I know this is a lame sort of question, I just can't figure this one out. All of my lights have been working just fine. This morning, I get up and start driving to find a light on my dash that says "brake tail lamp", so i went to the store, got new bulbs and just the one brake light bulb will not work. The fuses seem to be fine and it is just the one bulb that is not working. The drivers side brake light that takes the 1156 bulb. socket seems fine but it just stopped working. So, WTF? is what I am saying now. Please let me know if this has happened to any of you guys out there.

Thanks!

 

So after you put a new bulb in it still doesn't work? Swap bulbs for the other side to see whether you got a defective new bulb?

If that's no good, then look for disconnected wiring. Have someone step on the brake while you measure voltages in that socket.

There's a little module in the tail-lamp housings (#25, 26) that's the lamp-failure sensors. Look for loose/corroded/broken connections.

 

i will have the voltage checked this week. the bulb that doesnt want to work is in the part that is on the trunk lid, not the car body. i will wiggle the wires and connections to see what is up. the car was sitting for a couple days so for it to just stop is bizarre to me. thanks for the info and will keep you updated.

 

Yeah, #13/17 is the lamphousing attached to the trunk lid. Still, don't forget to check the lamp-failure sensors anyway.

 

Thanks Jim. I might be missing something but is there sensors for the trunk lights as well as the ones in the diagram for the others? I am assuming the sensors control all the brake lights?

 

The sensor is checking the ground side resistance, sort of irrelevant if you have no power to the bulb socket.

If you are not getting power to the socket, one place to check is in the harness where it flexes as the trunk is opened.
I've seen a couple that had broken wires at that point

 

my mechanic checked that lamp failure sensor thing, and guess what? That is sort of the problem. When you wiggle the plug in going to the sensor, the brake light will come on and off. It is currently stuck in the ON position thank goodness. The sensor is on the drivers side body light assembly which has had water in it b4. I am thinking that perhaps the connections should just be cleaned real good if it happens again. I am going to order new tail light lenses as well as the gaskets so I will clean the connections real good when I get those other parts.

Thanks y'all for all the advice and help. I love this forum site!!

Craig in GA

 

Or maybe the sensor is messed up from the water too??

Thanks for letting us know what you found.