i have a mercury tracer 1994 1.9ltr
ok i got pulled over for NO rear lights. (i do have break lights, jus nothing else). i checked the fuse with a tester and its got power, the fuse is good. there is no power at the rear. the car is running really bad and the chilton book says “an electrial issue can cause the engine to run bad and misfire” so i think what ever happened to make my lights stop working is causing my car to run bad. i pulled the backseat and the carpet…i dont see where any wire is broken.
can i bipass this? maybe run a wire directly from the battery or somthing? cut the org wire? ok i know i cant since where ever the short is that is most likey the problem in the first place. i have a trailor harness and i dont see any thing wrong there either. what am i missing?
please help! i have already replaced the spark plugs and wires and the coil pack and the gas filter!
I don’t think that the electrical issue you have (No rear lights) is the electrical issue that the Chilton manual is talking about. You have two separate problems.
Do you have instrument panel lights? These are often on the same circuit as the tail lights. Be certain you checked for power at the correct fuse. Your trailer harness is another suspect. If this is an aftermarket installation, it could be that the wire is severed where the rear light connection was made.
I think you are asking for trouble in bypassing the wiring harness. Your best bet, if you are going to make the repair yourself, is to obtain a wiring diagram for your Tracker. If you trace through the wiring diagram for the rear lights, you will know where to look for the problem.
As far as the engine is concerned, get a diagnosis before you continue to throw parts at the engine.
9 times out of 10 when there is a rear light issue and the car has a trailor harness the problem is where the harness was spliced in. I would look at that again and make sure there isn’t a wiring problem there.
Your post is a little confusing because in the title you say you don’t have any brake lights but then in the post you say you do. The running lights are on a seperate circuit from the brake lights and the turn signals may also be on their own circuit fuse. I would guess that the trouble is in the rear area so check that out along with the trailer hitch wire connection. I assume you a tester to check for power and if so check for power getting to the rear lights at the connection points in the wiring.
If there is no trailer wiring problem it is very likely the multi-function switch.