brake light 97 mkviii

T

tommiswizzle

Registered
Ok, I just spent $800 last week redoing the front suspension, I got news that the rims need to be replaced (chrome peel pretty bad) and now today my Check Brake Light notice came on! My left brake light doesn't light up at all, nor does my turn signal light. When I turn left blinker on, it clicks really fast, but normal on right turn signal. Is it wiring? Light? What do I need to check/replace?

I do also have a confession to make, I'm not Tom, I'm his wife. I signed him up on this forum, thinking he'd want to post, but I have ended up doing the posting, and now he's out of the country for a year. I love my car, but I'm getting frusterated at all the things going wrong with it, and of course, nothing is a cheap fix. :mad: Help, please!
 
Did you check the bulbs yet? Sounds like your bulb is out... that would cause fast blinking as well, because the resistance is all different.
 
No I haven't, I looked at it, and umm I'm not sure how to access it. I do hope it's just a bulb, I read through some of the past threads and people talking about wiring and harnesses kinda freaked me out. If I can figure out how to access the bulb, I'm pretty sure I can change it.
 
Dont let anybody scare you off - YOU CAN DO IT!!! Open the trunk and if you have a cargo net take it loose and unscrew the plastic dodad that it hooks to. then you can pull the interior panel away to access the tail light. you will find 3 nuts that hold the tail light in place. If you have no wrenches ask your best friends hubby to help you.
Take the 3 nuts loose and locate the tail/brake light bulb. Remove that bulb and replace it. Ck to make sure it works and then reassemble in reverse order. I compliment you for even taking the time to ask. If you have problems e-mail me - I'll try to help. whiplash15@alltel.net
 
I got it apart, do I need to take off the red tail light plastic? Or should I be able to pull the bulb back through? If I have to take off the tail light cover, how do I do that? I see where it clips into place, but I can't loosen it.
 
Hey there........you remove the socket where the wiring goes into the back of the tail light. Turn it left(counterclockwise) and twist it out. This will expose the bulb, which you have to push in and turn left also. The bulb should look black.
 
Thank you J, using your instructions, I was able to access both bulbs, they were both clear as rain, and the elements were still intact. One bulb had 2 elements, the other had one.
 
The bulb is cheap enough...maybe you ought to get a new one and try it anyway. You need the one with the 2 elements...one is brake light, one is tail light.
 
Even if they look good, the little element can fail, and may look "squigly"(haha) rather than a straight spiral all the way across. If you have something heavy you can use it to put on the brake pedal to test the new bulb(s) and see if you're good to go. Its a good idea to do this BEFORE you put it together, been there done that, haah. Also, turn on your parking lights....one side of the bulb should light up.

BTW....for your information, the Tail Light/Brake Lights do NOT use seperate curcuits for each side, if you had/have a wiring problem, both sides would be inoperable. :)
 
A little more information, I just hauled my son out there to help me check. All lights come on except for the left blinker light (the one closer to the front of the car). The whole bar light across the back comes on when stepping on the brake, the reverse lights come on, the right turn signal light comes on. The left side mirror light blinks when left blinker is on (the right side doesn't when right is on, but I'm sure that's not related, probably another bad bulb). So I guess I'll pull the bulb and get a new one, hopefully that'll fix it. Thanks guys for all the help!
 
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