Problems with both brake lights

[walanis]

Hi, has anybody had any trouble with their brake lights?

Here is my situation, about a month and a half ago o so my right side brake light started having problems, it would sometimes work and other time it didn't. Then about two weeks after that the left brake light started doing the same thing. I was gonna change the right one but since the left one also started to fail then I thought it could be an electrical issue since I think the probability of having two LED lights fail is low. Sometime one works and then the other but mostly both do not turn on. If I switch the light switch off and press the brake pedal they would quickly flash but do not stay on. If I keep pressing and releasing the brake pedal all of a sudden either one or both start working, always one start working first then the other but no necessarily the same one work first. But if I return the light switch to AUTO after a few more presses of the brake pedal they stop working, also one stops working before the other. Same thing happens if i press the emergency light switch.

I thought maybe it could be a ground cable issue but this would make both lights stop or start working at the same time since I think both use the same ground cable once the join in the plug near the spare tire. I did take out one of the lights and checked to see if 12v was getting there and it was. The failure is with the parking light, brake light and blinker since I think they all use the same LED board just different intensities. The reverse light and the radar are both working fine.

Im asking to see if anybody had or hear of this problem to see if Im missing something. The fix would be almost $4,000 so if I can save that money would be great! Also I'm open to more ideas to test.

I can take and send a video if necessary.

Thanks

Sponsored

 

[RLXXI]

Hi, has anybody had any trouble with their break lights?

Here is my situation, about a month and a half ago o so my right side break light started having problems, it would sometimes work and other time it didn't. Then about two weeks after that the left break light started doing the same thing. I was gonna change the right one but since the left one also started to fail then I thought it could be an electrical issue since I think the probability of having two LED lights fail is low. Sometime one works and then the other but mostly both do not turn on. If I switch the light switch off and press the break pedal they would quickly flash but do not stay on. If I keep pressing and releasing the break pedal all of a sudden either one or both start working, always one start working first then the other but no necessarily the same one work first. But if I return the light switch to AUTO after a few more presses of the break pedal they stop working, also one stops working before the other. Same thing happens if i press the emergency light switch.

I thought maybe it could be a ground cable issue but this would make both lights stop or start working at the same time since I think both use the same ground cable once the join in the plug near the spare tire. I did take out one of the lights and checked to see if 12v was getting there and it was. The failure is with the parking light, break light and blinker since I think they all use the same LED board just different intensities. The reverse light and the radar are both working fine.

Im asking to see if anybody had or hear of this problem to see if Im missing something. The fix would be almost $4,000 so if I can save that money would be great! Also I'm open to more ideas to test.

I can take and send a video if necessary.

Thanks

I don't have break lights, I have brake lights.

 

[walanis]

I don't have break lights, I have brake lights.

Hahaha Corrected

And I wrote all of them wrong. Thanks for the catch.

 

[hturnerfamily]

How are you determining that your braking lights 'don't work'?

 

[hturnerfamily]

I was stopped early on one evening, at dusk, while traveling through my town, and through about 7 signals along the way, not having to come to a complete stop at any of them.... the State Trooper came up to my window and said 'son, do you realize your brake lights don't work?'....

after a little discussion about REGEN, and the fact that since I had never had to actually APPLY my physical brake pedal, he suddenly had a smile on his face, and put out his hand to shake mine>>>> 'son', he said, ' I'm going to report this to ALL of my fellow troopers at tomorrow's REGIONAL meeting - this is the first I've seen of this!'.....

(I did perform a brake pedal push so he could 'see' that they actually DID work)

 

[TaxmanHog]

Your warranty is still good, bring the truck in for testing, they may find a loose connector or damage to a wiring harness.

 

[walanis]

How are you determining that your braking lights 'don't work'?

When I brake they don't turn on and when I use the blinker the dash arrow flashes quickly and sound faster. This is how I know that sometimes it works and sometimes in does. Also you can see the lights in the side mirrors and I had my wife drive behind me for about 25 miles.

I was stopped early on one evening, at dusk, while traveling through my town, and through about 7 signals along the way, not having to come to a complete stop at any of them.... the State Trooper came up to my window and said 'son, do you realize your brake lights don't work?'....

after a little discussion about REGEN, and the fact that since I had never had to actually APPLY my physical brake pedal, he suddenly had a smile on his face, and put out his hand to shake mine>>>> 'son', he said, ' I'm going to report this to ALL of my fellow troopers at tomorrow's REGIONAL meeting - this is the first I've seen of this!'.....

(I did perform a brake pedal push so he could 'see' that they actually DID work)

I use One Pedal Drive and as soon as you let go of the gas pedal and the car regenerates the brake lights come on and they are not. I don't know if this happens if One Pedal Drive is not turned on. My third light is working properly so at least I have something to indicate that I'm braking.

Your warranty is still good, bring the truck in for testing, they may find a loose connector or damage to a wiring harness.

I did, and supposedly they checked everything but still said it was a problem with the lights and they need to be changed. I don't trust they did a thorough test, but I might be totally wrong. So before I pay $4,000 I wanted to check and see if somebody had any trouble with their brake lights also.

 

[Joe.....Montana]

I'll be watching this thread...to see if it turns into another squabble about when/if/how brake lights operate in different modes...

 

[B177y]

When I brake they don't turn on and when I use the blinker the dash arrow flashes quickly and sound faster. This is how I know that sometimes it works and sometimes in does. Also you can see the lights in the side mirrors and I had my wife drive behind me for about 25 miles.


I use One Pedal Drive and as soon as you let go of the gas pedal and the car regenerates the brake lights come on and they are not. I don't know if this happens if One Pedal Drive is not turned on. My third light is working properly so at least I have something to indicate that I'm braking.


I did, and supposedly they checked everything but still said it was a problem with the lights and they need to be changed. I don't trust they did a thorough test, but I might be totally wrong. So before I pay $4,000 I wanted to check and see if somebody had any trouble with their brake lights also.

If you are under warranty, why do you have to pay $4,000? Faulty tail lights are covered under the bumper to bumper warranty. Are you already over the 36,000 mile limit?

 

[walanis]

Yea, I’m at about 61,000.

 

[RLXXI]

before I pay $4,000 I wanted to check and see if somebody had any trouble with their brake lights also.

Situations just like this is exactly why I always buy a Ford ESP. If the damage is of a natural cause eg: water ingress, it's possible your comprehensive insurance might cover it.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Yea, I’m at about 61,000.

Dang, sorry to hear that!!!
Makes me glad that I added the "lighting" option to my ESP plan.

 

[B177y]

Yea, I’m at about 61,000.

Damn bro, you're getting after it!

 

[sd25]

Just to rule out the obvious, did you check the fuses for the lights?

I'd expect a dealer service tech to catch that, but you never know.

 

[walanis]

Damn bro, you're getting after it!

Yea, i drive about 80 miles a day every day except Sunday.

Just to rule out the obvious, did you check the fuses for the lights?

I'd expect a dealer service tech to catch that, but you never know.

I checked but we don’t get a fuse specific to the brake lights from what I see in the fuse description in the manual. I read the it is controlled by the BCM module.

I’m thinking in only buying one to see if it is really the whole light, that way if it’s not then I only loose half the money and that would push the dealer to dig deeper.

Sponsored