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Tail lights and license plate lights not working

27K views 28 replies 10 participants last post by  speedlever 
#1 ·
My 2007 - Tail lights and license plate lights are not working. Brake lights, turn signals, headlights and front signals are working.

I Checked all the fuses none are blown? Not sure what to check next?
Trailer hitch and harness were dealer installed, not after market.
Have not checked bulbs yet, however 4 bulbs not working all at the same time?
 
#2 ·
Agree, probably not bulbs. Do you have an aftermarket tailgate lock, back-up camera, or anything else hooked up back there? If so, suspect that wiring.

You said you checked & no fuses are blown. Did you determine this by visual check only? If so, try swapping your tail light fuse with another of the same value & see if tail lights are still out. Are the back-up lights on the same fuse as the tail lights? If so, that is a dead give away as to where to look. Something's amiss with that circuit; if not the fuse then the wiring or ground.

And just to clarify, when you put your headlight switch in "Parking lights" position, your front parking lights are lit, but your rear tail lights are out???

If so, I'd suspect it might be a bad switch somewhere; either your brake light switch (might interact with tail lights?), or your back-up lights (reverse) switch. This is all just logical guess work, but that's where I'd look next.
 
#3 ·
Tried today to fix problem still no luck. Bought a fuse tester and new fuses, swapped out the fuses and still no rear tail lights or license plate lights.

Also pulled all bulbs which were fine and not burnt or broken. Replaced bulbs with extras on hand still not lighting up.
Back up lights work. With headlight switch in parking lights position the front parking lights do work, but not the rears. Checked the connections to the trailer plug wiring, its still connected.

Not sure what to check next. Need help
 
#4 ·
I dont know the RL wiring back there at all, but on a lot of the newer cars they add grounds in the vicinity of the harness connectors to complete the circuit for that set of connections. Another way of saying run a ground to one of the lights that is not working and see if it works. if so trace down the ground for that section of the harness. It may be corroded or broken.
 
#6 ·
I'd put my money on a bad ground or a broken wire. It's likely located somewhere pretty far up because I'm assuming the tails and the license plate lights are on the same circuit. Follow all the wires from the bulbs out to the wiring connectors. I'm guessing there is a point where they all meet and are not getting power to that point.
 
#8 ·
BCM = brake control module? I searched for that term in the FSM but came up empty.
 
#9 ·
Body Control Module. If this was failing or faulty, EVERYTHING would be going wrong. I think it's a single wire connection somewhere up in the line that sends power or ground to just the tails and license plate bulbs.
 
#10 ·
Body control module also 0 hits in the FSM.
 
#12 ·
My search-fu must be on the blink. No luck with body control unit either.
 
#17 ·
+6 on the bad ground. Just because the dealer installed something doesn't mean they don't screw up
 
#18 ·
We are having the same problem w/ our 2007 and after 3 trips to the dealer and a couple of switches changed out the mechanics were stumped and still have the problem was told by 2 different dealers it couldn't be the module. All started withing a few months after having a tonneau cover put on in 2007-a heavy one could that be the problem?
 
#19 ·
I truly think the close proximity of the tonneau cover installation and your lighting issue is purely coincidental. I don't see in any way how a tonneau cover could affect it. Basically, what you'll have to do is trace the wiring from the affected bulbs back and back and back with a multimeter until you find the source. You're obviously not going to have power at the bulbs, so if you trace it back connector by connector until you find good power, you'll at least be able to trace down which connector or wire contains the issue. A shop that specializes in auto electrical systems would be able to track this down in 20 minutes.
 
#21 ·
I tried running a ground to the tail light bulb, but no power. I gave up and brought the truck to the local dealer.

They said it took them a couple hours to find and correct the problem and had to take apart a good portion of the interior to get to the wiring connection problem. They said it was "the red black wire in the connector C510 had a faulty connection" they repaired the faulty connection and the lights work.

I got there just as they were closing and could not speak to the service advisor, who took care of me to explain the repair further in detail. I'm just happy it's fixed finally... Not happy about the price $244 for 2 hours of labor and $7 for two bulbs. with tax and misc. charges out the door for $275.22.
The service advisor said it took a while, so being charge 2 hours, I guess is fair.
 
#23 ·
Knew it was a wiring thing. All that had to be done was trace it back. Unfortunately, that extended into the cab. The disassembly doesn't take a long time, but tracking down the wiring fault does. Two hours of labor sounds fair. At the end of the day, yes you spent some money, but it's working properly now.
 
#24 ·
My 2007 - Tail lights and license plate lights are not working. Brake lights, turn signals, headlights and front signals are working.

I Checked all the fuses none are blown? Not sure what to check next?
Trailer hitch and harness were dealer installed, not after market.
Have not checked bulbs yet, however 4 bulbs not working all at the same time?
Hi. I just had the same issue and after checking the thread found that the small lights 15 A fuse may be the pronlem. It looked OK not blown but was sparking on the bottom of the fuse seat. ( I was lucky to see it because it was night when i checked). Next day i checked again and noticed when moving the fuse i get lights.( my daughter was assisting while ii was moving the fuse). What i did to help the fuse stay on I wedged the piece of rubber washer to keep it tight. Hope this will help.
Machine Technology Vending machine Drink
Machine Technology Vending machine Drink
 

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#25 ·
Good Day. I hate to revive an old post but I am curious as to if anyone has a connector picture that fails on these or the wiring diagram of the lighting system.
I have a 2006 Honda Ridgeline RT with an aftermarket trailer harness (disconnected now). Bulbs are good, fuses are all good and I even swapped them. There is no power on the red/black wire at the left tail light when the switch is turned on. The front lights do come on though. Brake lights and signals work so it is just the tail lights.
Does anyone know where the failure happens between the fuse and the rear light assembly?
 
#29 ·
Great job! How did you discover the bad connector?
 
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