Hey guys I got an 83 pickup with no running lights and that includes the tail lights. I bought the truck a couple days ago. I didn't check the lights real well before buying the truck. But after buying the truck I found that some idiot had just ripped the wires out of a side marker light fixture and left the bare wires inside the fender... well needless to say they ended up getting lodged between the inner fender and fender and shorting out. Then of course that started blowing 15 amp fuse for the taillights (and running lights?) and in response to that issue the idiot then proceeded to just throw in a 30 amp fuse which of course let the wires get really... really... really hot and melted any wires in the running light system under the hood and under the dash coming off of the tail light relay for about 2 1/2 feet.. I replaced all the melted wires under the hood yesterday after I finished that I figured I would just see if fixing that would give me tail lights... It actually made every light on the vehicle work. Only problem then was the lights that previously wouldnt work... now wouldnt go off. Had to unhook the battery. So I figured it was just a short in the power before the relay. So today I tore the dash apart and replaced all the melted wires there. .(yes I did it right I couldnt have done it wrong IMO as I only cut and replaced one wire at a time to be sure I didn't get anything mixed up.) After finishing all of this and getting the truck put back together... I have no running or taillights. I checked the relay or relays(both of them on that little bracket) with an OHM meter and they both seem to be ok. I went ahead and ordered some new ones. But I get the odd feeling that wont fix my issue. So have you guys got any ideas of where I should look next? I know all the fuses and bulbs are good.

One of the relays did seem a little warmer than the other after running the truck for a bit. (dont know if any heat should come from them or not). I'm referring to the two little relays under the dash just above the brake pedal.

 

Also could you guys tell me what each relay is for? right and left from the front(as if you were setting in the driver seat looking at them). Will I need to replace both to get all my lights to work properly(if they are bad)?

 

Well I got the problem worked out... I wasn't getting power to the running light relay. If anyone is wondering if your looking at the two relays as if your sitting in the driver seat.. left is the tail lights and right is the head lights. (might have to double check that to make sure... the one with the two green wires going into it is the tail light/running light).

I didnt want to have to tear my dash apart again to find where I was losing power at so I just went and got a fuseable link(a wire with a fuse socket on it for the less informed) And just jumped it across from the headlight power wire to the running light power wire(after looking at the wiring diagram for the truck this is what happens anyways up higher somewhere) and I put a 15A fuse in the link to be safe. This fixed the problem completely now all lights work on the truck just fine.

If your having the same issue just take one of those cheap little light bulb testers that you clip to a ground and push the sharp end into a wire to see if its hot and figure out which wire is the hot wire on one of the relays (the relays have a little diagram on them to help you figure things out) and just run it to the one that should be hot on the other relay. In my case the wires carrying power for the headlight relay was red with a blue stripe, and the one that should have been hot on the running light relay was red with a yellow stripe.

Hope this helps anyone with the same issue in the future.