help! frustrating taillight/brake light bullsh...

[jojoampt]

Ok, so tonight i got burned by the ever so classic "single left fog light" Yup, got pulled over for taillight out. I didnt even know the scenario with the one fog, so i didnt argue. I did however find it very strange that I didnt get a warning in the cluster. Luckily no ticket.
So I go to the auto parts store for a taillight bulb, they give me a 7528. When i get home and take apart my taillight of course i discover the missing bulb...??? A quick glance at the owners manual and I figure out what the hell is going on.
I put everything back together and now all of a sudden the warning shows up.. right rear light/brake light. So mysteriously now its actually out. Coincidence?
I replaced the bulb and it still doesnt work, and i still get the right rear light/brake light warning. I searched and I know i have the right bulb, I also disconnected the battery and reconnected it and nothing. Any ideas as to what the hell is going on? This is pretty frustrating cuz I dont really want to drive with it out; but the hungry weakness is taking over and I have no food at home.... HELP!

[mattman]

hah i did the same thing....
just make sure your harness is plugged in all the way. also try some electrical contact cleaner. could be a coincedence...unless you somehow bent a pin on the harness :-S

[jojoampt]

yeah, the reverse bulb and blinker still work, so the harness must be completely plugged in...

[mattman]

yeah, the reverse bulb and blinker still work, so the harness must be completely plugged in...

none of the pins are bent? also, did you change that bulb by any chance?

[jojoampt]

yeah, once i put it all back together, and it didnt work, i replaced it with one of the 7528's

[jojoampt]

also, i never unhooked the harness, i just took off the faceplate holding the bulbs and left the harness attached.

[mattman]

this might sound stupid, but make sure its the right bulb. i believe the original is a single filament bulb, but there are also dual filament bulbs that seem to fit.
check your other tailight to see if its the same bulb type.

[mattman]

single filament will have one "contact area" on the bottome, dual will have 2

[jojoampt]

yeah, its dual. and im a fucking idiot. when i first opened it up, before i realized the fog light scenario, i took the light bulb out. so when i figured out about the fogs, i put the bulb back into the fog hole on accident, not the brake light hole. so i got it to work now... lolz at me! so now check this out... when i went to put the taillight back on... i.. err... uh... um... kinda dropped the bolt down into the abyss. you know.. the one place you dont want to drop the bolt. how do i get that shit out now? or should i just try to find a replacement bolt at this point? boy, this thread keeps getting more and more embarrassing! well, at least my pizza is here

[mattman]

yeah, its dual. and im a fucking idiot. when i first opened it up, before i realized the fog light scenario, i took the light bulb out. so when i figured out about the fogs, i put the bulb back into the fog hole on accident, not the brake light hole. so i got it to work now... lolz at me! so now check this out... when i went to put the taillight back on... i.. err... uh... um... kinda dropped the bolt down into the abyss. you know.. the one place you dont want to drop the bolt. how do i get that shit out now? or should i just try to find a replacement bolt at this point? boy, this thread keeps getting more and more embarrassing! well, at least my pizza is here

lol did you drop the bolt into the area behind the carpet lining?
just take out the carpet lining hopefully you can see it
haha good luck with that one.

[jojoampt]

oh, i have an avant. any ideas there? it fell in between the body of the car and the taillight. its an abyss... im gonna have to find a replacement one. damn. thanks for your help dude.

[A4natomical]

get a magnet stick and fiddle around down there.

[n7plus1]

your "missing" bulb sounds like the rear fog like for the left side that we dont use in the states....