Melissa:
Denise is absolutely correct; this sounds like a typical ground fault.
Let me hazard a guess: Your left and right indicator lamps (front) and
marker lamps (front) work just fine, right?
I had to trace this bizarre circuit on a late-model B once. The front wiring
harness (headlamps, marker lamps, horns) is a separate unit, as is the rear
one (reversing lamps, tail lamps, etc.). The horns have their own ground,
the front marker lamps have their own ground, but oddly enough, the headlamps
used the same ground as the tail lamps (but the brake lamps used a different
one). The ground is either inside the boot or inside the ... (someone help
me out here and give me the American word for this) plinth surrounding the
taillamps. If it got paint on it when the car was being painted, that would
be your ground fault. Check the right rear one first (it's easy to remove)
and see where the black wires connect to. You may have to remove some bit of
paint to make the connexion good.
Nice, clean grounds are very important, and paint can interrupt them. You may
wish to grab a wiring diagram and a torch and go over the car thoroughly to
make sure the rest of your grounds are good, once you've got this problem
solved.
Luck.
Corey
75 MGB 'Rags'
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