rear left brake lamps not illuminating

[saylor]

o wise and venerable forum !

my left rear brake lights have quit. the running lights light up when the lights are on. just when brakes applied i have no rear left side.

i cant figure it out.

can the borg guide me please?

tryin not to get pulled over -

- saylor

 

[BigAsAWhale]

Check your turn signal switch, brake lights go through that as well.

 

[Big_John]

Check the grounds at both rear lights.

 

[bluefury361]

Bulb........

 

[HWYCRZR]

Does the left rear turn signal work and does the bulb have good contact in the socket ( no corrosion). Simple first. Don't yell at me for over simplifying, but is the bulb fillement good for the brake and turn signals? I am assuming dual fillement bulb in your tail lights.

 

[CBODY67]

Check the grounds at both rear lights.

EACH side has its own ground, whether the front lamps or the rear lamps. Unless there is a broken wire, the electricity to those lights will probably try to seek a ground through another circuit. On one of my non-Chrysler cars, when I was having issues wit a wire splice in a front turn signal wire, when the light didn't work, the related signal light in the instrument cluster would start to glow at reduced brightness and, of course, wouldn't flash if that side's signal was activated.

The rear lamp harness might have a connector joint near the rear of the car, possibly in the luggage compartment. It should be obvious when you back-trace the harness from the rear lamps forward. Might have some accumulated gunk in it? Might even be a corroded bulb socket.

Might also be a good time to put some shiny chrome paint on the reflector of the rear lights, making sure the "filter" is still intact, so the lights are more visible. Quite a bit of dust can get in there! Also clean the inner surface of the lenses themselves.

CBODY67

 

[bluefury361]

Again, BULB. If the running light works the ground is ok.
I carry extra bulbs and have changed several. The originals are just .... old. And the new ones are just .... crap.

 

[john bond]

I am having kinda the same problem, drivers side brake lights work, passenger side doesn't, but when I hit the brakes the front passenger turn signal comes on. running lights and turn signals all work. I have replaced the turn signal switch and checked all connections are good

 

[300rag]

I am having kinda the same problem, drivers side brake lights work, passenger side doesn't, but when I hit the brakes the front passenger turn signal comes on. running lights and turn signals all work. I have replaced the turn signal switch and checked all connections are good

I would ground the tail light housing separately and check again.

 

[bluefury361]

I am having kinda the same problem, drivers side brake lights work, passenger side doesn't, but when I hit the brakes the front passenger turn signal comes on. running lights and turn signals all work. I have replaced the turn signal switch and checked all connections are good

Those symptoms usually lead to the T/S switch in the column. Did you install a new or used one...?

 

[john bond]

Those symptoms usually lead to the T/S switch in the column. Did you install a new or used one...?

it was a brand new switch

 

[bluefury361]

You might swap out the T/S flasher unit.
This is a stretch, but once we found a sill plate trim screw that had been screwed between two wires which caused the interior lights to come on with the brake lights.

 

[Knebel]

Check FSM

 

[CBODY67]

The fact that other lights come on indicates that the unused electricity is trying to find a place to be grounded, so there's something, somewhere, in the affected system that's not right. Brake lights DO go through the turn signal switch, BUT if the "new" switch might be a "will fit" rather than "exact fit" model, unless there is a chaffed wire's insulation somewhere in the mix or the plug-in connector has a terminal issue, got to be a ground issue somewhere.

Please let us know your findings, when available.

CBODY
67

 

[saylor]

just and update on my issue - my TS switch is bad - so after the diagnosis above ^^ i have not chased it further up to this point.

 

[Vinsanity]

The fact that other lights come on indicates that the unused electricity is trying to find a place to be grounded, so there's something, somewhere, in the affected system that's not right. Brake lights DO go through the turn signal switch, BUT if the "new" switch might be a "will fit" rather than "exact fit" model, unless there is a chaffed wire's insulation somewhere in the mix or the plug-in connector has a terminal issue, got to be a ground issue somewhere.

Please let us know your findings, when available.

CBODY
67

Recently bought new brake switch and turn signal.. I have the same problem. When step on the brake the passages side works but not the driver side.. also my hazards light wouldn’t come on at all any suggestions? Everything else works (turn signal wise)

 

[Big_John]

Recently bought new brake switch and turn signal.. I have the same problem. When step on the brake the passages side works but not the driver side.. also my hazards light wouldn’t come on at all any suggestions? Everything else works (turn signal wise)

Check the grounds on the tail lights and parking lights.

 

[Vinsanity]

Check the grounds on the tail lights and parking lights.

Where would I find that at..

 

[Big_John]

Where would I find that at..

All the mounting points for lights should be clean enough to conduct electricity.

A quick check would be to hook a jumper wire from the light housings to a good ground.

Your symptoms are classic "bad ground" issues.

 

[HWYCRZR]

I had a bad bulb last weekend that kind of acted as described above. Filament looked good, but determined that the bulb was bad.
Left turn signal gave me a solid light on the dash indicator. Right worked fine until I hit my brakes. Hadzards would come on on the dash panel and would flash once and then stay lit up. Tail lights were fine.
Easy way to check is to switch bulbs from left to right and see if it follows the bulb. Need to either ground the socket or push it back into the housing to ground it. Other way is a simple check with a voltage meter. Should be getting around 12 volts at the socket. Test light will work as well.