tail lights going crazy

this started happening on new years eve. when i would go to brake, both turn signals would light up and stay on, and my lic plate light shuts off (only when i applied the brakes and headlights were on). now lets say when i have the left turn signal with brakes applied the right one flashes and both brakes lights flash like having hazards, and right turn signal on and same thing but opposite. only time it doesn't do it is when i don't have the brakes applied and headlights off.

on new years day, i pulled both taillights and started going threw the harness and noticed a red with white strip i believe. the wire was cut and frayed. so put a but connector on, and everything went back to normal. then after a couple days up in tell last night, started doing it again. so did the same thing and couldn't find squat. then today it's off an on, im sure it's a grounding issue or something it lose and wiggling around, and im sure i just answered my own question with the above grounding issue. i just wanna see what you guys think.

take you rear lights out, unplug the harnesses and clean the connectors good.U can use 0000 grit paper or the neat spray electrical contact cleaner. That should fix it.bj

Also check the harness under the bed behind the rollpan bumper area. It may have been spliced years ago for a trailer light harness or might have rubbed where it makes the turn to no into the bed and to the lights.

that's where i looked when it first happened, and found a wire that was cut, might have been from dragging idk, but the guy i got the truck from said it came from Virginia, the wire on the truck is hagard, and one im gonna go threw it all and fix and make it look nice.

ok cool. thanks

The taillight harness usually grounds to a spot on the top of the frame right on top of the last crossmember, had the same issue with the lights last summer, cleaning up and regrounding that spot worked for me.

maybe the bed is pinching a wire?

it's weird, just got home and it does it then it doesn't, just works fine then the next min it doesn't. i looked at the whole harness and everything and no wires are showing. life would be a lot easier if the bed were off then i can uncover everything and check everything and clean it up.



would the cross member be the spare tire cross member? and yes it's still there.

bed is pretty easy to take off. 6 bolts. 2 near the front 2 in the middle and 2 at the rear. unplug tail light harness. undo the gas filler neck.

try the simple sh-- first before u start rooting around under the bed.Lol.bj