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tail and brake lights out on both sides

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by noctiluca, Sep 4, 2017.

  1. noctiluca

    noctiluca Junior Member

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    Hi all, the brake and tail lights are out on my car. The bulbs (that I think are shared between tail and brakes?) are blown out on both sides, tail fuse is okay, and no power is getting to either of the sockets. I also have an intermittent driver side headlight go out that works again when whacked. Is there any wiring implicated in all of these symptoms? The turning signal, reverse lights and license plate lights all work.

    If anyone could suggest an order of operations for finding the problem that would be really helpful, I have a hard time reading wiring diagrams but can do basic electronics stuff like testing, cleaning contacts, soldering, etc.

    Thank you!
     
    #1 noctiluca, Sep 4, 2017
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    If all the lights work, other than brakes, you'll probably need new ones. Those LED lights are not self replaceable

    What year is your car?
     
    #2 JC91006, Sep 4, 2017
  3. Beachbummm

    Beachbummm Senior Member

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    brake light switch behind the brake pedal would be my guess if you have good bulbs and fuses..or a common ground is bad..
     
    #3 Beachbummm, Sep 4, 2017
  4. noctiluca

    noctiluca Junior Member

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    are the (running) tail lights and brake lights the same bulb? the bulbs i pulled out, presumably the tail lights, don't look like LEDs and have burnt out filaments. the bulbs are dead and the sockets are dead.

    the car is a 2005. anyway to tell if the brake light switch is busted other than putting a new one in?
     
    #4 noctiluca, Sep 4, 2017
  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    It's your brake LED lights that are bad, they are not individual units you can replace, the bulbs you pulled out are reverse or turn signal bulbs
     
    #5 JC91006, Sep 4, 2017
  6. Beachbummm

    Beachbummm Senior Member

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    remove the switch and test it with an ohm meter.. watch a youtube video on how to test switches.
     
    #6 Beachbummm, Sep 4, 2017
  7. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The tail light is an incandescent bulb and the brake light is six LEDs.

    Use an ohmmeter to test the operation of a switch.
     
    #7 Patrick Wong, Sep 4, 2017
    Paul Schenck likes this.
  8. Paul Schenck

    Paul Schenck Active Member

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    I got my replacement Bulbs at Walmart, and they came in a package with a push button test with battery. Start with a good bulb and testing the switch may get easier!


    iPhone ?
     
    #8 Paul Schenck, Sep 5, 2017
  9. Peter Fanelli

    Peter Fanelli Junior Member

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    I was informed by a police officer that I had a brake light out a while back. When I checked it they were both working but that seems to be the way with Prius LED brake lights. It's too expensive to keep replacing the whole unit so I modified mine to use replaceable LED bulbs.
    I turned the reversing lights into brake lights with a red LED bulb and I replaced the turn signal bulbs with amber/white switchback DRL LED bulbs.So the turn signals do double duty as turn/reverse lights. Only disadvantage is that if you select reverse with the turn signal on you do not get white light on that side. Minor problem really.
     
    #9 Peter Fanelli, Sep 6, 2017
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