Taillight Issue

[MichaelBeck]

Hi All
On my 1957 Minor my RH taillights do not work. I have voltage to the contacts and when i touch the two contacts together for the taillight / stop lights the bulb illuminates.

However no taillight on its own.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

[Sleeper]

First thought , Bad earth....

John

[geoberni]

Electricity requires a complete circuit, not just as far as the lamp, so if you have voltage at the lamp, it's the return to the battery that isn't there, i.e. the Earth path.
If you haven't got a multimeter, I highly recommend you get one. You can get a simple digital one for under £5; it's probably the best investment you'll ever make for finding electrical problems.

I don't understand this statement, might have made sense to you writing it, but not to me as an electrician...

and when i touch the two contacts together for the taillight / stop lights the bulb illuminates.

Do you mean you've tried both contacts on the lamp to make sure both filaments are good, or you've shorted the brake connection to the rear lamp connection...