Yesterday I replaced the corner light housing for my 1996 SE - both corners were cracked open.
So midway through me putting them in, I blew the tail light fuse.
After replacing that fuse, everything worked fine except the corner lights.
They remain off until I use the turn signal, then they turn on full brightness.
There is no dim lighting like there used to be.

Like I said, everything else still works, the tail light turn signals work, front ambers work, everything.
Anyone have any clue?

I tried searching but couldn't really find a problem like this without somebody saying that they installed LEDs or something. There was no additional load placed on any circuits.

 

back to basics.

That should be an 1157 bulb (dual-filament). Replace with new 1157 bulbs and report back. Chances are that's your problem.

 

I guess I should have included that the bulbs are brand new as of yesterday (during the install i replaced the bulbs as well). any other ideas?

 

I would pull the bulbs out and inspect them to be certain that they are the dual filament 1157 type. People do get wrong parts from time to time.

 

 

They definitely are 1157 long life bulbs. Dual filament and everything.
Funny thing is, I had to run to Napa when i first went to replace the housings because I had originally gotten 1156 bulbs and they wouldn't fit in the socket due to the prongs on the bulb.

But to be on the safe side, I took them out today around 7pm just to make sure and there were two filaments.

 

Maybe the new cornering lights you bought are defective
What year did the replacements come out of? Because the 4.5gen cornering lights don't behave the same as the 95-96.


Plug one back in and check proper operation.

 

no no no it's just the housing.
I used the same harness from my car and just plugged it in to the new housings.
Just plugged my 1996 corner light harness and socket into a new corner light assembly.

 

If there is no dim lighting, does your corner bumper lights turn on? If it does, I would swap the bulb. If you want to be sure, take one of your tails and bring it there to test and see if it is working. If not then, I would say the harness is defective. One of mine is currently and it does not get bright when signaling. It just stays dim lit.

 

That is very weird. I will give it a shot tomorrow morning and see what happens, but yes the corner bumper lights turn on. I'll report back.

 

Well that did not do any difference.
However, it seems illogical that the harnesses are bad.
They worked perfectly fine before I changed out the housing.
All I did was take out the old housing and put a new one in.
Blew a fuse, replaced it, now they don't light up unless the turn signal is on.

Just doesn't make much sense.

 

Haha I've been having the same problem!
Over the past year, my right turn signal worked fine, but the corner light didnt work. (the left one works fine and the right one works when dim lighting is turned on) then out of the blue, the right corner worked during turning for about a month, and now it disappeared again.
My best guess would be a wiring contact issue.

 

check the wiring when you replaced the housings...maybe you've got a sharp bend or something, making intermittent contact? At this point, you're gonna have to get in there deep and check everything, inch by inch with a multimeter to make sure your wires are not broken.

 

take out your taillight housing and make sure there's no pinched / crushed wires. did you do that already?

 

Alright! Well it's been pretty chilly here in WI, as a matter of fact we got 3 inches of snow today,
This weekend it's supposed to get around 55 degrees so I'll be able to work without getting frostbite hahaha
I'll tear apart the lighting and trace everything with my multimeter and report back to you all