Issue with 3rd Brake Light

[Gvsukids]

ahhh, fuck it all, 3rd brake light delete and be done for life LOL

Might increase your mpg.

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[Minty JL]

Might increase your mpg.

Hell yeah and weight reduction LOL

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Now that mine glows real nice, I want to put a strip of black electrical tape across it and call it deleted, and further to that, cops can’t ticket something not working if they can’t see it!

 

[five0.4tluv]

2020 JTR mine is out as well. Found the video to replace it. https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/gladiator-3rd-tail-light-replacement.45771/

 

[JoeJeep74]

A long time ago, when I was a service writer, last thing we did after a test drive to check that repairs were completed correctly was to back up to show room windows, activate all rear lights and confirm they were working.

 

[Freebooter]

Well mine went out a few days ago. 37k...........great timing. Thanks five-0 for the video. There are two little plastic clips that hold the handle/light assembly in place. Had to fool around with that to get them to release. A small flat head screw driver did the trick, one access hole was rectangular and one was round. The releases are toward the bottom of the plastic handle or toward the bed when the tailgate is lowered. Total time to replace was about 20 minutes. Dealer had one in stock for $112, she said $140 list (BS) so just paid a little extra to get it done! Did add a little dielectric grease.

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/gladiator-3rd-tail-light-replacement.45771/

 

[porsharman]

Curious as to how folks determine when a 3rd brake light isn't working - are they standing behind their truck when someone else is driving?
Man, I can't see mine when I'm driving it. It may have been out for a year and I'd not know it.
I don't normally apply the brakes and walk around the truck (I find that to be extremely difficult, even if I was a much younger person) so do people have mirrors in their garages?

My scanner found mine was out. To confirm I took a piece of wood and wedged it between the brake pedal and seat… and sure enough it was not working.

 

[vicsvx]

My scanner found mine was out. To confirm I took a piece of wood and wedged it between the brake pedal and seat… and sure enough it was not working.

I did something similar lol it's fixed now... For now... Dealership replaced it under warranty... BUT now recipients of my Bluetooth phone calls say it sounds like my windows are down... Might have to do the mic mod

 

[vicsvx]

Well now my taillight isn't working again... Another appointment on Tuesday. I checked the voltage at the plug and it's good... Wiggled the connector and nothing happens. Any ideas on an actual fix cause this is annoying

 

[Trollboogie]

It is probably due to the circuit board on the light itself. I just bought a new one from Benny on the forum( Allmoparparts) It's easy to replace. If you search, you can find a video here on how to do it.

 

[nas4a]

My wife just told me mine is out on the way back from having my fuel pump recall done. I took it apart and at least in my situation, I agree with @Rockabillyroy and @Mhog. It's the connector. I had 12v to the plug coming off the pigtail, so that's not the problem. I plugged it back in and it came on...then off...then on....then off. If I pushed the plug in forcibly, it made contact, but as soon as I released, it was sketchy. I used some harness tape to try and tape it with some pressure, but I don't think it will stay.

Two questions
1) I'd just get a replacement unit, but I feel like the odds of having the same issue are high...anybody had a "repeat offender" after they replaced the factory one?

2) Anybody try and re-solder it? In the screenshot from @Mhog on page 4, it looks like you could get in there and solder it up again, but I imagine some work would need to be done to re-seal the housing.

 

[nas4a]

My wife just told me mine is out on the way back from having my fuel pump recall done. I took it apart and at least in my situation, I agree with @Rockabillyroy and @Mhog. It's the connector. I had 12v to the plug coming off the pigtail, so that's not the problem. I plugged it back in and it came on...then off...then on....then off. If I pushed the plug in forcibly, it made contact, but as soon as I released, it was sketchy. I used some harness tape to try and tape it with some pressure, but I don't think it will stay.

Two questions
1) I'd just get a replacement unit, but I feel like the odds of having the same issue are high...anybody had a "repeat offender" after they replaced the factory one?

2) Anybody try and re-solder it? In the screenshot from @Mhog on page 4, it looks like you could get in there and solder it up again, but I imagine some work would need to be done to re-seal the housing.

So I just tried option #2 above and I'm pretty confident it's fixed. I figured if I had to buy a new one, I might as well hack up the old one first. I just referenced @Mhog 's picture on page 4, and used my
Dremel to carefully open it up. Then I used a very pointy solder tip and re-soldered the two contacts you can see. Very easy access. After I was done, I tested it to make sure it worked (including wiggling and banging a bit) and it seemed fine, so then I just sealed it up with some silicone and put it back in.

 

[Mandrake]

Mine is out again I posted elsewhere but figured I’d drop it here. Security cam

Bummer. I like 'nas4a' solution, check those cold solder joints. I bet that is what was wrong with my first one replaced under warranty. You see that is a whole lot of electrics from 'chiner'.

Hope it is under warranty, if not get some flux & heat those solder joints.
Good luck!

 

[bnordlund]

I just fixed my third brake light, either permanently or temporarily, time will tell. In any case, my LED strip was perfectly fine when I powered it on the work bench, even when tapping / wacking it, so I focused on the wiring.

Testing the voltage at the connector, it was fine. But, when plugged into the LED strip, I could make it go on and off with some pushing and pulling of the connector and the wires at the base of the connector.

That led me to focus on the contacts within the connector. I did some gentle bending of the ‘forks’ that sandwich the pins to bring them closer to each other so they pinch the pins on the strip more firmly (used a fat needle). That made it about 90% more reliable when pushing the connector back and forth, so I put the whole thing back together. I smeared some grease on the silicone seal around the connector, to help it to snap on a little deeper.

After it was mounted back in place, I could still make it stop working if I pushed the connector one direction, so I dressed the wires so they tend to pull the connector the other way. I put the panel back on and it works fine, at least for now. And, I’m $80 richer, at least on paper.

Pictures below of the contacts before and after bending them closer together.

 

[samw5]

Has anybody received a satisfactory explanation from Z Automotive why their Mini is killing third brake lights. Husband installed a mini with the latest firmware and the third brake light quit functioning. Will be replaced under warranty when the light arrives in about a month. Don't want to blow another light when this one is replaced.

Did anyone ever gotten any info from that? Having the same issue with mine. Was using the Tazer to flash the CHMSL, not sure if that had any effect on it going bad. Truck only have 14k miles and has been babied.

Just trying to see if that's what could have caused it to prematurely go bad and if I shouldn't use that option after swapping it out.

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