Burnt taillight connector, 90 Q45

[Jberger]

I just wanted to pass along my experiance with the taillight connections in my 1990 Q45. Since I was diagnosing a problem with my transmission this weekend, I thought I'd spend a bit of time working on a few other nagging issues. I've repeatedly been getting a "Stop Light Inoperative" message intermittantly on the message display. Since the taillights appeared to work, I thought perhaps a bulb was on it's way out and decided to change them until I found the culprit. I'd heard Dennis say to only use the LL bulbs so I made sure to have several of those handy.

SUPRISE, the second bulb was the issue, but not the bulb itself but the socket. I was amazed to find the socket itself (not the metal retainer but the pad with the connectors and the wires) to be burnt, to the point that the wire was making only intermittant contact with the bottom of the bulb. Once I removed the bulb and cleaned the socket, the problem was appearent. The pad (PC Board) was completely burned away and the solder appearntly melted into it's place. I suppose the bulb was hot enough to melt both the solder and the board. But it didn't stop there, even the wires had melted for about 1 1/2 inches from the socket. The bulb itself would still work, but I tossed it just in case.

Rather than replace the entire assembly, AutoZone carried just the part needed to fix it right up. Part Number 85801 Conduct Tite Double Contact PigtailBlue box in the electrical section.

I removed the old pad and wires, and spliced the replacement part in place, everything works fine now including the message center.

Just wanted to post this in case someone else had a similar issue. BTW: I also bought those LED replacement bulbs thinking they might keep the socket from overheating, they work, but cause the "stop lamp inoperative" message to appear, I guess they just don't draw enought voltage to work.

[Q451990]

It's a very common issue.... for those less technically inclined, the entire socket assembly can be replaced for about $15-20. This inclues the entire plastic assembly that snaps in to the tail light, the three sockets, etc. Just unplug the old one and put the new ones in. When I bought a replacement back in late 1998 at Infinti of Scottsdale, they had sold about 30 of them that year. Supposedly the non OEM cheap bulbs have a higher than rated current draw and cause this problem. I think Infiniti just cut the specs. a little too closely when they designed this part.

You're right about the LED tail lamps. LEDs have a much lower current draw per lumen than incandescent lighting. Where did you find the LED replacement bulbs? I have researched this a bit and it's pretty complicated to retrofit OEM lighting and improve on it. I bought a spare set of used tail lamp assemblies on eBay and plan on ordering some of the HP High Flux LED similar to what they're using on the Cadilac and trying to mount them on some circuit board material you can buy at Radio Shack. I'll probably have to go with some sort of resistor setup to get the resistance right to fool the tail light sensors and keep the dreaded "Stop Lamp Inoperative" message off of the dash.

Heath

[Bayarea Q]

JBerger,

Thanks for that great post! I was about to ask about that. I've had that damn stop lamp inop sign for a while now. I really miss the reasurrance of that OK on the dash. Looks like I have another project this weekend. Hopefully I'll have all the right tools for this one.

Cheers,Robert

[AZhitman]

I have also noticed that on my Q, it seems when one bulb (any exterior bulb) goes bad, the rest follow soon after. I've had a fog lamp, a rear side marker, my spoiler-mounted brake lamp and my LF turn signal crap out within a few weeks of each other.

She's a finicky, prissy, fat white girl... But God, the things she can do!

[deesolballs]

She's a finicky, prissy, fat white girl... But God, the things she can do!

Damned pushy white women..leave em alone Hitman, leave em alone. Oh wait....nevermind.

[AZhitman]

LMAO... Well, at least she doesn't complain about sleeping in the garage - And she NEVER whines when I "play rough".

[maxnix]

Quote »She's a finicky, prissy, fat white girl... But God, the things she can do![/quote]

And so appreciative of the attention!

[Jberger]

BTW: The LED's are from AutoZone also, They are direct replacements but they do cause the "stop light inoperative" message to appear.

I'm sure that can be fixed with some minor diode/resistor work, but I just didn't care enough to go that route.

[greg_atlanta]

I'm sure that can be fixed with some minor diode/resistor work, but I just didn't care enough to go that route.

That's the spirit!

Some days you just have to be glad you can do the "point A, point B" thing.