Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Hey guys,
My 55 Pat's tail lights are stuck on. Just the tail lights. No park lights or dash lights, just tail lights wont go out. Additionally, the left signal wont blink. Bright filament lights up front and rear, but no flash. Right side is fine. Ideas? Thanks!

Are the side running lights on also? If so it is tail lights and power for them comes directly and uninterrupted from the headlight switch. Perhaps something is touching the tail light terminal on the switch to provide power or something has happened inside the switch. There could also be a damaged area in the loom and the tail light wire is touching an adjacent wire that is always powered.

The side running lights are in parallel with the tail lights. If the side lights are not on and assuming those bulbs are good then it may be the brake lights that are on. If that is the case, the most likely cause would be a bad brake light switch or something like the brake pedal not returning all the way is keeping pressure in the hydraulic lines and switch is on. There is a possibility one of the terminals has worked out and is shorting at the switch plug or even the TL power and brake light wires got crossed. Does the TL work when the lights are on?

If bulbs and grounds are good at the parking and tail light housings then the non flashing could be a bad or dirty contact in the turn signal switch.

I defer to Howard on all things Paxkard. As an aside I had a similar situation where the brake lights remained on all the time. Turned out the switch( located inside the engine compartment on driver side) was shot. Changed the switch and lights went out.
Just a suggestion.
RJR

I have confirmed that side lights are not on, but they do work. Brake lights function as well. I was driving it Monday night and all was fine until I made a left turn. That's when I noticed signal issue. I should also mention that the left signal lit up when key was OFF. Didnt flash, but lit up front and rear. Right side didn't come on, only left when the lever was in the left position. The left arrow seemed dimmer than right arrow. Not sure about TL working. It has been working perfectly til I found a dead battery last night. Battery on charger.

With the side lights being in parallel with the tail lights yet appearing to be off while tails are on it is a bit confusing. Possibly there is something placing more than one filament in series and they are just not bright enough to be seen when whatever is lighting up the tail lights is providing power. A bad ground at the parking or tail light housing is frequently a cause for that symptom and that of one sides turn signal working and the other side not. It could also be the brake lights are on but at a dim level and go to full brilliance when the pedal is pushed.

When you turn on the parking or headlights does the running light turn on and off at the normal low level? Does the courtesy light part of the side lights come on at full level when the door is opened? Either way, still need to try and isolate where the voltage is coming from to keep the tail lights on.

Pull the body feed fuse from the fuse block under the dash. On a 55 that eliminates power to the brake light switch part of the circuit and any wires in the loom that might be shorting to the tail light wire.

If the lights are still on try pulling the directional signal fuse and check again. If they are still on that kind of leaves the headlight switch area as the source.

Sidelights work as they should. TL works fine. Front signal/park lights work as the should except left signal. Vexing. I will pull fuses tomorrow and see what's what. My leaning is towards faulty headlamp switch or signal switch

I would pull one the tail light bulbs and verify exactly which filament is burning. You can hold the socket against the housing as someone pushes the brake pedal to verify if it is the brake or tail filament burning.

The flashers are the thermal bimetal type and require a specific resistance thru the bulb filaments in order to work. Wrong filaments on the bulbs such as might happen if a bulb is incorrectly inserted or the wrong type bulb as well as a poor ground to the bulb which forces the turn signal to find ground for that filament thru another bulb filament via it's circuit are typical causes of no flashing on one side.

Here is an extraction showing only the turn signal circuit and how the flasher and brake light feed goes thru the switch. 55-6 switches are physically different than the 51-4 shown but electrically work the same.

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It used to be when a turn signal would blink, but the dash indicator was out indicated one bulb (front or rear) was not working, and if the dash indicator was on, but did not blink, it was the other (front or rear) bulb that was not working properly. I would check the bulbs in the rear to make sure that they are dual filament and that the sockets are not distorted. I have had a bent socket allow one of the bulb contacts to bridge the socket contacts. I have also seen a socket that was worn enough that the bulb could be put in 180 degrees out and that would bridge the contacts as well.

So an update. I disconnected the rear harness at the kick panel. I tested each feed from the main harness and everything worked as it should. This led me to believe the issue lay in the rear harness. When I plugged everything back in, the taillights AND backup lights lit up. Frustrated, I pulled up the sill plates and back seat to inspect the harness. There was a patch out in for the hot wire going to exterior courtesy lights and trunk light etc. I cut that wire and viola! Taillights and backup lights went out. Started car, everything worked except courtesy lights and trunklight and rear dome light. I decided to leave it for another day. Buttoned everything back up. Now.....when I turn on the ignition the green turn indicators light up. WTH?. Frustrated to infinity and beyond.

What about front fender wires going thru fender that insulation goes if the rubber sleeve gives up..