rear number plate lights

Need help with this problem. Number plate lights not working, tested everything and all ok. Found if I pulled the wires tight they worked so cabled tied the wires so they were stretched nice and tight. All still working ok, put the door trim back on and shut the door. Lights not working again. Any ideas out there.

Ta
Waz

Hijets like to make us think, don't they? Reckon it has to be either a poor earth from the lamps to the body, a dodgy connection or (less likely) a near-break in a wire. Maybe try and find exactly which bit of wire needs to be stretched to make them work.

I was thinking a lose earth myself but, to me, the wire all go back to the offside rear lights and there is no problem with them. One wire is white and black and the other green? which one would be the earth?

Waz

Going by the efi wiring diagram that HJ has on his (sometimes slow) mirror, the green is the feed and the white/black is the earth (more properly called the return, methinks). Have you checked the green connection to the lamps? It can be useful using a lead clipped to the battery -ve to provide an extra earth when testing.

PFM wrote:Going by the efi wiring diagram that HJ has on his (sometimes slow) mirror, the green is the feed and the white/black is the earth (more properly called the return, methinks). Have you checked the green connection to the lamps? It can be useful using a lead clipped to the battery -ve to provide an extra earth when testing.

Glad you said that, where the wires enter at the top of the door I scraped away the cover to bare the white/black and I suspected that when I pulled the wires tight that the bare wire was touching the door. What 'must?' be happening is when I put the wires back in the grommet I am losing the contact. More work needed now.
Thanks

Waz