88firebirdguy

i got a 88 firebird and has the plain bubbley? tail lights and i jsut replaced them with some trans am lights but im not sure if they are wired right now. i had to remove 2 of the small bulbs, and cut and replace 1 large bulb for singal on each light.

these lights have 4 Boxes on each side

(signal - brake - brake - backup - - backup - brake - brake - signal) but should the signal be brake lights also?

hard to explain so i will just attach a picture, the driving lights are on as well as the left singal

Klortho

If you have it available to you, I would go find a car in a junkyard that has these tail lights in them, they were in bot the '82-85 Firebirds and Trans Am's and pull the whole taillight harness and replace it. It is plug and play and will fix the problems you are having. The outer two lights on both sides should be both running lights and brake lights then and all three should light up with the lights on.

88firebirdguy

i just went and got a new rear harness and it had a plug for the whole thing and on my car it didnt, it was just straight wires so i cut them and joined up the new one and my lights were all messed up so i put on my old wiring thats on with butt connecters. will the connections be fine with butt connecters? all the wires were raped in elec tape after

now i cant decide if i should keep these lights in or put the old ugly bubbley ones back in.

do you guys think my lights look ok in that pic? and just have it like (signal - brake - brake - backup - - backup - brake - brake - signal)

meridius

thats not how they are from the factory but I dont see why it wouldnt work unless you want a factory style set up.

88firebirdguy

i just dont want somone that knows alot about birds see them and laugh at me ya know.

then i will

meridius

if you ask me though I think its kinda cool, mainly because it is different. If someone sees your car with those tails in it and knows anyhting about these cars anyhow they will know they arent the right ones and should be on a TA. Im not putting you down at all in fact I like the way it looks. I say leave it alone and go on to something else.

85f-bird

are those the 82-84 T/A lights? that's what they look like to me, 82-85 firebird lights are essentially the same thing, however, the brake light is more visible, i know, i had some. The grid lights are really neat looking, and have a nice throwback to the second gen birds, which is kinda kool in my opinion, however, i did swap to 85-90 T/A taillights.

If memory serves me correctly, the two corner tailights are running lights, and do nothing but run in "low" filiment setting. The next set (two bulbs) are your brake lights, these lights also double as your turn signals. Then there should be the inner Backup lights. So you're setup should be

(running - brake/turn - brake/turn - back up ---- back up - brake/turn - brake/turn - running)


Hope that helps. Did someone change the lights on your car from the factory setup it originally had? because from recolection, all firebirds should have a plug and play rear taillight harness, which should make the swap a sinch.

88firebirdguy

im sure its stock because im the second owner and the first owner was a lady that owned it for 15 years. nothing on the car was aftermarket or replaced that i could tell. all original

deadbird

That's how I did mine as well (different lamp housing but, same lamp setup). Who cares if they are 'right'. Minus the yellow/amber outers.. that's the way the 91-2 gta talis work.

88firebirdguy

cool thanks

meridius

this might be a little off topic but I was wondering if anyone has tried th equential set up they sell online in some places in the birds tails. I think that would be pretty cool and definately different.

Zepher

iTrader: (1)

I did it that way as well with my 88 Formula.
But then I got the 91-92 GTA lights and now it's perfect.

1tinindian

Listen to deadbird, he has it right, (as you do, also).
My brother did that same tail swap on his 91 'bird, and it looked Great

Just something you don't see very often, and looks cool, anyway Don't be afraid of what other say,, WHO CARES!!
It's your car, and it looks good.

I kinda' wish mine would flash the outer panel like that, just to be different



Leon.

KissThis

Trust me, the TA lights look WAY WAY WAY different from firebird lights. I have one firebird and one TA tail lights on my firebird and you can really tell the difference. One main difference is the color, the firebirds are clear and the TAs are smoked.