Thanks for that info!

The bad wire was indeed going to the license plate lights. It got damaged where the wire loom attaches to the drivers side lower part of the hatch via a tie-wrap.

Glad you isolated to the exact location. I haven't seen a lot of these wires damaged inside doors and hatches yet. I seen a lot of folks have issues with them in the drivers door jam and rear hatch jams. Just out of curiosity does it l looked like some damage it working in the past or did it just wear out from vibrating or rubbing against something. Mostly, if not messed with the factory wiring only gets damaged where it moves around a lot However, I have seen really crappy wiring repairs that damage other wires by not fixing things correctly so wires do not rub together anymore. As well as rodent damage... Hopefully, this repair will forever solve your tail light fuse issues. :-)

I would say that the tie-wrap was not cinched down enough so over the past 300k miles the wire loom was slowly rubbing away and that wire was on the outer corner so it was the one to go. If the tie wrap was cinched down more as to not let it move at all I think it would have lasted longer.

Interesting.. I have a few over 300K. I haven't seen that one yet. Might be a factory mistake without the tie wrap not tight enough. Next time I am in a rear hatch I will look at my wire looms. I don't recall anyone else ever having reporting this on the forum here that I can recall at least since 2015 anyways. Most likely why you couldn't find it. However, since you shared the experience. That information will hopefully help others. :-)

Also the tailgate circuit changes in 1999 all the EWD diagrams. 1996-1998 the wire goes directory from the turn on switch to the relay on the Red white wire. From 1999 to 2002 the red white wire from switch goes to the combination meter then it color changes to red green wire then to the body ECU and then to the relay. The rest of the circuit wires all stay the same across entire generation. This is why I was wondering the year of the rig. :-)

Thanks for the feedback.

My guess was hatch harness where it goes into the hatch (in the rubber boot area). Good job on the diagnosis.

-Charlie