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Post Info TOPIC: faulty tail lights


Veteran Member

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Date:
faulty tail lights


Hi

We have a 2018 Apollo Coromal van with the solid panel construction. So far very happy with it. However, now the tail lights have stopped working. I disconnected the tail light wire at the plug top and took a reading with a multimeter. It was showing zero. I briefly attached a fly lead from a battery and nothing changed. I noticed a decent spark when I disconnected. I suspect a short somewhere. I am hoping it is in one of the lights and not in the wiring as it would be near impossible to access. Has anyone had a problem like this? Do these marker lights and tail lights short out? I suspect that as the van is not very old that they are led lights. I am thinking of gradually removing lights and isolating sections of the circuit until I find the faulty light or loop. Any thoughts? cheers. Peter



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Guru

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Petemox wrote:

Hi

We have a 2018 Apollo Coromal van with the solid panel construction. So far very happy with it. However, now the tail lights have stopped working. I disconnected the tail light wire at the plug top and took a reading with a multimeter. It was showing zero. I briefly attached a fly lead from a battery and nothing changed. I noticed a decent spark when I disconnected. I suspect a short somewhere. I am hoping it is in one of the lights and not in the wiring as it would be near impossible to access. Has anyone had a problem like this? Do these marker lights and tail lights short out? I suspect that as the van is not very old that they are led lights. I am thinking of gradually removing lights and isolating sections of the circuit until I find the faulty light or loop. Any thoughts? cheers. Peter


 I had a similar problem. All my lights and markers are led. One of the tail lights had shorted out the internal light control board and affected the whole tail light circuit.

Another time it was the cause of a corroded van plug contact.

 



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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)

"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special towed by Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited"

"4x250W solar panels, Epever 80A charger and 3x135Ah Voltax Prismatic LiFePO4 Batteries".



Veteran Member

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Posts: 26
Date:

Thanks Richard. I cant see what you van is from your profile photo but I can tell it isnt the same as ours. I doubt we have a light control board as I have traced wiring beneath the van and the rear taillights run directly from the plug top. However, I do appreciate your reply and I will have to start disconnecting lights and checking them for shorts. cheers. Peter.

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Zero ohms indicates a short circuit. Normally multimeters use a low voltage to measure resistance which is too low to turn the LED on. Remove all the lights and then measure the resistance again and if it is now open circuit replace the globes one by one. If still a short circuit, check the wiring. Have fun.

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Guru

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Posts: 1324
Date:

Petemox wrote:

Thanks Richard. I cant see what you van is from your profile photo but I can tell it isnt the same as ours. I doubt we have a light control board as I have traced wiring beneath the van and the rear taillights run directly from the plug top. However, I do appreciate your reply and I will have to start disconnecting lights and checking them for shorts. cheers. Peter.


FYI Peter

Every led lamp has a control board (usually a small printed circuit board) integrated into the lamp.



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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)

"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special towed by Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited"

"4x250W solar panels, Epever 80A charger and 3x135Ah Voltax Prismatic LiFePO4 Batteries".



Veteran Member

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Posts: 26
Date:

Thanks Richard. I wasnt aware of that. cheers.

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Posts: 26
Date:

jegog wrote:

Zero ohms indicates a short circuit. Normally multimeters use a low voltage to measure resistance which is too low to turn the LED on. Remove all the lights and then measure the resistance again and if it is now open circuit replace the globes one by one. If still a short circuit, check the wiring. Have fun.


 Thanks. Looks like that is the way to go. cheers. 

 



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