tail lights are a mystery to me?

[02blkram47]

The other day I mentioned that I had a "lamp out" message on my dash. I walked around the truck and found out that the right passenger side tail lights were out. Today I stopped by Auto Zone and bought two new lights, installed them and they were still out? So I started to try a few things and this is what I have now. When I have my lights ON with the switch all the way on my right side rear lights do NOT come on. when I shut the light switch off and step on the break those lights come on and work fine. If I have the light switch ON and I step on the break the lights do NOT come on at all. what is going on here? I'm not understanding why sometimes they work and sometimes they don't... anyone have any ideas?

 

[EJM05]

Anything installed backwards.

 

[txbass06]

It sounds like the circuit board the bulbs plug into is bad. My buddy's '04 did the opposite yours is doing and that fixed his problem


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[reefguy89]

go to a pick and pull and get a light socket assebly and splice it in if that fixes then you can get a new one if ya want.

 

[reefguy89]

and if that doesnt fix it then look into the switch? Do you have a voltage meter? if so turn the switch on and check for voltage at the plug. if you dont have voltage at the plug turn off the power and strip a little bit of wire and test the wire its self.

 

[02blkram47]

That all sounds a bit complicated. I did see a white plug attached to the wires could that be plugged in backwards? It was tucked in a whole behind the light assembly.

 

[talon6]

i had tail light issues a couple yrs ago. bought 2 new tail light circuit boards from dealership. they were like 20$ each. all problems fixed. when i went there the parts guy laughed and said we sell alot of these.

 

[Big Boi]

go to a pick and pull and get a light socket assebly and splice it in if that fixes then you can get a new one if ya want.

Same thing happened to my '02. Went through three boards (part that the bulbs plug in to). I ended up buying new ones from off line, and it fixed the issue. SAME EXACT WARNINGS TOO!

dodge ram tail light boards | eBay

 

[02blkram47]

Ill try the dealership and see what happens. So if i call and say light circut board they should know what I'm talking about?

 

[talon6]

yep. tail light circuit board.

 

[reefguy89]

i had tail light issues a couple yrs ago. bought 2 new tail light circuit boards from dealership. they were like 20$ each. all problems fixed. when i went there the parts guy laughed and said we sell alot of these.

hell i didnt realize they where that cheap. screw the pick and pull just buy new ones.

 

[Bluesmoke91]

+1 on the circuit boards...the dude behind the counter at Kragen told me the same that they got a lot of people coming in to replace them...my store even had a few in stock cuz they sell so many...usually they would have to order them

 

[02blkram47]

would I need two if I only have one side that isn't working? I'll call the dealer today. thanks for all the info

 

[txbass06]

You don't have to get two of them but if they're cheap enough you might as well replace both of them to keep it from happening to the other side too


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[02blkram47]

called the dealer and they cost 23.10 for the board and $32.25 for the A-pillar grab handle i need. might be the first time i havent laughed at a price from a dealer. overnight shipping so ill have them for the weekend

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

^Good to hear, some of the replacement parts are pretty reasonable on these trucks.

 

[talon6]

You don't have to get two of them but if they're cheap enough you might as well replace both of them to keep it from happening to the other side too


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yep.cause it probably will happen to the other also.

 

[02blkram47]

Has anyone seen a picture of these circuit boards? When I take my tail light out I don't see one of those? I have two round receptacles attached to white wires that go to a white plug. Each receptacle has different connections for light bulbs. 1 light has two nubs on the bottom and the other light has 1 contact nub. I don't see this circuit board anywhere.

Update: well I found out that the guy who owned this truck before me changed the wire harness or adapter to put on his clear aftermarket tail lights. So I go to the dealer to check on this short wire I need to plug into the circuit board. They retail for $103 each for 18" wire harness. They have had that in stock for 3 years so he says he can sell to me for $75 each. I'm going to check the local salvage yard first.

 

[02blkram47]

sorry for posting this in this forum, I need 9 more posts to be able to post in the "Wanted" section. Turns out I need to find the 18" wire harness that attaches to the circuit board in order to make some replacement lights work. Anyone have a set of these laying around? I'm willing to pay. Called my local salvage yard and they don't have the right year ram.

 

[KGBIGCOUNTRY]

The harness got fried to?