Tail Light Assembly

[louer]

Count me in as another Olds Van owner with problem tail lamps. I have discovered the fix is to replace the "boards" and connectors, but was wondering if any members know of a good source for these components. Thanks.

[463]

Welcome to the form. on my 02 olds the drvers side stop lamp would act as it was burnt out. i slaped the outside of the lens and it started to work. a week or so later same thing. thas when i pulled it apart and found a good bulb in a some what rusty bulb contacts. i used # 400 wet & dry sand paper wraped over the end of a smaller flat blade screwdriver. this was used to scrub off the bulb contact points ( on the board ). i then dipped the bulb in some acid (toilet bowl cleaner acid ) for a min or so and rinsed with water and dried it off. at this point the bulb looked like new. i then used a light coat of dielectric grease on the bulb and socket contacts and replaced bulb and lens with no more non working light isues. that was over a year ago with more non working lamps. i think its a gm short cut that could have saved you and i some problems. 463

[louer]

Originally Posted by 463

Welcome to the form. on my 02 olds the drvers side stop lamp would act as it was burnt out. i slaped the outside of the lens and it started to work. a week or so later same thing. thas when i pulled it apart and found a good bulb in a some what rusty bulb contacts. i used # 400 wet & dry sand paper wraped over the end of a smaller flat blade screwdriver. this was used to scrub off the bulb contact points ( on the board ). i then dipped the bulb in some acid (toilet bowl cleaner acid ) for a min or so and rinsed with water and dried it off. at this point the bulb looked like new. i then used a light coat of dielectric grease on the bulb and socket contacts and replaced bulb and lens with no more non working light isues. that was over a year ago with more non working lamps. i think its a gm short cut that could have saved you and i some problems. 463

463:
Thanks for the reply. I only wish I had found this forum sooner prior to my "butchering" the boards by prying them apart. The procedure you describe sounds like the way to go. I will keep it in mind if I encounter any problems with the replacements.

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by louer

Count me in as another Olds Van owner with problem tail lamps. I have discovered the fix is to replace the "boards" and connectors, but was wondering if any members know of a good source for these components. Thanks.

Try this:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/97-06...QQcmdZViewItem
Not a bad price seeing as how much the dealer was getting in the past. I see these all the time on eBay and wish they were available about 5 years ago when I had to replace the ones on mine.