Right rear brake light not working

[bigrick7]

Hey y'all so my folks have a 2015 Ford Explorer XLT but the thing is they have one tail light cracked. They did not see any need to replace it as the crack was not noticeable and all the lights worked.

The problem was that we recently had some heavy rain and now it water actually slipped through the cracks causing only the all 3 rear lights to flicker (just the 3 brake lights not the turn or reverse). Today my dad and I opened it up and removed the plug for the LED and now the other two lights not longer flicker.

My question is if the LED ring light is done for good or if it will work once dried. If it will not work do you all know how we might be able to replace fix the issue? They are unsure about replacing it since the part is not cheap and they don't see why they should replace the entire thing for the one LED piece malfunctioning.

Thanks in advance.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum bigrick7.
I have no experience replacing this type of setup. I would think that the easiest way to find out if it will work again is to dry the fixture out. Maybe you could use a hair dryer or similar item but be careful not to get things too hot. By law, you must have a working brake light on both sides. Hope it was just moisture and don't forget to seal the crack.

Peter

 

[crrobbins]

Had an issue last winter with right side taillight getting moisture in it. Cracked somehow. Water filled light about 1/2 up. It made both brake lights flicker constantly. I removed the taillight and emptied and dried it out. Reinstalled light. Only left brake light would work then. No flickering though. Just only one brake light working. Had to replace entire tail light assembly, since brake light is LED and not individually replaceable. Found one aftermarket for about $250. Works great and fit was great.

crrobbins

 

[FordMan007]

Tail Light Issue Help

Howdy Y’all. I got an issue with the passenger tail light on my 2016 Ford Explorer. Long story short my brake light went out on the passenger so I thought “hey that’s an easy fix”. Went to replace the bulb, but shortly found out my tail light had been flooded with water due to not being sealed properly. I drained all the fluid, and proceeded to change the light bulb. Only thing is the bulb isn’t working now even with a new bulb in the socket. I started doing some poking around and could see that the socket had got a small amount of moister in it due to the tail being flooded. Here’s what puzzles me though. The turn signal bulb located in the same flooded tail light works just fine. I got a test done at auto zone and there was no positive charge coming from out the socket. What do y’all suggest I do? I would hate to take it to the dealership and get charged an arm and leg but at this rate it seems like I’m heading in that direction.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum.
Your thread was merged with this one.
According to the Owner's Manual the brake lights are LED while the turn indicator is a bulb. The Manual states; "Note: LED lamps are not serviceable. See an authorized dealer if they fail."
Also, see post #3.

Peter

 

[FordMan007]

Hi peter! Thanks for the response. I see you mentioned something about an LED light used for the brakes found in the Housing it’s self? Hmmm... that’s odd my 2016 Explorer base doesn’t seem to have this feature. It’s nothing special just a standard 21W bulb for the brake and signal light. Unless what your mentioning is for a different kind of series. I’m some what confused, but hey aren’t we all at some point? Anyway I’m currently letting the sockets bake in the sun. I hope it works out for me. Wish me luck.

-FordMan

 

[peterk9]

Page 295 of the Manual shows;
Brake and rear lamp. LED LED
Central high mounted brake lamp. LED LED
Rear direction indicator. WY21W 21Watt
Reversing lamps. W21W 21Watt
License plate lamp. W5W 5Watt
Note: LED lamps are not serviceable. See an authorized dealer if they fail.

 

[FordMan007]

This is correct. However the LED lights isn’t what I need replaced. It’s the 21W clear bulb for the reversing lamp. It also acts as the brake light. I’m chalking it up to the socket is damaged. It got exposed to moisture. I just got back from letting it bake in the sun hoping it would solve my problem, but no luck there.

 

[FordMan007]

I’m thinking about going to a junk yard and finding a similar Explorer and trying to splice the wires.

 

[peterk9]

This is correct. However the LED lights isn’t what I need replaced. It’s the 21W clear bulb for the reversing lamp. It also acts as the brake light. I’m chalking it up to the socket is damaged. It got exposed to moisture. I just got back from letting it bake in the sun hoping it would solve my problem, but no luck there.

I don't understand how a single bulb can do both reverse and brake light duties. For reverse, the taillight lens is clear/white and the brake light would have to be red. I'm guessing there is only a single source of power to the bulb so how would it know if the vehicle is reversing or braking in order to provide the correct colour? Mind you I haven't seen the inside of the fixture so I'm only speculating. When you said LED ring, are you referring to the small 3 LED strip on the side of the fixture?
Have you checked the fuse?

Peter

 

[KayGee]

Keep in mind that although Ford says the lamps are not serviceable, they can be taken apart, repaired and resealed. People have been doing similar with headlights for years to custom paint them on the inside bezel or add additional halo/special lighting accents.

Since yours is already broken, you may want to experiment with disassembling it and attempting a repair. Lots of info and options on the interwebs/youtube/etc...