87 5kCSTQ Mysterious Brake Light

[Michael Dewar - Sun Scotland]

> So, during the year storage in the back yard, I bashed a quarter-sized hole
> in the right rear taillight assembly on the Gray 87. Chris Semple sends me a
> new taillight (thanks, Chris). I install it last night. Easy to do with deep
> 8mm socket. Hardest job is reworking the sticky black goo used to keep water
> out. I go for a test drive and on comes the warning light telling me my
> brake lamp is kaput. I go around to the rear of the car, having son press
> brake pedal. Sure enough, the brake light no longer lights. I know it
> worked, since the car just passed the state safety inspection. So I figure
> the light bulb must have coincidentally burnt out. No, filament still good.
> I check all the fuses, Nope. 
> 
> Then I turn on the headlights. Now the mysterious behavior. The brake light
> now comes on with the taillight! Other brake lights work normally, but this
> one now only comes on with taillight and fails to work as a brake light. 
> 
> No connectors were removed or reattached in the lens replacement process.
> The bulb carrier just snaps out then snaps back into the new lens assembly.
> There is no electrical contact between the bulb carrier and the lens
> assembly, so it can't be a ground problem.
> 
> What gives?
> 
When you removed the pcb from the back of the cluster, you must have
disturbed the wires. Try moving the wires which are attached to the
pcb.

Regards,
Mike