Hey all,

Brake light on our 01 TJ keeps blowing on the drivers side only. The other function on the globe works (head light/tail light) still works, and when the trailer is attached, the brake light on the trailer works, but still not on the car, so it's getting power.

Has anybody had a similar problem, and how did you fix it?

Cheers, Greg.

Is the brake light filament of the drivers side bulb actually blowing?

I kind of suck at electronics, but if a short had that bulb getting power - and THEN getting the brake lamp circuit (when brakes applied) would that lead to over-voltage? (in this scenario, does 12 + 12 = 24V, or is it some electrical magic that 12 + 12 = still 12V - no doubt members in here will know).

You could check by pulling the bulbs out of the back of the drivers tail lamp, and checking which filaments are lit with "no parkers" "no parkers + brake" "parkers on" and "parkers on + brake" Throw in Reverse gear while you are at it, in the diagnosing phase.

Look for loom damage in the boot, where the trailer lead is spliced in, and throughout the trailer lead and its plug (these are most obvious areas where loom could get damaged. But also think on why it it only the drivers side affected.

EDIT: was thinking over-voltage may lead to failure, but maybe low voltage would equally affect bulb life. Look for poor connections around the drivers side tail-light, look for tarnish on that bulb holder (any evidence of condensation in there?), and if the trailer loom splices into the drivers side be ESPECIALLY suspect of that..... the trailer connection may give good power to the trailer at the expense of drivers tail-light.

simple your tail light has a short