6 volt - Can't notice stop lights when running lights are on

[majorharden]

I have bright tail lights. But they are unnoticeable when the running lights are on. It just seems the stop lights don’t have enough power to work and increase the brightness.

I have a 6volt 62 Beetle. I read old posts here, changed the bulbs and cleaned the contacts and grounds, added reflective tape and have really bright stop lights during the day. However, when the running lights are on the brake lights are barely visible.

I have checked the wiring and the correct filament is connected to brake lights (shorter/larger filament).

I would point out that the left and right rear lights aren’t the same. The left is more noticeable, but seems delayed by a half a second more than the right. The right comes on quicker but is much less noticeable. It almost feels that the combination of both filaments is too much to handle. When you press the brakes without the running lights on it is instantaneous, with the running lights on it’s delayed and an effort.

Please help!

[KTPhil]

Two common issues to check...
Are the brake and taillight wires reversed? Try replacing the bulbs; they can develop problems and varying resistance even if they look fine and light up.
How are the grounds? You may have one filament grounding through the other if the lamp assembly has a poor ground.

[finster]

if all is as it should be then I would seriously suggest fitting a 3rd brake light. most drivers on the road today are scanning the area of the cooling grille/rear window - not those small,low down lamps.
see this thread for ideas
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=264727&highlight=third+brake+light
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[mukluk]

The symptoms sound most like the tail lamp assemblies have a poor ground. When the running lights are switched off the brake filaments are finding a good ground through the running light circuit, allowing them to light up quickly and brightly. With the running lights switched on however, the brake filaments must then fight for the subpar ground available. Keep in mind the normal ground path for these early cars passes through the bulb holder to the tail lamp housing, to the fender, to the body, then finally to the battery; any degradation anywhere along that path will result in reduced light output. Later cars started using dedicated ground wires running from the bulb holder to the body of the car to greatly reduce these grounding issues, something you may consider installing yourself for the same reason.
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[Eric&Barb]

3rd brake light is good to have, but having that and the turn signals is better together.

Yellow signals show up a lot better in day or night conditions.

We have done same for the earlier beetles we have.

Also have you checked voltage at the turn signals and at the battery with turn signals still turned on? How much voltage is getting from the battery to the turn signals??
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