3rd brake light...

[tjric]

I pulled the 3rd brake light off of my 2002 TJ X and it failed inspection the other day. i went to a local auto parts store & purchased a cheap brake light to mount on the rear tire swing I just installed but it will not light. I left the original wiring intact in case I ran into this but I cannot seem to find the fuse to for this circuit. Anyone know where the fuse is for the factory 3rd brake light circuit? Does anyone have any other ideas why this is not lighting? I really do not want to re-run a circuit if I do not have to.

Thank you for the help and I look forward to hearing from ya'll

 

[jps4jeep]

Fuse would be behind the glove box.

Maybe your new light it junk, did you bench test it on a battery? you might need to run a wire, not sure how the factory is, but I think it just loops the 12 volt+ and the factory light is grounded through the mount.

I suggest testing the wires for 12 volt+ and for ground to establish what goes where and not to simply just hook stuff up cause it looks like it belongs there.

 

[SteelHeadz]

If both rear brake lamps are operational, then the fuse is good. The CHMSL(Center high mount stop lamp) is tied in the same circuit as the left and right stop lamps. The wire color is White/ Tan and the other side of the circuit is ground. Check for voltage on the button contacts on the rear door jamb(right side).. Just in case you still need to know which fuse, its fuse #2 on the fuse block under the hood. 20 amps.

 

[88Wrangles]

You said you left the original wiring intact...just curious but how did you go about wiring in the new light? Did you use the old wires that went to the original brake light, or wire it into the 2 side brake lights?

 

[tjric]

I tried to wire it to the original wiring. Thank you all for the insight...I will post my findings so another newby can figure it out in case they run into the same problem one day.

 

[Crazy4diesels]

As Steelheadz said, check with a test light and see if you get anything right on the tailgate button contacts just inside the tailgate. If you don't you might have a bad pedal switch or a broken wire/connection. To access the wiring to the tailgate button contacts you need to remove the right rear fender liner and maybe some of the EVAP stuff. The brakelight switch has two sections, if I recall. One does the main brakelights and the other does the third brakelight. If you do get power at the button contacts you'll need to check out the tailgate harness and the mating contacts that swing out on the tailgate. Best of luck - John

 

[tjric]

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE!!

It was a pinched ground wire. My TJ is now legal for at least one more year and I am now the master of all things electrical....well...master of all minor electrical components anyway.

This forum has assisted me in reassembling my door locks,installing a new rear bumper, and now adding a 3rd brake light. I appreciate it and have aspirations to one day excel beyond newby status so i may assist other wanna-be jeepers.