys to check yours and let me know which one is pos and neg. on my 94 caprice the pass side was pos and the drivers side was neg. tims car was opposite
so if you could have someone hit your brakes to turn on break lights and put a meter to the post and see which side is pos &neg. also if you can tell what year and model yours is may be it changed with the brands thanks john

94 Caprice Wagon--positive on the passenger side.

94 RMW--positive on the driver side.


Tom

thats weird i wonder why they did that. will someone else check there wagon just to get a couple more to see if is really a brand thing thanks tom

K,. i,m confused here,. what difference does it make??

It probably does not make any difference. It is there just to confuse and irritate the shade tree mechanic like you and me. Just like the front door run channels...they make at least 3 different types. 2 fit Buicks, and 1 fits Caprices and Oldsmobiles, The year, model and trim package can use different ones. You have to check your car for a match.

i think it does not make a difference with reg bulbs. but does with the led setup i am putting in.

John on my 91 OCC pos on the right and on the 95 RMW pos is on the left.Sorry but no help
again.I read that with LEDs they all must be wired the same as the primary system is which
I thought was pretty much standard with all bulbs.

Yes it does make a difference with LEDs. You can only hook them up one way. The "Diode" part says that current will only flow one way through the bulb. If you hook them up the wrong way they will not light. You will not hurt them, so just hook them up the other way, and you will be OK. With regular incandescent bulbs it does not matter.

John..... I pulled another "Exploder" light from a 3/98 dated vehicle. I cleaned the lens case up and it says 12.8 volts 1.5W. So I cannot see it needing a ballast or any additional resistors to make it last. Not sure why mine blew??

I did notice that the lens has a large oval opening in the rear where the wires go in. Might it be getting to warm?!!? But i thought LED did not produce much heat?? That is the only other reason I can think of. Maybe we leave the lower cover off an let it breathe.

Some of the LEDs have circuitry built into the case to work on higher voltages. They can also use a number of LEDs in series to drop the appropriate voltage...4, 3.5 volt LEDs in series will work on a 12 volt system. LEDs work at about 3.5 volts each. LEDs do make some heat, in fact some of the high wattage (20+ watt) must have a heat sink, or they will melt. The very high wattage, high output LEDs are bright enough to use for headlights. They are very expensive, but would be interesting installed on a B-body.

The third brake light contact polarity appears to be random, based on 2 '96 RMW's that had this very issue some time ago.

BigBlackBeaSSt wrote:

John..... I pulled another "Exploder" light from a 3/98 dated vehicle. I cleaned the lens case up and it says 12.8 volts 1.5W. So I cannot see it needing a ballast or any additional resistors to make it last. Not sure why mine blew??

If you are referring to the Explorer CHMSL with the 12 LED strip, there is an inline 19 ohm resistor on the positive (white) wire.

Fred - time to fix your signature, it's been wrong long enough.

- J

Looks right to me

i put the 1st one in my wagon without the 19 ohm resistor and it did not last long then put one in tims wagon with the resistor and only lasted 1 day. put another in my wagon and it is still working. tims might have been a fluke but i put a new one in tims again will see if it keeps working. i did see a wiring diagram for a 98 explorer that showed a ballast but the wiring for a 99 showed no ballast. i also mad my own light lense that is clear tinted red it shows light better and the led strip better. hey tim is yours still working?

It was shorted out when I started the car this morning. When the screw was put into the frame without the plastic it cut the insulation like the first one. Replaced fuse and put the short screw in with a cut hose around the wire and it works great. Worked all day without the cover on.

oh you know what without the cover the screw went in farther. i did not account for that. mine has been working good with the cover on it

mtrhead79 wrote:

oh you know what without the cover the screw went in farther. i did not account for that. mine has been working good with the cover on it

I got her fixed......... thanks!! Working great so far.

Pics?????