Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Turns out it was in fact the connector onto the driver's side tail light assembly. Didn't show any overheating but the lights fail to work when the connection is pressed all the way to the "home" position. Moving it to a "not quite home" position the back up lights work fine now.

Randy

I was in the same position as your son, and unfortunately I think the best solution would be to wait until he has a somewhat related problem that does require a repair shop to do work on the car, and simply ask them to fix the reverse lights while the other work is beind done.

My backup lights went out probably two years ago. I asked about getting someone to fix the lights, but my parents nixed the idea since it would be $100-$150. However, when my tail lights went on the fritz just a few weeks ago, I realized I would have to take the car in to get the brake lights working again. Even though my parents had pretty much told me before not to worry or do anything about the backup lights, I went ahead and told the mechanic to fix them while he was working on the rest of the tail light cluster.

My logic was that the car would be in for *at least* two hours ($65/hour), if not longer (since there was a brake failure light issue as well as a tachometer thing to check on), and that we'd end up spending more than $120 or so as it were. Why not get everything fixed for just a small additional fee?

They fixed it, and my final bill was $180. I doubt it would have been much less if I had brought in the car for only the backup lights--they were already doing work, so just throw some extra repairs in as a package deal. I think the problem was a simple connection issue, but I don't have the technical skill or tools here at college to take apart my shifter (and what if I screw it up?). It was much simpler and not much more expensive to get the work done while the car was already due for repair work.
--
'89 244 GL -- 106,520 miles (see profile for info on car)

What I found in my 1986 244 back-up light problem.

It was the connector on the left tail light. Yes, you have to pull the spare to get the cover off.

The wire route is:

Black from the harness (from the shifter switch). It it connected to one of the thingies (scientific name?) in that connector that pinches onto the circuit board foil.

That bit of foil is double wide. There is another black wire pinching thingie right next to the first one, and that one picks up the voltage and carries it over to the right side back-up light.

[Note that the rear fog lights on the 1986-88 (which have two lights, not one) use the same system.]

The foil under the first connector gets oxidized and pitted, and contact gets lost. Thus - no back-up lights.

Quick fix: Remove the two pinching thingies from the connector and trade their positions. That will put the incoming voltage on a good spot on the foil, the thingie for the right side will be on the bad spot.

You should get the left back-up light to work, and maybe sometimes the right side. One will get you going, right?

Good Luck,

Bob

:>)

Randy, in two of our cars the switch has been the culprit in the automatic. Best approach is tracing with a test light:

First stop, Fuse 12, blue/yellow lead outbound.
Next, black wire at the left taillight housing, backprobe the actual connector terminal.
If needed, remove the cover on the shifter. The feed is a yellow wire on the switch. The switched output is the black wire on the switch. Here's how I fixed the switch in two cars so far: Fixing your backup lights for nothing
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Is this an auto or manual? I'd check the switch in the shifter box if auto, not sure of the location on a manual ... in the former as I recall it's connected to the ignition cutout, and needs careful adjustment. Do you have wiring diagrams?