This is on my '89 wagon.

I have owned this car for eight years now and generally had no problems with the rear lights. Or maybe I just thought so. Lately the left brake / tail light has been acting flaky. This is an 1157 bulb.

The flaky behavior is, turn on the tail light and the brake light also comes on without pressing the brake pedal. If I fiddle with it I can get the brake light to go off but then it will not display when braking. I have tried different bulbs and the condition persists.

Pictured below is the orifice for that brake / tail light bulb holder in my '89 wagon. I disconnected the yellow/grey wire that powers the brake light for this shot.

It's quite evident that a piece of plastic has been broken off by the notch at 7 o'clock in this view. I have been aware of this since day one.

It also seems like some previous owner or service person has been effing around with the notch at 3 to 4 o'clock. It should not be this wide, should it? This I never gave much thought until recently.

Now there are distinct left and right bulb holders, are there not? And yet the bulb holder that normally resides in the hole pictured here is identical to the one on the right side. Both fit easily and work normally in the right tail light assembly. Both work flaky in the left.

Would I be correct in assuming someone tried to McGyver the left side to accept a right hand bulb holder?

I'm currently trying to run down a good used Cibié tail light assembly.




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'80 DL 2 door, '89 DL Wagon