I have a 1984 244 GL and the left rear tail lights are not coming on. They didn't work when I bought the car. I pulled the connection off and reinstalled it and they worked. They quit lighting about 2 months later. I did the same thing but I had to jiggle the connector a bit. It has happened once more and now I can't get them to light at all.
I do know that the taillight lets water in the trunk area when it rains. I have checked the bulbs and they do have continuity so they are not burnt out. The front LH light comes on so it does not seem to be a fuse issue. (Every thing else works-turn signal, brake light etc.)
I have cleaned the connection at the connector/lighting plastic grid with Electrical spray cleaner and a pencil eraser.
My question is: can I run a jumper wire from the right hand side to the left side? If so, does anyone know what number(s) wire on the plug in connector to jump?
I drive home from work at night and would like to be seen. I don't want to get stopped by the law either.

 

Being that I have gotten no response yet I figured I had better work on it to the best of my ability as, YES, I did get stopped for it by one of the local's "Finest". I was not written up for it but told to "fix it".

Here's what I did that has, so far today, worked.

I turned on the parking lights and checked each connection at the wiring harness/socket. #6 on mine showed 11.68 volts so I had power to it. I did check with the lights shut off and it showed no voltage so it had to be the right connection.

I then checked the continuity of the plastic grid/assembly. I had continuity. Hmmmm, I am no electrical genius but it seemed to me that if I have power and continuity it should work??? The problem had to be the connector was not making contact.

What I did was take about a 3/32" X 1/2" strip of pencil eraser ferrule (I don't have any really thin brass strips laying around which would be better) as it was metal and pretty thin. I hammered it flat and filed the cut edge. I then slipped it over the brass tab that lines up with the #6 plug connection. I plugged the connection on, secured the ground wire and turned on the parking lights. Well wadda ya know, they worked!!! It is actually a bit brighter than the other side (a better connection???).

This may help someone in the same predicament. I am not sure yet if it will last either. Time will tell.

 

Most times the flex printed circuit gets worn down or the springs on the bulb holders get a film buildup. Just replace the flex circuits and clean the tabs on the bulb holders.

 

I was having issues with the taillights on my friend's '92 244 GL. After a traffic stop and some research I figured the best solution would be to hardwire the buggers. I had never used a soldering gun before this attempt and it worked great. The circuit boards in place provide a great map for your work. I'd recommend Taking the entire assembly out and going to the bench. Here is the link I used to feel confident:

K-Jet.org | Hard-wiring Tail-lights

I bought the wire, solder, and soldering gun @ harbor freight for about ten dollars. I stripped the wire ends, wrapped them around the contacts on the bulb sockets as neatly as I could and then layed down some solder. Avoid cold-solder joints (I'd recommend a short internet reading lesson on soldering first, I was lucky to have an apt brother-in-law to call.) You can save space by sharing grounds, as the link suggests. When it came time to install it back in the car I used the crappy, corroded, 20 year old flex board to show me where things went (the wider areas are connective, look at where they connect to the copper on the rings.) I one by one cut the lines off the old connection that used to link to the board and used ring terminals to connect them to the board. Then over top use some heat shrink wrap tubing and a heat source and you can protect those connections without soldering them in (makes it easier to remove tail light in the future too.)

If everything is then working and your bulb integrity sensor won't turn off check to see if any lights are brighter on one side or another. The brake lights in particular--they have 2 seperate circuits in the bulb and this can be reversed easily, then the indicator will read different magnetic fields off circuits that should be identical, thus triggering the light.

oh, yeah, last thing to squeeze in. If you have the additional brighter tail-light switch don't worry if the matching spot to it on the right refuses to light, I got more and more frustrated with this and then learned that in US VIN vehicles it is not supposed to light, something about specific lighting requirements and standards, only euro versions should light on both sides--silly, huh?

best luck and get it fixed before some cop decides to give you a talking to about it. That's never fun

Yeah Volvo!