taillight wiring

General discussion area. A place to take a break and share your buggy world with others.
Post Reply
Gene-C
Posts: 2949
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2010 6:00 am

taillight wiring

Post by Gene-C »

which terminal is brake?which one turn? Image
manxdavid
Posts: 998
Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2010 5:00 am
Location: Bull Bay, Anglesey, North Wales, UK. Manxclub #678

Post by manxdavid »

The only sure way to find out is to put a bulb (21w/5w-12v) in and put a battery between either terminal and the ground (any part of the reflector). The brake light will light brighter.
"Wise men talk because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something." (Plato)
Reverb
Posts: 203
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 10:00 pm

Post by Reverb »

Brake and turn are both the same filament. The other filament is for your tail light. If you have a test light, you can tell which is which with that.
newmanx59
Posts: 864
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:00 pm

Post by newmanx59 »

The brake/tail (2 filiment-1157) and turn (single filiment-1156) are 2 different bulbs in a 62 to 67 VW taillight.
Gene-C
Posts: 2949
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2010 6:00 am

Post by Gene-C »

eanny meanny minny moe !?
TMc2548
Posts: 206
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:00 pm

Post by TMc2548 »

My eyes may be decieving me but I think you have a 1157 recepticle. One side is Batt voltage and the other would therefore be the ground side. Light bulbs aren't polarized so I dont think it would matter which is which.
MickeyUSA
Posts: 92
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2005 9:00 pm

Post by MickeyUSA »

If you are referring to the two bottom contacts, both are hot (dual element light) and the side of the bulb is your ground. (Negative grounded cars).
Gene-C
Posts: 2949
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2010 6:00 am

Post by Gene-C »

Hard to explain, even harder to find anything in my quick online search. So I did the next best thing: took a picture. You'll have to work things backwards, but I think you should be able to figure it out from this. The 1157 is a dual contact bulb with a set of locating pins offset from one another. This feature makes sure you get the bulb in the right way when changing it. Each contact is one side of the filament and the other sides are tied to together and connected to the brass shell, which in turn is grounded. It may be hard to see the annotation in my photo, but the bulb is facing up with the locating pin closest to the base. The other pin is higher up on the shell. Hope this helps!
TMc2548
Posts: 206
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:00 pm

Post by TMc2548 »

Thanks for the correction Tim. I'm actually smarter than I post. Minor brain fart there. :x
Gene-C
Posts: 2949
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2010 6:00 am

Post by Gene-C »

thanks guys!!!!
User avatar
5150bossman
Posts: 612
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2010 5:00 am
Location: So Cal

Post by 5150bossman »

Like NM 59 said, the fixture looks like it is a two bulb/three filiment set up. the picture is upsidedown and cut-off for the upper turn indicator. The pictured lower two-filiment bulb mount (1157) has the smaller filiment for the running light, and the larger filiment for the stop/brake light. The top single-filiment bulb mount (1156) is specifically for the turn indicator. Now, if you want to wire it another way, then that's another story... :driving:
Gene-C
Posts: 2949
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2010 6:00 am

Post by Gene-C »

thanks!! Here is the plan: Image
Post Reply