How do I know if I need new brake light bulbs?
I drive an 05 mustang and when my headlights are off and I press the brakes, only 3/6 tail lights turn on.
When my head lights are on all 6 of the tail lights are on. Then when I press the brakes only 3/6 light up brighter than the rest.
I'm confused that since the tail lights do come on when I turn my headlights on, does that mean they're working fine and not burned out but rather some electrical problem causing only some of them to react when I brake?
>>15220712
Bad grounding, start chasing wiring around the wonky light and look for broken or damaged wires and corroded ground connections
>>15220712
Tail lights and brake lights use two different filaments inside the bulb. When you turn the headlights on, one set of filaments lights up and when you press the brake pedal the other set of filaments lights up (that's why it gets brighter). The ones that come on with the headlights are working, and the ones that come on with the brake pedal on one side are not. The problem could be that somehow you got a surge that burned out all 3 of the brake light part of the bulbs one one side, or more likely what >>15220722 said, you have a bad electrical ground for the brake lights on that side.
>>15220722
>>15220745
Okay sounds good. I'll guess I'll check out the wiring and see what I can find and if that doesn't work then I'll try to replace the bulb.
Is one filament burning out before the other one a rare occurrence?
>>15220745
Also just reread your comment and wanted to point out its not all on one side. Not sure if that makes a difference but 2/3 don't light up when I brake on the left side and 1/3 doesn't light up when I brake on the right side. It looks weird
>>15220802
Still check grounding, socket conditions to see if they aren't corroded in there too or just shuffle bulbs and see if the problem moves.
And no its normal for one filament to go before the other, it's rare to lose both at the same time.
>>15220712
Put the bulbs that are working correctly in the "bad" sockets to see if it's a bulb issue or wiring issue.
>>15220874
This before u start diggin
>>15220712
>ford owners
>>15221347
What do you drive?
>>15220722
as an electrical technician i would highly advise doing this
Update:
Just changed out the bulbs. Now 2 on each side work but the inside bulb on each side doesn't work. At least it looks semetrical now. Couldn't really find anything wrong with the wiring. I'll take it into a shop tomorrow and see if they can take a look at it
