2014 Ford Explorer Brake Lights flickering | Ford Explorer Forums

  • Register Today It's free!

2014 Ford Explorer Brake Lights flickering

markando

New Member
Joined
March 26, 2015
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Year, Model & Trim Level
2014 Ford Explorer
The LED brake lights in my 2014 Ford Explorer are "flickering". The bulbs are not out. It started with the left one and now the right and third brake light are all doing it to some degree. It looks like I'm driving a cop car at night. I can't imagine what is causing this. It's not a loose connection because they all flicker at different times. Any suggestions?
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year or try it out for $5 a month.

Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





The LED brake lights in my 2014 Ford Explorer are "flickering". The bulbs are not out. It started with the left one and now the right and third brake light are all doing it to some degree. It looks like I'm driving a cop car at night. I can't imagine what is causing this. It's not a loose connection because they all flicker at different times. Any suggestions?

Did you mod any other lights like put LED lights or something?
 






Welcome to the Forum Markando.:wavey:
Does the flickering only occur when you apply the brakes or all the time?

Peter
 






The LED brake lights in my 2014 Ford Explorer are "flickering". The bulbs are not out. It started with the left one and now the right and third brake light are all doing it to some degree. It looks like I'm driving a cop car at night. I can't imagine what is causing this. It's not a loose connection because they all flicker at different times. Any suggestions?

I suggest you simply take it to the service dept. at your dealership and have them fix it under warranty.......
 






I have not made any modifications. They flicker all the time regardless of when the brake light is on. They get brighter when the brake is depressed. I think it'll have to go to the dealership.
Thanks.
 






How fast are they flashing? It probably has something to do with the power supply that drives the LEDs.

LEDs are different from traditional bulbs in many ways, some of which can be a challenge in automotive applications. Most notably, LEDs can turn on and off instantly. If you shut off a traditional (incandescent) bulb you will see it get dimmer, quickly, but not instantly, and go out. An LED will go out immediately.

Since the alternators on our vehicles don't provide a constant, steady output voltage an LED running directly off the alternator would flicker. There needs to be some circuitry in line to smooth out the power (possibly just a capacitor) as well as to take the voltage down in most cases as LEDs often run under 2v, the automotive 12-14v would burn them out quickly.

It's probably something to do with that circuitry. It could be in the light controller or even part of the light module. Please report back once the dealer handles it for our education.

I know that doesn't help you actually fix it, but hopefully makes some sense. The dealer should be able to troubleshoot quickly. Thankfully LEDs are common on vehicles now, so troubleshooting should be easy.
 






I have not made any modifications. They flicker all the time regardless of when the brake light is on. They get brighter when the brake is depressed. I think it'll have to go to the dealership.
Thanks.

That's a great next step, markando; come back and tell us how your appointment goes. How many miles are on your Explorer currently? I'll hang around this thread to see if you need any assistance after your trip to the dealer.

Crystal
 






I have an appointment set up for Monday. I will let you know what they find out.
 






It took the dealership most of a day but they finally realized that one of the light assemblies had water in it. This was shorting out the lights and causing the flickering in all the lights. They replace the assembly and everything is fine.
 












Just had the same issue with our XLT. Had some really bad weather recently and water got in the passenger side brake light and caused both brake lights to flicker. Do not know how long this had been going on. Removed the brake light assembly and drained water and let it dry. Reinstalled light. Flickering stopped, but the one that had water quit working completely. Out of warranty, so had to replace complete assembly myself. Not a cheap part.

crrobbins
 






Hello, I had the same problem, left tail light… it was also water inside…. 😞

Thanks for sharing!
 






Featured Content

Back
Top