haha ok so it's not as bad is it sounds. i removed my entire tow bar a couple of weeks ago and whippy pointed out to me at the last meet that my left taillight has gone dim, i.e. the VL commodore look.

all i did to remove the indicator/brake light connection from the tow bar was clip the cord at the towbar end, roll it up and shove it in the boot in case i ever wanted to put it back on. well now that my rear tail light is dim, i figure it must be because i haphazardly cut this cord. i pulled apart the rear of my car today to try to fix it, would it be fixed if i removed all of the tow bar wiring from the loom, where it connects to the taillight?

ill get a pic up shortly if you dont get what i mean

EDIT: pics

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/guitar_is_god/07072009.jpg

ok, so the wires coming from the bottom of the picture are from the tow bar.
the wires coming from the left are from the rear left taillight.
and the wires on the top are headed to the dash/battery i would assume.

the tow bar wires are essentially spliced into the existing wires. should i just pull these out (or cut them as close as possible to the splice) and hope for the best?

I hate these clips, rarely use them and only then as a temp fix when I have no other choice.

Remove them by uncliping them and then they open up. Once done check your current car wires are not cut or broken and check your earth as this is the usual case

Also goes without saying, check the globe as it could be the culprit

yeah i assumed it was an aftermarket job... do you think my removing these wires my taillight will be back to normal? cheers mal

Doubt it, there from what I can see is one wire that is not connected and being the white wire should not be either

May be that there is a short at the other end, you are best off removing this wire and if you want a trailer plug setting it up correctly in the first place.

scotch locks are the devil,i rate them up there with shifters etc!,if you have unhooked them and opened them up,make sure they havent severed the wire they were tapped into,if a globe is glowing etc,it usally means it has lost its earth or is getting feedback,check the earths on that light,also maybe the stop light filament (21w)is blown and the tail flament (5W) is still only working giving the impression of a dull light?

have you changed a brake globe lately and put it in the wrong way around ?

one side might be lighting up the larger "brake" fillament part of it, giving a brighter light than the other side when the headlights are on.

Ben,
If you want to retain the "maybe I'll put the towbar back on" functionality - there have been towbar wiring adaptors at Caine's ( I got one back in Feb/Mar anyway).

They are a bit like a double-adaptor, goes in between the car loom and the tailight plug and then has a length of multi-core wiring to go to the trailer plug.

The one I got had the flat type of cable that you can flop through the boot seal when you want to use it, and you'll need to fit your own trailer socket (as they vary from state to state).

scotch locks are the devil,i rate them up there with shifters etc!

One of my pet hates....

Such a cheap and nasty way of doing things, in an emergency if you dont have tools its fine. For long term stuff, I struggle to understand whats wrong with a plug, or some solder and electrical tape?

One of my pet hates....

Such a cheap and nasty way of doing things, in an emergency if you dont have tools its fine. For long term stuff, I struggle to understand whats wrong with a plug, or some solder and electrical tape?

Well, when people want the cheapest tow bar they can find, then want it fitted in a market where cowboys don't charge to fit towbars, what would you do? Time is money, if your competitor is not charging to fit bars, you save every cent and second you can.
People want cheap, they get cheap.
Remember that next time you go for teh lowest quote.

Regards, Andrew.

Well, when people want the cheapest tow bar they can find, then want it fitted in a market where cowboys don't charge to fit towbars, what would you do? Time is money, if your competitor is not charging to fit bars, you save every cent and second you can.
People want cheap, they get cheap.
Remember that next time you go for teh lowest quote.

Regards, Andrew.

Yes people go for cheap over good, that being said - regardless of how your competitor gets his prices so low, you dont do a crap job for the sake of $2 in labour.