Brake light problem - Suggestions?

[hollerg]

98 5L 2wd failed inspection today because of driver's side rear brake light. A new bulb was no help. Do not see any other obvious electrical problem. Running lights turn signals, and backup are fine all around the car.

The ABS light is on, and has been, but no stopping issues. (I have not gotten the code.) I suppose the drivers side rear brake light could have been inoperable this whole time.

Is there any common electrical component (ground? fuse?) that the two may share, and is it likely to be the problem? It was not obvious from the owners manual which fuse was the rear brake lights and whether the brake lights are on separate circuits.

[shorod]

For this issue, it would appear the right rear brake light concern is unrelated to the ABS light.

All three rear brake lights are tied to the same brake pedal switch. It appears from the wiring diagram that both are tied to the same ground as well. I think you need to get out the test light and see if there is enough current to the bulb socket to light a test light. If somewhere along the way a person wired in trailer wiring by splicing in to the factory wiring harness, the splice they made may be corroded and causing the light to not operate. It seems a lot of trailer wiring installers like to use the Scotch-Loc splices which are not intended for exterior applications and will allow all kinds of contaminants to get to the copper wire and cause corrosion.

-Rod