Third Brake Light failed -- Dealer only work?

TxCowboy · Apr 16, 2015

The LED Center High Mounted Stop Light (CHMSL) failed yesterday with only 16K miles on the truck. I get the EVIC warning every time I start my 2014 1500 Longhorn.

The owner's manual says this is a "Service at Authorized Dealer" only item.

Isn't this just a "plug and play" item? Just get the new LED bulb, remove the two screws holding the light assembly, disconnect and replace the LED, then reinstall the screws. Easy, peasy, right?

That said, I did check the owner's manual and there's no part number for the LED brake lights. I stopped at an Autozone and another auto parts place today and neither carries the LED replacement bulbs for these trucks. I even checked Walmart -- no luck there either. Guess I'll probably still end up driving the hour plus and hanging around the waiting room getting this bulb replaced.

If this light fails every 16K miles, I want to have a supply of them on-hand. I can't afford time-wise to make a half-day visit to the dealership to replace a bulb.

Any suggestions?

Sir John · Apr 16, 2015

TxCowboy said:
The LED Center High Mounted Stop Light (CHMSL) failed yesterday with only 16K miles on the truck. I get the EVIC warning every time I start my 2014 1500 Longhorn.

The owner's manual says this is a "Service at Authorized Dealer" only item.

Isn't this just a "plug and play" item? Just get the new LED bulb, remove the two screws holding the light assembly, disconnect and replace the LED, then reinstall the screws. Easy, peasy, right?

That said, I did check the owner's manual and there's no part number for the LED brake lights. I stopped at an Autozone and another auto parts place today and neither carries the LED replacement bulbs for these trucks. I even checked Walmart -- no luck there either. Guess I'll probably still end up driving the hour plus and hanging around the waiting room getting this bulb replaced.

If this light fails every 16K miles, I want to have a supply of them on-hand. I can't afford time-wise to make a half-day visit to the dealership to replace a bulb.

Any suggestions?

The Longhorns have LED 3rd brake lights??....I did not know that. I'm wondering if your 3rd brake light is leaking to cause it to short out. That seems to happen a lot.

On a side note...."Army Aviator"?....what did you fly?

TxCowboy · Apr 16, 2015

Hi, SirJohn! Yeah, I was a Blackhawk driver. Retired in January 2000 from the Army Training Directorate (G-3 Training) in the Pentagon.

My regimental affiliation is the 17th Cavalry. Did a few tours with 1-17th, 4-17th, and 7-17th in the 1980s and 1990s. Also had a couple of Medevac tours in Korea and two Attack Helicopter assignments as a Hawk driver.

Used the run the 17th Cav Regiment license plate on my truck before we had the dual license plate requirement.

Good times, good times.

TxCowboy · Apr 16, 2015

Sir John said:
The Longhorns have LED 3rd brake lights??....I did not know that. I'm wondering if your 3rd brake light is leaking to cause it to short out. That seems to happen a lot.

Back to the thread topic, I wonder if this is a warranty item? Most bulb issues aren't but if it's a bad seal, I wonder whether that might be covered. I can't seem to find the answer to that question in the owner's manual.

darthdzl · Apr 17, 2015

I doubt it's a warranty item. They're cheap enough I'd just grab one and stuff it in there.

7777xm · Apr 17, 2015

16K miles, they will warranty it. Any LED bulb should outlast the life of the truck.

Unfortunately, the LED is not a physical bold that plugs into the brake light.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

TxCowboy · Apr 17, 2015

Just spoke with the dealership. I'll need to schedule an appointment to have this LED replaced. Hopefully, they'll do a bit of troubleshooting and figure out why this LED failed.

The part alone is $63 (yikes!) so I hope that and the labor are covered by the warranty.

xrsman · Apr 17, 2015

Umm, it shouldn't be LED. My 2014 Longhorn did not come with the LED third break light bulbs. Have a look inside the lense of the third break light and see if they are bulbs in there or a bulb looking thing with little white squares all over it. LED bulbs have the white squares on them.

I replaced my stock bulbs with canbus LED's. cost me like $3 per bulb and is way brighter! Looks way better too!

www.superbrightleds.com is where I got mine.

CMil527 · Apr 17, 2015

I was going to say i have yet to see a LED third brake light from the factory... if i'm wrong someone please get me a p/n asap!

Sir John · Apr 17, 2015

TxCowboy said:
Hi, SirJohn! Yeah, I was a Blackhawk driver. Retired in January 2000 from the Army Training Directorate (G-3 Training) in the Pentagon.

My regimental affiliation is the 17th Cavalry. Did a few tours with 1-17th, 4-17th, and 7-17th in the 1980s and 1990s. Also had a couple of Medevac tours in Korea and two Attack Helicopter assignments as a Hawk driver.

Used the run the 17th Cav Regiment license plate on my truck before we had the dual license plate requirement.

Good times, good times.

Awesome!.....small world huh?. Throughout the 90s I was a general helicopter repairer (aka crew chief) for the OH-57D(I), but I worked extensively on all of them to included the UH-60. You broke them we fixed them. I loved going up in the OH-57 on test flights since it was only a 2 seater. That's where I learned how to fly them...lol. Spent a lot of time in Germany, Bosina, Somalia, Middle East, 101st Airborne (Ft Campbell) and all the places in-between. I was also a C-130 Hercules crew chief in the Air Force Reserve for a little while in the 2000s. Like you said....good times for sure. Thanks for your long service, Sir.

Sir John · Apr 17, 2015

The bulb would be covered under warranty if the 3rd brake light seal was leaking and caused the bulb to fail. We are definitely talking about the 3rd (high mount) brake light on the top of the cab, right? I'm still surprised that it's LED on the Longhorns. I didn't think any of them were. An LED light "should" outlast your ownership of the truck.

TxCowboy · Apr 20, 2015

Sorry for the delay getting back to this thread. Was at the beach!

Anyway, I called the dealership and got the part number. I cross-referenced it and it isn't LED. My bad. The two lower brake lights are LED but this one is just a bulb.

It is Part number: 55372082AE. I just bought a couple of them online for $13 delivered. The same bulb is used for the white cargo lights so it's good to have a spare bulb or two.

What I found disturbing was that the High Center Brake has such a poor weather seal. It is compression foam with no sealant. There is clear evidence of water penetration in that area which is why that bulb failed. This actually might be covered under warranty for that reason but I'd lose at least half a day getting this bulb replaced and I'm too busy for that.

I'm going to install the new bulb when it arrives and put some clear silicon sealant around that light fixture. That should cure this issue. I hope.

Ram Man 727 · Apr 23, 2015

My high center brake light bulb blew with only 5k. Took it to my local dealer who has a drive through express lube and they put a new bulb in.. 5min and no charge

With reading a number of threads I think I'm going to have a look at the seal on the light to make sure it's not leaking.

The Crow 1994 · Apr 24, 2015

Ram Man 727 said:
My high center brake light bulb blew with only 5k. Took it to my local dealer who has a drive through express lube and they put a new bulb in.. 5min and no charge
With reading a number of threads I think I'm going to have a look at the seal on the light to make sure it's not leaking.

I would be willing to bet that your seal will not hold up over the long haul, especially since it has leaked once already. I would be proactive and either buy a better gasket/seal, or use the silicone method. My truck leaked after about 8K miles. I put a new seal in (bought at Home Depot) and it hasn't leaked since.

This is a VERY common problem amongst Ram owners. So much so, that Ram should, quite frankly, be embarrassed that it is still happening after so many years.

Sir John · Apr 24, 2015

The Crow 1994 said:
I would be willing to bet that your seal will not hold up over the long haul, especially since it has leaked once already. I would be proactive and either buy a better gasket/seal, or use the silicone method. My truck leaked after about 8K miles. I put a new seal in (bought at Home Depot) and it hasn't leaked since.

This is a VERY common problem amongst Ram owners. So much so, that Ram should, quite frankly, be embarrassed that it is still happening after so many years.

It's happening with all of the makes. I had F150 trucks for years and this is also a very common issue talked about on the forums. Ridiculous.

cptwing · Apr 29, 2015

It happened on my truck at 4000 miles, dealer replaced the entire third brake light assembly no charge.

But back to the LED 3rd brakelight, there is in fact 2 led CHMSL assemblies available stock from the factory.
One looks very similar to the incandescent one while the other looks very different with a camera built into it. Both come on the trucks from the factory.

Ironicaly after the dealer replaced my incandescent one I replaced it with the LED one with the camera, mopar pa. rt number 68163937AF. I do not have the part number for the mopar one without the cam but I have seen them on 2014 and 2015 trucks on the lot, with mopar stamped in them.

And thank you gentlemen for your service to our country!
CPT/USAR/ENG/RET

Here is a pic of the mopar Led CHMSL Cam

And Here is a pic from the cam as shown on the 8.4 radio

Sir John · Apr 29, 2015

cptwing said:
It happened on my truck at 4000 miles, dealer replaced the entire third brake light assembly no charge.

But back to the LED 3rd brakelight, there is in fact 2 led CHMSL assemblies available stock from the factory.
One looks very similar to the incandescent one while the other looks very different with a camera built into it. Both come on the trucks from the factory.

Ironicaly after the dealer replaced my incandescent one I replaced it with the LED one with the camera, mopar pa. rt number 68163937AF. I do not have the part number for the mopar one without the cam but I have seen them on 2014 and 2015 trucks on the lot, with mopar stamped in them.

And thank you gentlemen for your service to our country!
CPT/USAR/ENG/RET

Here is a pic of the mopar Led CHMSL Cam
View attachment 49682

And Here is a pic from the cam as shown on the 8.4 radio
View attachment 49683

Thank you for your service as well!

Your 3rd brake light is awesome. I did not know about that one. Is it plug-n-play or does it require some wiring to make it all work?....with the camera for example. How much does it cost? Do you have any pictures of how the lights look when on? How does that camera come on and off?

Sorry for all the questions, but I like it and might want to get one. Thanks!

cptwing · May 1, 2015

FYI my truck is a tradesman, which I upgraded abit, but again the LED brakelight is OEM mopar and available from the factory though it is a rare option, only offered on the 3500 as a means of hooking up a gooseneck or fifth wheel hitch. It may be avail on the 2500 but im not sure. But it could be added to 1500, 2500 and 3500 especially with the 8.4 radios.

cptwing · May 1, 2015

Basically there are two ways to hook this up one is using a lockpick, the other is using RAX jailbreak by customtronix. Along with the CHMSL cam you will need to buy or fab a harness, as far as I know customtronix is the only retailer selling a harness for $65.00 euro, in fact I had an extra I just sold to a guy on this forum, but they are fairly easy to make. Customtronix sells their software in various configs depending on what you are looking for. I would not buy the brake-light from them they are way overpriced on it, they want $290.00 euro when they sell on quirk and tasca for $195.00 usd.

chrysler | Customtronix
also look them up on youtube

UConnect Lockpick Air Wifi v2
There are pros and cons to either way

The cost is not cheap though, but depending on which way you go there are other benefits. Lockpick allows you to mirror phones tablets etc and watch video.

Here are some DIY threads including one in a 2012 with an older style radio.

Here is the one on the 2012
http://www.ramforum.com/f51/installing_2013_3rd_brake_light_camera_2012_ram-59559/

Here is one using RAX Jailbreak on 2013 and Up with 8.4 radios
http://www.ramforum.com/f51/installing_2013_3rd_brake_light_camera_2012_ram-59559/

And here is one where he hooked up the mirror cams but never installed CHMSL cam but he could easily by just running the harness to his lockpick and installing the CHMSL led light cam
http://www.ramforum.com/f75/turn_signal_camera_install-64870/

GYSOT · Jul 12, 2016

cptwing said:
Basically there are two ways to hook this up one is using a lockpick, the other is using RAX jailbreak by customtronix. Along with the CHMSL cam you will need to buy or fab a harness, as far as I know customtronix is the only retailer selling a harness for $65.00 euro, in fact I had an extra I just sold to a guy on this forum, but they are fairly easy to make. Customtronix sells their software in various configs depending on what you are looking for. I would not buy the brake-light from them they are way overpriced on it, they want $290.00 euro when they sell on quirk and tasca for $195.00 usd.

chrysler | Customtronix
also look them up on youtube

UConnect Lockpick Air Wifi v2
There are pros and cons to either way

The cost is not cheap though, but depending on which way you go there are other benefits. Lockpick allows you to mirror phones tablets etc and watch video.

Here are some DIY threads including one in a 2012 with an older style radio.

Here is the one on the 2012
http://www.ramforum.com/f51/installing_2013_3rd_brake_light_camera_2012_ram-59559/

Here is one using RAX Jailbreak on 2013 and Up with 8.4 radios
http://www.ramforum.com/f51/installing_2013_3rd_brake_light_camera_2012_ram-59559/

And here is one where he hooked up the mirror cams but never installed CHMSL cam but he could easily by just running the harness to his lockpick and installing the CHMSL led light cam
http://www.ramforum.com/f75/turn_signal_camera_install-64870/

Thanks a ton, I DM'ed him

Third Brake Light failed -- Dealer only work?

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