Bad rear brake light

[PolkManiac]

Hey guys, having an issue with the rear driver side brake light on my 2010 and thought I'd see if anyone has any other ideas. Here's what I've done and what I know:

The light itself seems to work in that it lights up when the headlights are on, but it doesn't light up with the brakes, so it doesn't get brighter like it should. The passenger side light works just fine, as does the top light over the rear window, it's just the driver side that is bad.

I tried replacing the bulb, no change. Then I swapped the passenger and driver side bulbs and the problem stayed on the same driver side. So to me that rules out a bad bulb and/or a bad socket that the hub sits in. I'm thinking that a fuse is also unlikely unless somehow the driver side brake functionality is somehow on it's own fuse.

What's left, bad wiring, ground issue?

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Froggy]

. . . So to me that rules out a bad bulb and/or a bad socket that the hub sits in. . . .

Since the bulb in question likely has TWO filaments (the "get brighter" feature) a bad socket is quite possible.

 

[philsey]

Do you have one of those 12V test probes with a light in it?

Sharpen the point of the probe and you can push it into the insulation on the brake light wire near the socket. Have someone push the brake pedal. I'd first suspect the socket too.

 

[PolkManiac]

when I say socket I'm referring to the piece that unscrews from that housing that the bulb rests in. That piece comes out altogether and I put the new bulb in there and then twist it into the housing. I've ruled that piece and the bulb both out by swapping them (bulb and socket) from one side to the other.

Perhaps I'm not using the word socket correctly.

 

[Antman]

when I say socket I'm referring to the piece that unscrews from that housing that the bulb rests in. That piece comes out altogether and I put the new bulb in there and then twist it into the housing. I've ruled that piece and the bulb both out by swapping them (bulb and socket) from one side to the other.

Perhaps I'm not using the word socket correctly.

I've had the brake housings out on the workbench a few times, lol.

That socket you are referring to twists into copper contacts in the brake housing. Behind those contacts they crimp to wires that ultimately connect to the plug connector. Could be that one of those crimp connections is loose (they are more like a slit in the copper that the wire is pressed into) or perhaps the copper contact is bent and not making a good connection. The light housing comes out really easy for you to check...

Good luck!

 

[harper7]

Process of elimination.Are the sockets swappable?
If they are swap them to see if it works.Doesn't work??
What I would do next is take the good tail light out and see if it works on the other side. That will tell you if the internal tail light board is bad or the wiring in the truck is bad.Hope it's just a bad tail light!

 

[joneseyyy]

Had the same issue, remove the light assembly, remove the bulb, use electric contact cleaner on the socket and the bulb housing (copper connection parts). Hit the copper connector points with sandpaper (don't overdo it), then another wipe with contact cleaner. Report back with results. Worked for me.

 

[PolkManiac]

How difficult is that light assembly to remove?

Thanks for the tips guys

 

[joneseyyy]

How difficult is that light assembly to remove?

Thanks for the tips guys

It is pretty easy, there are 2-3 nuts holding the light on. You pop off the little plastic panel in the interior and need to use a deep socket to get them off (forget the socket size). Once those are off the light pops right out.

 

[Antman]

It is pretty easy, there are 2-3 nuts holding the light on. You pop off the little plastic panel in the interior and need to use a deep socket to get them off (forget the socket size). Once those are off the light pops right out.

^^^This + give a little tug to release the plastic clips.

 

[jim_bo]

2010 Brake lights

Hey guys, Long time fist time on this site. My wife has a 2010 Sr5 2 Wd and I recently followed her and noticed both brake lights (left and right) were out, the middle third light still worked. I had my buddy (an electrical engineer) over and we re-did all connections off the turn signal (copper wire press fittings into the connections at the brake lights), and LIGHTLY sanded the brake light and turn signal connections - it worked! I coated the connections with dioelectric grease and they work! Dunno what we did right, but I've noticed allot of 2010s with this issue - hope this helps someone!:bravo::closed_2:

 

[branz007]

Had the same thing happen. it was a faulty connector. just had them clean it out and replace the bulb.

 

[flyrv9]

If you use a test light like Philsey mentioned above and test the wire supplying that filament before it gets to the socket you can eliminate or confirm the socket good or bad. Connect the test light clip to a known good ground and then poke through the insulation of the wire.

Then have someone step on the brake. If the light doesn't light then you are not getting 12v to the socket. If it does light then the problem is in the socket or its connections. Once you are through testing it's a good idea to cover up the holes you made by poking through the insulation. Even electrical tape is better than nothing. F4 (guideline) tape is better or heat shrink if you can get it on there.

 

[SliderClif]

Corroded leads

Thanks for posting the solution here. I had the same problem-- driver side brake light not working. Nighttime light worked fine. Changed out bulb, no change. Swapped sockets (bulb in twist-out holder) with passenger side and passenger side still worked, drivers side didn't. So I knew I had either a light assembly problem or an electrical problem with power from the brake. I hooked the passenger assembly to the power harness and it worked, so that was good news. So I sanded some slight ( seriously...not much at all) corrosion off the socket leads and voila! Driver side brake light now works again.:bravo:

 

[hurttin]

Similar Issue

Guys, Thanks for posting your findings. I had the same issue with the tail lights that worked but the driver side brake light did not.

Swapped sockets/bulbs and still no brake light, cleaned the connections with contact cleaner and a little sanding and back to normal

Thanks again!

 

[willie655]

I have a 2010 Limited, and my left brake light was working intermittently, as well. I started troubleshooting yesterday. The socket for this bulb has exposed connections, so checking voltage was easy. With the brake pedal depressed, I had no voltage on the left brake light. I moved upstream on the left light and removed the wiring harness connector that attaches to the housing. As soon as I moved the connector, the brake light started working. I'm going to clean and sand the post connections on the housing and make sure the wiring harness connector is putting good tension on the posts in the housing. Appreciate the troubleshooting advice.

 

[rluxphoto62]

Brake light issue / 2010 TEP w/KDSS

Had the same issue on the left side. I wedged a small piece of thin plastic in between the connector to get a temporary fix. I still need to do as others have mentioned in the other reply posts.

 

[flyrv9]

A better way (I think) to clean or burnish contacts is to use a soft eraser. The small retractable ones that fit in your pocket work well and fit in places sandpaper won't. You can easily trim the end to the best shape for the job. They work well for all types of electrical contacts. A light touch is the key here!

 

[aceee]

I'm having the same issue with my 2011 runner. Driver side brake light is not working but lights up when the running lights are on. I've tried everything. I took the tail light off, replaced the bulb, replaced the fuses (even though they looked fine), sanded down all contacts on the tail light itself and on all sockets, cleaned with contact cleaner, switched passenger and drive side brake light bulbs/sockets, and the issue still seems to be coming from the driver side tail light or socket wires itself. This is very frustrating.

 

[rigtec]

"...I'm having the same issue with my 2011 runner. Driver side brake light is not working but lights up when the running lights are on..."

Hi aceee,

If you look at the bezel (Lamp assm.) there are five wires; Red, Yel, Blu, Grn, and White w/Blk marker. The BLUE wire feeds the stop light, and the White w/Blk stripe is the ground. Get hold of a test light (Auto-Zone $4.99) or multi-meter. You need to prove the HOT and the GND to find the culprit. Remove the Double filament bulb from the socket and see the copper contacts inside of the lamp socket. Try to determine which one is the HOT and which is the GND; the colored wires will usually be adjacent to their prospective copper contact. For these tests, wrap the test light's metal probe with vinyl electrical tape to prevent popping a fuse by accidentally short circuiting the probe while working inside of the socket!

Using a KNOWN power source (like the rear 12V receptacle with vehicle IGN ON) connect the 'alligator clip' end, to the copper contact (GND) directly adjacent to the White/black wire inside of the stop-lamp socket, and touch the probe's pointed end with the center copper contact inside of the 12V socket. If the test light, lights up then the ground isn't the problem. Now to test the power supply of the stop-light. With the alligator clip connected to a KNOWN working GND (perhaps a bolt or screwhead at the tailgate latch assembly), touch the pointed end to the copper contact directly adjacent to the BLUE wire inside of the stoplight socket. If this doesn't work, try piercing through the blue insulation directly on that feed wire.

If this time the 'test light' lights up, then the problem is your Blue wire power supply to the stop-light socket. So at very least now you know which part of the electrical circuit is the problem! Just as [MENTION=65614]Antman[/MENTION] alluded to in his earlier post, it may be time to 'dig in' and start taking the electrical socket apart to get at the true problem e.g., broken wire, bent copper HOT contact, dirty ground contact...etc! I know you've checked the fuse and proved the bulb earlier, so your problem is somewhere in that socket assembly, you may even end up replacing it; autozone has them on their turn-style socket display, not expensive at all! please be sure to let us know what you find; someone else here will certainly struggle with this same trouble, 'Best'

rig!