Third Brake Light Problem -- SOLVED (hopefully)

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01-17-11, 03:23 PM

RX300Scott

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Third Brake Light Problem -- SOLVED (hopefully)

I've been having an intermittent problem with my third brake light. I got a warning light on the dash that a bulb was out in back, so I replaced the third brake light bulb with a proper replacement -- Sylvania 921. When I put the new bulb in, it just didn't feel right -- there was no "snap" or other indication that it was properly seated in place. I just assumed that that's how it was supposed to be.

Over the next several days, intermittently I'd get a dash light indicating that a rear bulb was out, but when I checked, all of them were OK, including the newly-replaced third brake light. So, today I thought I'd take a closer look to see if I could figure out what was going on. My first plan was to shoot some contact cleaner into the third brake light socket to see if I could clean out any gunk or oxidation. After a few sprays, I took a closer look at the socket, and saw that one of the four contact pins had been bent inward, presumably when I replaced the bulb. As a result, the new bulb wasn't seating properly, and was really only clamped between two of the contacts. I took a small screwdriver and bent the contact pin back into place, and put some tension into the other three contacts by bending them inward a bit. When I replaced the bulb, it went in with a nice firm "snap." PROBLEM SOLVED...at least for the short test drive I took. Hopefully it will stay solved. LOL!

So, if you're having trouble with your third brake light, (a) be sure the contacts are clean, and (b) be sure the contacts aren't bent.

Anyway, add this to the list of odd things that occur with the third brake light, and I hope this short write-up helps the next person who has a similar problem!

Last edited by RX300Scott; 01-17-11 at 03:49 PM.

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01-17-11, 04:26 PM

AlexusAnja

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Get bent

Quote:

Originally Posted by RX300Scott

... So, today I thought I'd take a closer look to see if I could figure out what was going on. My first plan was to shoot some contact cleaner into the third brake light socket to see if I could clean out any gunk or oxidation. After a few sprays, I took a closer look at the socket, and saw that one of the four contact pins had been bent inward, presumably when I replaced the bulb. As a result, the new bulb wasn't seating properly, and was really only clamped between two of the contacts. ..

haha... the same thing happened to me about a year ago, but took me TWO new bulbs to finally take a closer look to see what the heck was going one. I too had the bent contact causing the intermittent "blowout"

Good think the wedge bulbs are not $30 a piece...