New Back Up Lights

This is the classic tale of going to buy something cheap and ending up spending more than you planned. Today, I stopped by the Mustang Corral in Edwardsville between events. I was going there to buy two 1142 bulbs for the Cougar's backup lights. While I was there I thought about the condition of the current back up light housings that were on the car (pitted) and wondered if there was something wrong with the connections rather than just the bulbs.  I asked if they had the backup light housings in stock and they did so I decided to buy those too for $39.99/each.

After I left the Mustang Corral, I went to my parent's house to pick up Elsie and then to O'Fallon to the Strange Folk Festival where Mary was selling some items with a couple of friends, Tasha and Elizabeth who had a booth. Here's a link to their craftylicious items: Tasha and Elizabeth.  Not long after I arrived the storm clouds were brewing and we hurried up and put up tarps around the tent and braced for the rain. We stayed dry (thanks Beth for the Girl Scout level of preparedness was appreciated) and after the rain let up I scooped up Elsie and headed for my waterlogged Cougar.  Not knowing exactly what to expect, the interior stayed surprisingly dry and I was pleasantly surprised with the way the car performed in the rain. I kept my distance from the other cars and I think I only spun the tires once after starting from a red light. The windshield wipers don't always wipe exactly parallel all the time, but they worked well enough to get me home.

After I got back home from the festival I put Elsie down for a much needed nap and I went outside to wipe the rain off the car.  While I was outside I thought I would jack up the car and look to see how they are attached. The back up lights are only attached by two screws built into the housing that push through the lower rear valance and are attached by a washer, lock washer and small nut. The lights are connected to the electrical system with a plug so there is no wiring involved in the disassembly or assembly.

Both of the of the backup light housings came out very easily.  A problem came up when I was checking the fit of the new parts where the old ones had been. When I went to reinstall the new back up light housings I had to reuse the existing rubber body seals instead of the new ones that I purchased.  These body seals sit between the chrome plated housing and the painted valance below the rear bumper to keep from scratching the paint and keep water out and prohibit rust around the hole in the valance. The original rubber seals are oval shaped, but the new seals are more circular and did not fit easily.  I would have had to cut the new ones to fit and I did not want to do that. If they still didn't fit then I could not return them. So with the housings reinstalled, I inserted the light bulbs, reattached the clear plastic lenses  and plugged the wires into the electrical system.

Now it was time to test out the new lights.  I got in the car and turned the key to the on position, but did not start the car. I pulled the gear shift into reverse and got out to check the lights.

Nothing.

Grrrr! I didn't have much time to diagnose because Mary had called after I got the first one reinstalled and said she was on her way home.  However, it could be a fuse or it could be a connection at the transmission or  something hidden in the wiring.

This was a frustrating ending to a seemingly simple project, but hopefully it is easy to remedy the problem.