ok guys so my question is I have a 2007 Lincoln towncar signature limited 4.6 that I just got a week or so ago Im supposed to take it Monday to get md state inspection! I checked over the car today to see what I could see that would be a fail as far I know everything looked good until I noticed I had the passenger side corner light wasn’t working !! Thought no big deal went and bought a pack of 3156’s and pulled the assembly out and replaced the bulb firstly I noticed it may have been a tiny lil fender bender but nothing too serious at all ! I tried the new bulb and got nothing cleaned the contact points inside the bulb housing got nothing even tried it on the other side that works to make sure I didn’t have bad brand new bulbs and they all worked fine ! I’m hoping the inspector lets me go as all the other Important lights work like the headlights all the turn signals the tag lights the tail and brakes lights all work as well even the corner light on the driver side works and I’m under the assumption that there not a necessity there there just to light up the turn a lil better hell most cars dont even have that feature ! I’m a nervous wreck tho I can’t afford to have it professionally diagnosed and fixed I’m disabled and on fixed income here and money is super super tight ! I go to a buddy’s tomorrow to use his test light or whatever there called to see if it has juice to the socket but I doubt it does or the light would be working anything else I should look for I don’t even know were to start really I looked for broken wires didn’t see any but I plan on going into it further tomorrow! Any ideas or help on what to do here guys ???!! anyone had this problem before ? I looked online and on here in towncar forums but no luck so far not even YouTube had anything on this specific issue ! I read it could be the turn signal itself the arm I’m guessing that unit but I really don’t have money to throw parts at it !! please I’m praying something gives here it’s bad enough I had a hard time getting a decent car and getting this thing tagged and all on a super strict budget not to mention you only get 30 days to fix n get your car inspected smh 🙏 please and thank you for any help in advanced and please keep me in your prayers everyone !! Could it be the actual assembly? The turn signal switch itself ? What do I do !?
Light is generally better for this because it shows that the wire can carry a load. Think about a wire, made up of say 20 strands of copper. You can break or corrode all but one strand and it will still show 12 volts at the other end, but put any load on it and it stops working. No different than towing a load, a 3" rope or a piece of sewing thread will both connect them, but which one can take a load?
If you are measuring for voltage drop or resistance than the meter is good. For other testing I have everything from a common test light to a headlamp bulb that I use.
Okay awesome im going to exchange the multimeter for the test light and then I’m gonna follow your instructions you gave me and I’ll let you know what I get THANK YOU SO much I can’t say how grateful I am for any kind of help r.n !
No problem. A quick way to find a bad wire that is inside of a connector or even an open run is a simple tug test. A good wire can be pulled very hard with no issues, a bad connection will pull apart and if it was a corroded wire inside the insulation you will see it hourglass over the break before the insulation fails. If you want to see videos of this try this guide it might help. If you need more help you can ask there as well.
Wow awesome im so grateful for your help I cannot express it enough !! Thanks for the guide I can’t wait till daylight so I can get out here and try what you instructed!! I’ll get back to you and let ya know what I find ! Now question as far as the avistart4200 remote start and there’s a npk xk-04 keyless bypass module do you think it could possibly have to do with them making the corner light niot work ? It definitely its crudely wired I removed the white wire from the l.c.m under there it was just tapped onto the wire and a quick price of tape was thrown over it lol smh figured Id ask the guy who flunked me said if he was me he would remove that but I’m like dude if I do it wrong won’t my car be bricked !?? I know on e thing at a time but I figured I’d ask ya ! I’m really hoping amd praying it’s broken wire or something and not the modules smh with Xmas coming and all I’ll be in deep water !!! so far in close to budget smh THANK YOU THO FOR HELPING can’t express the gratitude and thanks !!! Just waiting for morning and I’ll get out there with the test light !!! you have a good nite and hopefully I have good news next time we talk 🙏 ty again g.n
The remote start shouldn’t have anything to do with the light. I remove things like that because many are installed the way yours is and they end up causing weird problems when a wire finally corrodes off or one of those twist joints comes apart. Especially when it is possible to install them much better for maybe 4 buck more in crimp and seal connectors and proper splicing with glue filled heat shrink.
Personally I would hunt down the manuals for both of those items then trace out the wiring and if you want to keep them, install them correctly. Or if you don’t you can see which wires do what and then repair the cars wiring back to stock. Take a look and see if these are correct -Avital 4200 (pdf) Bypass module pdf