Brake light question

[Joel Gardner]

I'm new to 356's and this will be my first post, I have a 1959 Conv. D. Love it.
I hope I'm posting in the correct place since I didn't see a technical question section. Anyways, I had a passenger side brake light go out. I figured just a bulb, but the bulb is fine. I loosened the wire to the socket, snipped it shorter and re-installed it since it looked kind of beat up and hoping that a fresh connection would solve the issue. No such luck. I examined the wire for any cracks, etc., and did not find anything. The socket itself looks OK, just some slight pitting from age. Any ideas?

[Dave Wildrick]

Use a test light or voltmeter to see if you have 6 volts coming to the wire that feeds the bulb socket.
You could also use a small wire brush to shine up the contacts on the bulb base & sides, and then use it on the inside of the socket along with the (hot) contact at the bottom of the socket. See if any of that helps.

[David Jones]

Does the turn signal work? Remember that the brake/turn signal runs through the turn switch so it could be an issue with the switch if the turn signal works but not the brake light.

[Joel Gardner]

Update:

So here's what I have:

Passenger side:
1. Front turn signal works but is slow (labored)
2. Rear turn signal does Not work
3. Rear tail light works
4. Brake light works

Driver side:
1. Front turn signal works (fast blink)
2. Rear turn signal does Not work
3. Rear tail works
4. Brake light does Not work.

[Geoff Fleming]

First, check for power at the wires, as both Daves mentioned, next, make sure each signal housing has a ground to the chassis, or make these grounds yourself, using heavy gauge wire screwed into clean metal. Most dim lighting, poor turn signals, and slow cranking can be traced to poor ground connections more than no power to the light in question.
For the brake lights, go to the master cylinder and clean both connectors where the wires fit. Your problem may be corrosion, since the brake cylinder is exposed to the elements, even with the rubber boot in place. Check to see that the fuses are all clean and the brass tabs on the fuse block are also shiny. Use only the Bosch fuses that have copper strips...there is another type with a white metal strip that tends to build up resistance but still seem o.k.

[Martin Benade]

Make sure the correct bulbs are in each spot, front and rear. Also try spraying contact cleaner in the turn signal switch and exercising it as both brake lights and turn signals go through it, and check its wires to be sure they are all connected.

[Jim Neil]

As I recall, I once put a dab of solder on the rear bulb (or on the receptacle for it), per Joe Leoni's suggestion in his book (I think), and that fixed the problem, which was poor contact between bulb and socket. I have since switched to the Cu Layer LED lights, which I highly recommend (http://www.culayer.com/Porsche_356.htm).