[T3] Lights

[Jim Adney]

On 1 Nov 2017 at 20:54, dlstiefel wrote:

> They are brighter when the brakes are applied than when just the tail
> lights are on.

This sounds like you're comparing the brightness with both of them on to the 
brightness with the brake lights alone. If so, that's not the right test. It needs 
to be alone to alone.

A bad ground will effect the bright filament more than the dim one, so that 
might be a problem. If that's the case, you would see it as a difference in 
side to side brightness of the brake lights, because the grounds are separate 
and it's unlikely that you'd have exactly the same ground problem on both 
sides.

It's also possible that with the new paint you have NO ground at the sockets. 
In that case, each bulb still gets a sort of ground back thru all the other 
filaments in that side. Test for this by removing all the bulbs from each side 
and then check the resistance to ground from the lamp base to a chassis 
ground.

Finally, with standard bulbs, the apparent brigthness is VERY dependent on 
the reflectivity of the chrome reflector. If that reflector is corroded, or just 
tarnished, it will make a HUGE difference. If it's tarnished, you may be able 
to polish it, but if the chrome is corroded or flaking off, the only fix is 
replacement.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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