3rd Generation Ram - Non Drivetrain - All Years Talk about the 2003 and up Dodge Ram here. PLEASE, NO ENGINE OR DRIVETRAIN DISCUSSION!.

left brake light keeps going out

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Old Apr 30, 2010 | 06:16 PM
  #1  
04ctd's Avatar
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From: Charleston SC
left brake light keeps going out

is this a common problem?

replaced it a few times.

dunno how long it lasts, gonna check it this time
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Old Apr 30, 2010 | 06:54 PM
  #2  
steelblitzkrieg's Avatar
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From: Antioch, Ca
I haven't had to change mine yet, are they still using the push in style with the pinch contacts?

My old 2002 that had this style constantly failed, the plastic base would melt and cause intermittent contact with power.

If so, try to find a place that sells the glass base version with larger contact tracks (Autozone did at the time) and make sure to clean the pinch contacts.
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Old Apr 30, 2010 | 07:12 PM
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From: wisconsin
bend the metal clips on the inside of the light that hold the bulb in place so the light stays tight in there. you shouldnt have any issues then i had this problem for like 2 months it finally has seemed to have gone away
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Old May 2, 2010 | 11:18 PM
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I have an '05, and the middle bulb has burned out three times -- vehicle made in Mexico. There's a slight melt mark on each of the failed bulb's contact points. Only that one, the other five on the rear haven't had an issue. I just learned to stock a few extras and a proper torx driver in the truck. Happens about once every 25K miles.

Best Regards,

Jeff
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Old May 14, 2010 | 11:36 AM
  #5  
04ctd's Avatar
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From: Charleston SC
this one lasted two weeks.

i bent the clips some.

the bulbs are silver on the glass inside, looks like they exploded.

is this due to water in the light assembly?

this is the middle bulb, but the reverse (bottom) section had some humidity in it.

any ideas?

are there active electronics on the gray part that holds the bulbs?
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Old May 14, 2010 | 01:42 PM
  #6  
1-2-3's Avatar
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From: Carlos, Texas
Try changing out the three bulb base doomahickey. It's a common thing on G3's. Local dealer here didn't need to look it to to know the part number or price. It's about 19.99
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Old May 16, 2010 | 06:50 PM
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Det 1's Avatar
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Had this problem on the right side of my truck last year. An application of dilectric grease solved the problem.
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Old May 27, 2010 | 07:38 AM
  #8  
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From: Charleston SC
welp, did some more research.

IAW the above posts
i tried dielectric grease, and I bent the tabs a little bit.

ended up with the attached pic.

it appears bending the tabs is the accepted fix.
buddy at church has a 1500, and his did it for a while.

in lieu of spending the $20 at the dealer, i wanted to try the tabs again.

i took it apart, and bent the tabs to where they touched in the middle (one end is blocked, and won't fold in, but the other end of the metal tab will tweak in a good bit)
and refilled it with dielectric grease.

this bulb has lasted a week so far.
Attached Thumbnails left brake light keeps going out-dsc02982.jpg  
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Old May 27, 2010 | 11:17 PM
  #9  
BLACKBEAR's Avatar
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IF your bulb is most likely not getting a good con tack or ground this will cow-es heat fast.Clean with WD40 make it fit tight. === GOOD LUCK ===
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Old May 28, 2010 | 03:43 PM
  #10  
redspider's Avatar
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From: Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA
try a bulb with a glass base instead of plastic, napa has the glass based bulbs...
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Old May 28, 2010 | 04:20 PM
  #11  
BigIron70's Avatar
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From: Sunny Southern California Land of Fruits and Nuts
May need another light bar. Have seen loose or corroded connection cause same problem. Always use the correct bulb size and type for replacement. An incorrect bulb size or type may overheat and cause damage to the lamp, the socket or the lamp wiring. Part number 5 in picture.
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Old Jul 1, 2010 | 01:57 PM
  #12  
routerguy99's Avatar
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From: SLC UT
Napa has a Glass case at the bottom of the bulb instead of that black plastic one, in the picture, I had to switch to the glass bottom for the same reason.

http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Det...057_0245854757

\
Originally Posted by 04ctd
welp, did some more research.

IAW the above posts
i tried dielectric grease, and I bent the tabs a little bit.

ended up with the attached pic.

it appears bending the tabs is the accepted fix.
buddy at church has a 1500, and his did it for a while.

in lieu of spending the $20 at the dealer, i wanted to try the tabs again.

i took it apart, and bent the tabs to where they touched in the middle (one end is blocked, and won't fold in, but the other end of the metal tab will tweak in a good bit)
and refilled it with dielectric grease.

this bulb has lasted a week so far.
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Old May 9, 2012 | 10:19 AM
  #13  
04ctd's Avatar
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From: Charleston SC
on my way to NAPA.

it never did quit, i finally bought a set of take off lights from a buddy, he put the chinese-mexi lights on his truck

i put in his WHOLE light: new bar, new bulbs, new housing/lens.
lasted about 6 months.

has anyone tried LED lights?

wondering if i can find a LED 3057 locally...cheap ;(
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