Troubleshooting Third Brake Light on Truck Camper Shell Not Working

Question:

When I try to hook up the third brake light on my camper shell to my dodge the light wont work with the truck brake lights and I have had it working before but now it wont work and when I test the light before I wire it up the light works but not when its wired into the truck and also when I unhook the wir from the truck and plug them into a battery it work. Does anybody know what I could do to get the third brake light working

asked by: Jimmy J

Expert Reply:

It sounds like you have tested the brake light circuit on the truck that you are connecting to for the third brake light. You also tested the light itself separately so you know it isn't simply a case of a bad bulb. If the circuit is good and the light is good but it isn't working only when the two are connected, it might be that the light is drawing too much power for the brake light circuit to handle. I recommend checking to see how much power the third brake light draws to ensure this isn't the problem. Switching to an LED assembly will likely resolve this as they draw a lot less power than standard incandescent bulbs.

If you are still having issues please let me know and we can continue to troubleshoot.

expert reply by: Chris R