Neon light issue

[Ford nut]

This is weird I wonder if anyone else has had this problem.

My car is a 97 out of FL.
When I bought it the rear neon was out, common problem.
I bought a glitch ballast, installed it.
It seem to work flawless as they always do.

Once in a while I would get a message flash up on the message center, but it would flash and be gone so fast I could never read it, never had to reset it, I just figured it was part of the fun having a mark. "Not sure if that is related to the problem or not"

This summer I got a rear light message, I checked and the glitch was cooked.
I painted then installed a back up neon I had with a stock ballast.

I didn't like the stock plug and received a tail light message right away.
So I checked the ground it was good.
Hard wired the tail light in "by-passed the plug"
It worked great.

Now for the weird part.

Once and a while I get the tail light message but the rear lights are all fine and working.

Any ideas?

Worried that what ever fried the glitch ballast is going to fry my replacement ballast.
Something does not seem right.

 

[Mad1stGen]

Just a get a 1st gen. That's what I did. lol

By good ground, did you check the one between the hinge, and car's body ? Maybe add a direct ground from the ballast to the chassis ?

 

[Ford nut]

Just a get a 1st gen. That's what I did. lol

By good ground, did you check the one between the hinge, and car's body ? Maybe add a direct ground from the ballast to the chassis ?

That is a good idea.
I will try a direct ground and see if the message goes away.

Thanks!

Have fun with your gen 1.... Blk lsc's are hard to come by.

 

[Ford nut]

I rewired the ground and was still getting the intermittent tail light message.
Strange, I would walk back to the tail lights and everything worked, until last night.

The Passenger taillight bulb bit the dust.

Weird....it must have been flickering.
Hope the new bulb fixed it, no message today maybe the glitch frying was just a freak thing.

 

[Ford nut]

Just fried another ballast, got to love it.

Anyone try one of these?
http://www.lincolnsonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73962

Thinking of trying the DC45 ballast, wire in a 10 amp fuse before the ballast.

I must have a short somewhere... I love this car :fart

 

[beerdog]

Just a get a 1st gen. That's what I did. lol

I am thinking the same thing

 

[BadSax]

I may be wrong, but I don't think the neon will cause the tail lamp / brake lamp warning...

I think it's only triggered by one of the incandescent bulbs.

 

[KStromberg]

Check the wiring that runs along the driver's side trunk lid hinge. Stranger things have happened I guess and it's possible you have a broken wire(s) there.

 

[budpytko]

I seem to remember mine saying that the "CENTER BRAKE LIGHT" failed when mine went a number of years ago. I guess we could go through the check and see tho.....

 

[Ford nut]

I may be wrong, but I don't think the neon will cause the tail lamp / brake lamp warning...

I think it's only triggered by one of the incandescent bulbs.

You must be right, I have no neon, and no message.

Check the wiring that runs along the driver's side trunk lid hinge. Stranger things have happened I guess and it's possible you have a broken wire(s) there.

I looked, be didn't slice open the harness, my next step I guess.