Fixing The Trabant's Awful Lights And Some Other Things

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[@DrForrester2001]

At this rate you're gonna wind up owning the only fully functioning Trabant in the world.

[@RubenvanDreumel]

I know this is a joke, but after having dealt with the same kind of light-related issues on my trabant, I can say that mine is functioning perfectly. Apart from the driver side window getting stuck in place after getting rained on.

[@MetalTrabant]

Mine is fully functioning as well, it's not such a rarity...

[@baronvonlimbourgh1716]

The thing has 3 feet of wiring in it lol. Not very hard to keep on top of.

[@Vanilla0729]

@@RubenvanDreumel This is not problem, Comrade. Is feature. Allows you to save water from shower.

[@Kuchenblech_Mafioso]

And then Hoovie is gonna buy it, because it's still the cheapest in the US

[@helge000]

When I was a kid, I remember my dad working on the trabant every weekend. Constantly something broke and needed fixing. Retrospectively I conclude the secret purpose of these cars was to keep people preoccupied so they don't rise up against the state.

[@aliabdallah102]

And it worked, up until 1991

[@RubenvanDreumel]

@@aliabdallah102 '89 actually

[@TheHeretic435]

Same my 2001 E39, but that's from West Germany though.

[@hojnikb]

@@TheHeretic435 Thats just typical BMW. Eating your wallet until you die from starvation. But seriously, E39 were probably the last bmws, that were made well and not with the sole purpose to be discarded after lease expires. Obviously helps to have a clean example.

[@baronvonlimbourgh1716]

@@TheHeretic435 had 2 v8's. A 35 and a 40 and they served me really well without much issues. I bought the 535 with 300k on the clock and put another 150k on it in 3 years. And then some delivery guy forgot to put the handbrake on his van and totalled it. Still hurts lol

[@Mrflash222006]

The rear light issue is a poor ground - its finds the path of least resistance and the 6v flows, a common issue on cars not made of metal

[@my_channel_44]

Concur that the issue has 'bad ground' writ all over it.

[@glennmagnus854]

Moss Motors has a video showing this issue and how to fix it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpupiYx_oLOpnLc

[@mrbwa1]

Came here to say this and it's already said. Either trace it down or just add a new grounding strap from the taillight to the chassis and it will probably solve the issue.

[@Fumoblu]

Oh shut!...this was too easy!😁

[@JohnDoe-bd5sz]

Was literally screaming at the screen "GROUND"....

[@mastermindd]

I love that sign on the back: "Ha megnövök, Mercedes leszek" - This means, 'If I grow up, I'll be a Mercedes'. :))) But probably the best Trabant joke ever is when someone put on a sticker on his Trabant caravan, which said: 'I've a BMW too, but now I'm in a hurry'. :))))

[@woopimagpie]

"I figured out what to do about this. I'm going to ignore it." Classic. I have employed this tactic many times myself. Ignorance is bliss. Except when it isn't.

[@eberbacher007]

weird noise from the right side of the engine bay? Ah I know the problem, the radio wasn´t playing metal music loud enoug ;)

[@fastinradfordable]

if you cant learn that ignorance is bliss, what can you learn?

[@the_kombinator]

It is on carburetted cars that don't have a check engine light ;)

[@robinlerch4795]

Because of you l, i bought myself a trabant. Since im from switzerland, getting a trabant is a lot easier.

[@RubenvanDreumel]

I did aswell, i'm from the Netherlands and imported my very own little car from neighbouring Germany.

[@MatthijsLangerman]

@@RubenvanDreumel hoeveel koste de trabbie en de import totaal? Minder dan wanneer je er een koopt in nl?

[@RubenvanDreumel]

@@MatthijsLangerman In Nederland zijn er sowieso weinig te koop, vooral het 1.1 model dat ik in Duitsland heb gekocht. Deze gaan in Duitsland grotendeels voor tussen de €2000 en €6000. Importkosten bestaan vooral uit de op naam zetting en het opnieuw inslaan van het chassisnummer bij de RDW. Ook het kentekenbewijs kost iets, maar niet erg veel. Wegenbelasting in Brabant komt neer op zo'n €33 per kwartaal en er is natuurlijk geen restBPM te betalen op zo'n oude auto. Die van mij komt uit 1990.

[@MetalTrabant]

I never could understand how ordinary Swiss people tolerate 2 stroke Trabants, since they seem to meticulously love clean air, hate noises and pollution, and loud door bangings, all of which a Trabant produces in an insane amount. I wonder how people don't report Trabant owners to the authorities there, since that seem to be a common solution even to minor issues, from what I hear... And what's even more amazing, they even have a Swiss Trabant owners' club... I guess there are still cool people out there who doesn't give a shit about rules and pedantic citizens :) I also wonder how hard it is to get them through the rigorous safety inspections though...

[@joannaatkins822]

That's a terrible thing to blame someone for! In all seriousness though, I can certainly see the masochistic appeal

[@Bin216]

Extra lights coming on in a cluster when they shouldn’t is usually a weak or missing ground connection; the power is finding a route to ground through the other bulb.

[@Space_Reptile]

i love your 100% authentic east german repair shop mentality, really suits the car

[@classiccars3d466]

"the Trabant isn't very bright" Yeah, but at least it's cute :)

[@ingmarm8858]

I know a girl like that.

[@skonkfactory]

Your problem is a faulty ground in the left taillight housing.

[@donfinch862]

True, and the problem is also a Trabant

[@gaborszabo6406]

exactly

[@comethiburs2326]

@@donfinch862 which, we all know, isnt made of metal. so, most likely a faulty ground wire.

[@donfinch862]

@@comethiburs2326 yeh, faults like that are always a bad earth/ground.. especially with a non metal body - which I was not aware of with this vehicle. Good one mate

[@creak92]

@Côme Thiburs It still has a metal "space frame" if you want to call it that way, only the body panels are plastic. Just like the old Corvettes. cached-images.btdmtech.se/tveassetsprod/s6/2014/11/sachsenring-trabant-1990-zwickau-02.jpg

[@Militainment]

The "flasher Relais" does Not work because it is Not a flasher Relais. Its the Relais for Additional headlights. The German Name for the Part you would need is: Blinkgeber 6V Trabant

[@norsethenomad5978]

I love german names sometimes. It says Blink in it so clearly its the blinker

[@MadManCriss]

I like the sticker on the car:)) Tanslate: When i grow up ill be a Mercedes:))))

[@Hunikum2m]

I wanted to translate, but I checked if someone already did.

[@obelic71]

The irony is current MB are not so reliable as this Trabant is MB cars were almost industructable in the 80's

[@fillg]

Thanks, I wondered what that said.

[@forevercomputing]

So, to be like everyone else and not stand out? Way to beat yourself up...

[@gilbertg.8501]

Richard Smeets and early 90’s

[@Fumoblu]

Grounding. 100% ad a ground wire to the frame. If it works you can make a better connection...😉

[@Darwinpasta]

It's only a temporary solution, unless it works!

[@defcotheone3241]

"When I grow up, I will become a Mercedes" sticker in Hungarian. Love it, keep up the good work sir!

[@Bence507]

I just noticed the sticker on the back. “When I grow up, I’ll be a Mercedes” Brilliant :D

[@73twall]

You have no idea how satisfying it was to see you finally replace those nasty faded lenses.

[@J.n.A.1993]

On some cars, wire-jiggling is just a standard repair procedure.

[@fastinradfordable]

that and spin the fuses

[@sali-ali]

Haha same here with my Mazda 3 2004 1.6 diesel

[@PiersLawsonBrown1972]

I can't help but notice you failed to top up your blinker fluid on reassembly, please ensure that you use 6V Blinker fluid though not that Capitalist 12V stuff, that will ruin your electrical system.

[@asrcav8r]

Yeah, and I noticed there weren't any piston return springs in the engine rebuild (hell, that thing didn't have any to start with). Also... NO MUFFLER BEARINGS????

[@swedish_brick_enjoyer]

@@asrcav8r I think he should do one of those DIY odor eliminator for his seats

[@-T90Vladimir]

You may notice that the tail-light housing is shaped like a boat. When I was young, I noticed it too and made a little electric boat out of the housing! Attached a small motor and battery, and the little boat was able to cross a small lake! So many memories from one small car!

[@alexdiezg]

Robert the type of guy who would do everything to make an awful car become an actual good car.

[@onesandzeroes]

He would do everything to make an awful car become a slightly less awful car.

[@elobiretv]

Everything except actually fix some of the problems it has though. Bit disappointing to see him just give up fixing the indicator.

[@onesandzeroes]

@@elobiretv He will. Eventually.

[@tierfuehrer2]

What you now need is a "QEK" Junior. It is a small motor home designed to be pulled by the trabant. Greetings from former GDR. :=)

[@acynder1]

I would personaly recomend you to plan a future fully re-wiring of your trabant, has for how old it is, I fear that the insulators of the wiring will soon (if not already) become bad and start craking and peeling of, resulting in funny things happening and even a sudent reduction of weight by oxidation (also know as Fire). And even knowing that a lighter trabant could be a better performing trabant. I dont know If a trabant could be a trabant if there is no trabant left. Also It may be wise to start thinking to upgrade the trabant's eviovernt lighting enhancer features from incandesend lights to mordern leds, altrough it might damage the trabants spirit of breaking down.

[@heikovanderlaar3780]

Seconding the rewire. Short circuit due to failing insulation can wreck the board computer in no time.

[@mfree80286]

@@heikovanderlaar3780 ....computer?

[@Militainment]

@@heikovanderlaar3780 a Trabant does not have any Computers in it ;) the most fancy thing is a relais

[@heikovanderlaar3780]

​@@Militainment Can't be. How does it control the fully automatic mud flaps then?

[@Silly_Cone]

lol i love the sticker on the back of the car, it says: "if i ever grew up, i'll be a Mercedes" XDDD

[@theshowman8478]

And in Hungarian, that's so cool.

[@mastermindd]

I think, the Mercedes, Trabant's mother, must've cheated on BMW with an Opel Olympia...

[@Zizumia]

This video is a literal representation of how I handle any project and that's why I love your videos so much.

[@thomashowlett8295]

It would have been hilarious if replacing the mudflaps fixed the blinker issue.

[@SmilingDevil]

Thomas , happens with FIAT Panda only....

[@underlig]

"If I grow up, I'll be a Mercedes" ha

[@billh230]

Well, maybe an A-Clssd. 😊

[@angelpc22]

This car come from Hungary. 2:49 "Ha megnövök Mercedes leszek" -> "If I grown up, I will be Mercedes" Funny vignette

[@Starwarman1]

Hey Robert. As someone with BPD Autisim, and depression I'm really happy to see your treatment working and back to making videos. Love your content and looking forward to more videos

[@Dsdcain]

That actually made laugh out loud for real when you said how you were going to deal with the blinker issue the first time. :)

[@kaner5873]

You should send it down the drag strip again sometime! 😄

[@onesandzeroes]

Yeah, with those lights it has chances of breaking some records.

[@Neanderthal75]

To race against what? A guy on a bicycle?

[@Kavi4GP]

Lucky day if we getting a Trabant Video

[@mikebrown7194]

Love your honesty and the fact that you leave your mistakes in the video! We all make them but most you tubers edit them out. Very refreshing. Good stuff. 👍

[@pandeomonia]

Not sure you wanted to install those mudflaps. The aerodynamic loss probably reduced the car's horsepower by 15%.

[@markfduenas]

Great videos! Your editing is super fun to watch. I appreciate the work you put into it and your specific creative touches.

[@DarkestHeartEvE]

This channel is wholesome. How wholesome? Well, here are some examples of wholesomeness that I think is a good representation of how wholesome this channel truly is. - A freshly baked, crusty, but yet moist, seeded farmhouse style loaf of bread - A 4 cheese pizza, of only your favourite cheeses - An old couple, still in love - A W124 in good, but not prestine, mechanical and cosmetic condition - Calibrating drum brakes - The word "Marvelous" And that dear fellow enjoyers of Aging Wheels, is how wholesome I find this channel.

[@jocking3]

I think your rear left light problem's solution is found in the rear light body itself. If you take out the top screw in the luggage compartment (in the top left corner), the whole metal thingy with the bulbs comes out and you can see the wiring behind it. I think the problem is a loose or stripped wire behind there. Also, just a friendly advice. If the seals in the front blinkers are old and cracked, they will let water in, which will slowly fill up the blinker. A good solution to this is to drill a tiny hole on the bottom of the blinker lenses. That way any water gets in can get out easily.

[@christianlibertarian5488]

I am so glad you put the mud flap in backwards. It makes me realize I am not alone.

[@lockjawjak]

you always put a smile on my face, glad I came across your channel

[@romulas-cushmanproject3273]

3 videos in less than 2 weeks?!?! WTH

[@RetroMotiveAdventures]

Omg the editing is amazing 😅 your videos are easily some of the best car videos on KZbin!!!

[@vsavoldi]

Hey Robert, dude, I have been binging your videos and I love everything about your channel. The Trabant is not ugly! I love everything about it, the Tail lights are the bomb!! I am fully amazed at your ability to source parts for your vehicles because dude, your vehicles are shall we say, Unique? Makes my 62 Datsun 223 seem almost common.

[@chemxfan]

This was nice. I have a suggestion for your turn signal problem: Get a labelmaker, print out "cancel your signal", & put it on the center of the steering wheel when it's in the straight ahead position. This way, when you finish your turn, you'll have a reminder. Hope that helps. :)

[@prawnmikus]

It would go against the spirit of restoration, but with such a simple electrical system I wouldn't be able to help but rewire it, LEDify it, and use a Raspberry Pi to control everything. The Pi could also run a single fuel injector, a radio/AV system, and output sensor data from various parts of the car, such as exterior and interior temperature, temperature of air intake and EGT, and maybe GPS. The car could still look stock, and a screen with all the various data could be hidden away. A blend of the old and new.

[@LadyAnuB]

Hey, no CAPITALIST PIG crap to ruin FINE SOCIALIST automobile! (Buy another Trabant to be Capitalist scum experiment.)

[@gchsbus]

I absolutely love this channel. My take on this episode is this. If that was my Trabant and I had those wiring problems, I would leave the entire wiring harness intact and then run a brand new harness to everything so I wouldn't have to deal with that wiring anymore. It seems nothing to that car so running a new harness would be what I would do. But I greatly can appreciate his tenacity.

[@erikpark]

"So basically, the Trabant isn't very bright, but you could probably already tell that by looking at it's dumb face" That had me giggling like crazy.

[@kght222]

you haven't quite officially earned your wire harness creator badge with this, but you are well on your way. just pull all the wires out and put it back together and you got a badge! as someone with a badge, i don't recommend it, rebuilding or building from the ground up a wire harness is a ginormous nightmare, really easy on paper, but insanity in practice, i built one for my ebike, it seems like that would be really easy. more than 100 soldier joints, shrink tube for each one, then shrink tube arrays for the cable consolidation. making a wire harness from scratch sucks, and i have had to fix it twice since, and that sucks even more.

[@1974UTuber]

I love this little car and everything about it. Wish they had them in Australia but sadly I found none at all. Wondering if 6 volt LED globes would give you brighter lights with less current draw.

[@jorgefernandez9310]

Check the wiring harness to the left tail light and make sure you have a good ground. Lastly check the tail light fixture itself as it may be defective. Very enjoyable series anyway. Keep up the good work.

[@johnmcdonald9363]

still smiling with your videos. good work! makes life a little easier. thanks

[@sergiofreitas9368]

The thing that actually caught my eye the most was how satisfying that door clank sounds. I thought it would sound cheap and flimsy like some modern econoboxes, but it sounds quite good actually.

[@wolfman9999999]

I love that old beast. I think it's my favorite one of your hooptie fleet of oddball cars.

[@hafeexius]

The intro music reminds me of 90s science/tech tv shows..😄

[@exsparky8090]

As an apprentice Auto Electrician I had the unfortunate issue of having a VW mechanical workshop next door. I soon lots about how crappy six volt systems were .

[@mrmusdtard2]

Best video i have ever seen and i think you have a crush on the old girl ,please keep repairing her so we get loads more videos like the ones that you have already posted ,i have a friend who has a trabant like yours and i am tempted to buy it , the old girl knocks spots off all the boring crap we get today ,where as the beautiful Trabant deserves a STANDING OVATION ,Go Traby Go ,wonderful,very best wishes Brian in the UK

[@ZGryphon]

Many years ago, I had a 1966 Beetle that some previous owner had converted... not very well... to 12V. One of its many electrical quirks was that pulling the hazard knob only turned on the left blinkers... but if you then signaled a right turn, you'd have all four going! I'm pretty sure it wasn't _supposed_ to work like that, but it was good enough to pass inspection. :)

[@TomPrickVixen]

And now it looks better than my Grandpa's Trabant was. And my recent mistake: I bought an 80's Lada ( a red "VAZ. 2107" , a.k.a. the luxury model; to be exact). It looked good on the outside, it had "fresh parers" and was cheap too. Now I already spent 3 times its price on it, but finally "I can see the light on the end of the tunnel" (It runs fine now, only minor thing left to do, but I can do those on my own). And thank you for the "Lada club" for doing an awesome job rebuilding the engine, the suspension, and the brakes from .... what i had, its like I drive a totally different car now!

[@gbestwick]

Ground!!! Ground!!!1 The easiest way to tell if it is ground is to just get a length of wire, tie one side down to a solid ground point (like the battery). Turn on the lights in a fashion that they are acting crazy and then go and touch one of the reflectors around the bulb. That will tell you if tracing out the bad ground will solve your problem and only take 5 minutes.

[@paulheitkemper1559]

simple and brilliant. Also, a test lamp with alligator clips or the kind with one clip and a pointy probe are indispensible.

[@BibleBlack666]

"it is just a little bit safer", yes yes, as safe as driving a car made up from cardboard could be! Love your videos!

[@lpflore]

The First Corvette was also made of the same Material as the Trabant. Cardbord is very useful.

[@huberthans4312]

Its not cardboard. Its cotton. And it is very durable and safe.

[@Amarok41]

I love your methodical approach

[@thatoldbob7956]

I just subscribed. Really enjoyed all presentation. I Built 4- vintage Bikes In The last 20 years. I CAN appreciate your work. Keep it up.

[@gagatube]

I was impressed with the condition of the bulb/light fittings - I know of cars of a similar age where, if you took apart a light, all you would find is some rust held in position by the bulb and the wires.

[@KareemJohnson04]

Great video on the Trabant. I suspect now people will recognize you, especially in the St. Louis area. That Trabant definitely sticks out around here.

[@Blasterxp]

I feel like you are getting better by the day! Good to see you push yourself to get back in to it. I have an simple question... I broke the button on the windscreenflude button. I was unable to find it. I wonder, does your Trabi has an electric windscreenwasherfluide pump? Of do you pomp in the dashboard by hand. If you do, be carefull... Those buttos... Jack... Let me know!

[@AlaskaTony]

this is the content I love! keep up the great work

[@youdonegoofed]

I don't know if you're already aware of this, but the sticker on the back that says "Ha megnövök Mercedes leszek" means "When I grow up, I'll be a Mercedes" in Hungarian. That's really adorable :D

[@magnusbuinevits9535]

This is such a good representation of working on anything car or motorcycle related. "I found the issue, and then proceeded to ignore it."

[@timothythompson3029]

How about a how to on polishing tail lights. That way you can have spares . And we can be entertained.

[@ukjokergrey]

Excellent :) love a basic spannering vid on the Trabbi 👍 Would love to see its bodywork getting some love.

[@ClintE55]

I'm so excited your back at it again posting videos regularly. I'm poor and cannot afford a c8 but I love your trabant.id love to find one

[@invertedpolarity6890]

New Aging Wheels video = instant thumbs up.

[@mitchd949]

Poor grounds and bad connections. would explain everyone of the odd things he's seeing with the lights. I laughed at his ineptitude when he said "it fixed itself after I jiggled some wires."

[@therealfan4tix]

Great video again, but I would recommend bolting the mudflap on the other side of the wheel well. By installing them that way it is harder for moisture and dirt to get in between the flap and the metal which should in theory lead to less corrosion. Greetings from Germany!

[@berndb.5097]

For your problem with the left taillight, I recommend you take a multimeter and test the ground connection on each lightbulb. If you have a good ground connection with all lamps you will not get this error anymore.

[@andrzejpietrasiewicz3623]

Many people have pointed out poor ground being the likely reason for tail light/blinker malfunction. That is definitely to be eliminated. Then you should do your tests with the engine running and not running in idle, you should apply some accelleration so that the electric generator provides enough power. The generator is likely a poorly performing DC generator. I remember that from some point in time the Polski Fiat 126p was fitted with an AC generator, which was a major improvement. Your Trabi might still have a DC generator. The reason to ask for more power when testing is the way the elctro-mechanical blinking mechanism works. It contains a bimetallic strip which changes its shape when heated by electricity flowing through it. The resulting displacement breaks the circuit, so the electricity stops flowing, so the strip cools down a bit, returns to its previous shape, makes contact etc. If the current is not enough for the strip to heat up enough, the mechanism will not work properly. And the current will likely be not enough e.g. when (relatively high-consuming) headlights are on... unless the engine is running at enough rpm for the generator to perform. I owned a 6 Volt Trabant and the indicators wouldn't work when headlights were on and the engine was idle. I solved that problem by replacing the electro-mechanical blinking mechanism with an electronic one, which required only very little current to work properly. I should've started with properly cleaning all the contacts in the first place, though.

[@NaokisRC]

As many other hundreds of comments say: CHECK THE GROUNDS. Electricity follows the path of least resistance and when there is no earth, the electric will flow through other light bulbs and light them up. It will also cause the blinker to not work when the tails are on as the current is not following through to earth and causes the flasher unit to not operate. In fact, any issues with electrics should first be checked by measuring supply and ground voltages and continuity. If you dont then random shit will occur

[@mikuisgod4591]

Love ur editing, makes the vids great keep it up!

[@EdHotchkin]

I had a Geo 5-speed compact that I loved to drive. It got stolen and the police kept it when they found it and sold it to Wrench & Go. I think it was just the kind of car you would have loved. I really miss it.

[@loganrossignol]

Ah, when cars were *cars*. None of this modern reliability, safety, comfort, and convenience.

[@marcks-3980]

Just want to say I'm a recent subscriber (within the past few days), but I've watched the vast majority of your videos over the past couple of months. I regularly rewatch your videos on the Trabant, because they're just so entertaining. They've given me many good laughs during a medically difficult time of my life. I was just thinking that at some point, you ought to round out your collection of horrible East German cars by acquiring a standard Wartburg 353....somehow. I've never seen a GOOD thorough review of one in English! Much less it's mechanical quirks, which I think would be fascinating (the oddly placed radiator might pique your interest). Anyway, cheers to you and your work, I wish you the best. Good luck in the future.

[@nitro3345]

You got a false ground for the rear left blinker. It’s grounded to the tail light, so it has a 6v charge when the taillight is off, but when the light is on the negative is receiving a charge for the blinker so adding power on the positive is doing nothing. Same thing happened when I redid the wiring in my Jeep and got the wires mixed up

[@icosahedron]

Given the build quality of this car, I'm impressed more stuff doesn't break just from you taking things apart to fix. Glad to see more Trabant projects.

[@DatKogasa]

Your methodology of fixing problems is exactly how I work when fixing my vehicles. Move on to the next problem, leaving the last one unfinished, until getting around to fixing the first problem.

[@scottfirman]

Ground issues galore! What a mess! Corrosion gets into the wires beyond the connectors and that's the end of it. I saw this on my 69 Pontiac Catalina. The wiring in that was so bad! Every terminal in that car was green and the wiring was black about a half inch up the harness. I ended up chopping everything. Luckly, I worked at a GM wiring plant at the time and had acess to everything I needed. 6vt needs really good solid ground to work.

[@brandonfoss9445]

I'm glad you're back

[@beckostudio]

szép munka! greetings from Hungary

[@GMC.Sprint]

The taillight problem sounds like a bad ground causing the bulbs to back feed each other. I have had the same problem on my car. If the ground is bad, the turn signal power will go through the blanket bulb then backwards though the trail light, then find ground through the headlights and running lights.

[@Max-Carshop]

Thank you for fixing the Hazzard Problem! I have the same Probleme with my Trabant! Greeting from Germany!

[@scottfirman]

My dimmer button went through the floor board on all my cars. It was a Michigan thing. The trick was to slide an old licence plate in its spot and anchor it down. I remember seeing cars in the 70's with the floor matsxand carpet hanging down under the car because the floor pan had rotted away.

[@erniebaud]

YAY! You got rid of the light reflections in the white board. Thank You.

[@mecamaster]

Once all the lights work, You should throw in some 6v LED replacement bulbs! They are just as bright(Brighter) and aren't as picky about voltage! (They also would be a fair bit more decisive just don't use them for the turn signals.) Edit: everyone else already said it was the ground.

[@gavincurtis]

Bad ground on the left tailight as others have pointed out. Power is forced to flow through the filament of the other bulb(s) in the circuit to seek ground. That is also why they are dimmer when you encounter this type of failure, voltage is divided between the bulbs. Clean up headlight grounds and might even get brighter and better matched up front. Each bulb needs its own connection to ground.

[@americanrambler4972]

Taillight housing ground, or the common ground wire used by the assembly considering its a paper/plastic/composite body. In fact, you should plan a project ground fix. Go around and clean up all the grounds on the car. It will improve the way a lot of your electrical stuff works.

[@spacekii]

How do you do the editing where there's multiple yous on the screen?

[@zakattack721]

My dad's VW Thing's only 'luxury' feature is auto cancelling turn signals. It's worse than not having them since they only cancel 90% of the time!

[@Blazs120gl]

Hmmm recalling my times with the Trabant, the blinkers are non auto-cancel by design (or lack thereof) so it's not a bug but a feature if you will.

[@michaelpingleton6262]

You might also want to check the left turn signal's flasher relay to make sure that there are not any connections shorted. Also check the ground connection for the tail light assembly.

[@cmdr.tigirius6757]

I love the easy to repair Trabant. Served my family for a long time. Problems with the light like that is usual a problem with corroded mass connections! If you clean it too it’s usually fixes the problems.

[@peterl9097]

Awesome video! Love the sarcasm

[@Edu_RJR]

5:00 that problem usually is related to a bad connection in the neutral, or ground. it could be under the dash as well, check the grounds !!

[@PapiDoesIt]

Every time you post a Trabant video, it makes me wish I could have shipped that 88 model back home after I was transferred from Germany to Georgia.