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Left brake light problem -- 2004 Santa Fe
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TomR
Dec 20, 2015, 7:12:52 PM12/20/15
to
I have a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe V-6 with a 3.5L engine.
People keep telling me that my left brake light does not light up when I
step on the brake. The right brake light works as it should.
It seems to be an intermittent problem. Sometimes, when people say the left
brake light is not working, I back up to a store front window and step on
the brake and the brake light on both sides are working.
Another time, I found that the left brake light was not working so I changed
the bulb. The old bulb didn't necessarily look like it was bad, but I
changed it anyway, and both brake lights then worked.
Shortly after that, I got stopped by a cop for the same thing (no ticket, he
just let me know it wasn't working) and I changed the bulb again and both
brake lights worked. The old bulb looked fine, but I changed it anyway and
the problem went away.
Then, soon thereafter, once again someone told me the left brake light
wasn't working, and I checked and it was not working. This time, I looked
at the bulb again and it looked fine like before. So, I just cleaned the
terminals on the bulb and socket and put it back together. That didn't fix
anything, so the left side brake light is still not working once again.
Tomorrow, I am going to take both sides apart, then switch bulbs between the
right side and left side and test it again. My guess is that won't fix the
problem since I assume both bulbs are good.
I assume that there must be a loose connection or wire someplace, but I
don't know how to check for that. I was planning on buying a test light
anyway since I am also having an electrical problem involving the rear
lights on an old bomb 1989 GMC pickup truck that I own. I am wondering if I
could use the test light to try to narrow down the source of the Hyundai
left brake light problem, but I don't know what or where to test.
Can anyone suggest anything else that I could try?
People keep telling me that my left brake light does not light up when I
step on the brake. The right brake light works as it should.
It seems to be an intermittent problem. Sometimes, when people say the left
brake light is not working, I back up to a store front window and step on
the brake and the brake light on both sides are working.
Another time, I found that the left brake light was not working so I changed
the bulb. The old bulb didn't necessarily look like it was bad, but I
changed it anyway, and both brake lights then worked.
Shortly after that, I got stopped by a cop for the same thing (no ticket, he
just let me know it wasn't working) and I changed the bulb again and both
brake lights worked. The old bulb looked fine, but I changed it anyway and
the problem went away.
Then, soon thereafter, once again someone told me the left brake light
wasn't working, and I checked and it was not working. This time, I looked
at the bulb again and it looked fine like before. So, I just cleaned the
terminals on the bulb and socket and put it back together. That didn't fix
anything, so the left side brake light is still not working once again.
Tomorrow, I am going to take both sides apart, then switch bulbs between the
right side and left side and test it again. My guess is that won't fix the
problem since I assume both bulbs are good.
I assume that there must be a loose connection or wire someplace, but I
don't know how to check for that. I was planning on buying a test light
anyway since I am also having an electrical problem involving the rear
lights on an old bomb 1989 GMC pickup truck that I own. I am wondering if I
could use the test light to try to narrow down the source of the Hyundai
left brake light problem, but I don't know what or where to test.
Can anyone suggest anything else that I could try?
Ed Pawlowski
Dec 20, 2015, 9:20:20 PM12/20/15
to
On 12/20/2015 7:12 PM, TomR wrote:
>
> It seems to be an intermittent problem. Sometimes, when people say the
> left brake light is not working, I back up to a store front window and
> step on the brake and the brake light on both sides are working.
>
> Another time, I found that the left brake light was not working so I
> changed the bulb. The old bulb didn't necessarily look like it was bad,
> but I changed it anyway, and both brake lights then worked.
>
>
> It seems to be an intermittent problem. Sometimes, when people say the
> left brake light is not working, I back up to a store front window and
> step on the brake and the brake light on both sides are working.
>
> Another time, I found that the left brake light was not working so I
> changed the bulb. The old bulb didn't necessarily look like it was bad,
> but I changed it anyway, and both brake lights then worked.
>
> I assume that there must be a loose connection or wire someplace, but I
> don't know how to check for that.
Intermittent problems are a PITA. I'd start with the socket itself.
> don't know how to check for that.
Make sure the bulb is making proper contact and the socket is grounded.
I have no idea were to trace the wire back to check each connection.
Alternative is to trade it in for an Equus.
Paul in Houston TX
Dec 20, 2015, 10:58:51 PM12/20/15
to
You can check the bulb with the ohmmeter, too. No need to keep replacing them.
No need for a test light either, use the volt function on the multimeter.
Partner
Dec 21, 2015, 9:35:26 PM12/21/15
to
Every time I have chased problems like this it has turned out to be a
grounding problem. I have had to take sandpaper to the inside of the socket
and base. I've had to run an additional ground wire. Some don't even have
a ground wire, just make contact with the metal frame.
"TomR" wrote in message news:n57g1a$lf5$1...@dont-email.me...
grounding problem. I have had to take sandpaper to the inside of the socket
and base. I've had to run an additional ground wire. Some don't even have
a ground wire, just make contact with the metal frame.
"TomR" wrote in message news:n57g1a$lf5$1...@dont-email.me...
TomR
Dec 22, 2015, 9:23:01 AM12/22/15
to
In news:fOSdnbFmA_h-_OrL...@giganews.com,
Ed Pawlowski <e...@snet.net> typed:
Thanks. I decided that just buying Equus would be easier, so I did that.
Not really, of course, (unfortunately), but thanks for the other
suggestions.
Ed Pawlowski <e...@snet.net> typed:
Not really, of course, (unfortunately), but thanks for the other
suggestions.
TomR
Dec 22, 2015, 9:50:57 AM12/22/15
to
In news:n57t91$kn9$1...@dont-email.me,
Paul in Houston TX <Pa...@Houston.Texas> typed:
Thanks, but I am not sure if I would know how or where to check for the
socket ground other than maybe getting under the vehicle and looking to see
if there are any wires coming from the light harness that are grounded to
the frame and check those connections.
I didn't try that yet, but I seemed to have already fixed the problem last
night. Here's what happened when I did the fix last night:
I backed my car up toward the store window of a Pep Boys auto store, and I
could look into the reflection in the store window and see that the left
brake light wasn't working. Then I took off both back lens covers and
removed the brake light socket from both sides (leaving the bulbs in the
socket) and checked again -- same thing. I looked at the left brake light
bulb and it looked fine. When I went to look at the right brake light bulb,
that side went off and on briefly when moving the socket and bulb. This
happened without taking the bulb out, and I could reproduce that symptom
once or twice when tapping lightly on the right brake light bulb.
I also noticed that the right brake light bulb looked a little strange.
There are two filaments and the lower/thicker filament was angled down in an
odd way because one of the filament posts was a lot shorter than the other
one. Just now, I looked online at Google Images of 1157 bulbs (my bulb) and
none showed that.
Then, last night, I switched the bulbs, putting the weird (but working)
right side brake light bulb on the left and the nonworking (normal looking)
left side bulb on the right. After the switch, the right side brake light
didn't work and the left side brake light did work. That, of course, would
seem to indicate that the original normal-looking left side brake light bulb
was probably bad since it didn't work when placed in the left side and also
didn't work when placed in the right side.
But, I also thought that something may be weird with the odd-looking
original right side bulb (including the possible loose connection and
blinking off and on when tapped lightly). So, I went into Pep Boys and I
bought two new bulbs and I put them both in -- one on each side.
Now, everything is working fine.
So, I don't really know what the problem was, but I wondered if it is
possible that some type of defective bulb on the right side could cause any
kind of short or something else when activated that would cause the opposite
side brake light to not work. That seems unlikely to me, but who knows.
Also, I saved the two original bulbs, and today in the daylight I have been
looking at them both very carefully with a magnifying glass to see if I
could see a broken filament etc. Other than the odd-looking original right
side bulb still looking weird, the filaments on both bulbs seem to be
intact.
Hopefully, this fix from last night will last and I won't have to revisit
this problem.
Paul in Houston TX <Pa...@Houston.Texas> typed:
socket ground other than maybe getting under the vehicle and looking to see
if there are any wires coming from the light harness that are grounded to
the frame and check those connections.
I didn't try that yet, but I seemed to have already fixed the problem last
night. Here's what happened when I did the fix last night:
I backed my car up toward the store window of a Pep Boys auto store, and I
could look into the reflection in the store window and see that the left
brake light wasn't working. Then I took off both back lens covers and
removed the brake light socket from both sides (leaving the bulbs in the
socket) and checked again -- same thing. I looked at the left brake light
bulb and it looked fine. When I went to look at the right brake light bulb,
that side went off and on briefly when moving the socket and bulb. This
happened without taking the bulb out, and I could reproduce that symptom
once or twice when tapping lightly on the right brake light bulb.
I also noticed that the right brake light bulb looked a little strange.
There are two filaments and the lower/thicker filament was angled down in an
odd way because one of the filament posts was a lot shorter than the other
one. Just now, I looked online at Google Images of 1157 bulbs (my bulb) and
none showed that.
Then, last night, I switched the bulbs, putting the weird (but working)
right side brake light bulb on the left and the nonworking (normal looking)
left side bulb on the right. After the switch, the right side brake light
didn't work and the left side brake light did work. That, of course, would
seem to indicate that the original normal-looking left side brake light bulb
was probably bad since it didn't work when placed in the left side and also
didn't work when placed in the right side.
But, I also thought that something may be weird with the odd-looking
original right side bulb (including the possible loose connection and
blinking off and on when tapped lightly). So, I went into Pep Boys and I
bought two new bulbs and I put them both in -- one on each side.
Now, everything is working fine.
So, I don't really know what the problem was, but I wondered if it is
possible that some type of defective bulb on the right side could cause any
kind of short or something else when activated that would cause the opposite
side brake light to not work. That seems unlikely to me, but who knows.
Also, I saved the two original bulbs, and today in the daylight I have been
looking at them both very carefully with a magnifying glass to see if I
could see a broken filament etc. Other than the odd-looking original right
side bulb still looking weird, the filaments on both bulbs seem to be
intact.
Hopefully, this fix from last night will last and I won't have to revisit
this problem.
TomR
Dec 22, 2015, 10:01:25 AM12/22/15
to
In news:n5acoj$7ol$1...@dont-email.me,
Partner <som...@comcast.net> typed:
>> "TomR" wrote in message news:n57g1a$lf5$1...@dont-email.me...
>>
>> I have a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe V-6 with a 3.5L engine.
>>
>> People keep telling me that my left brake light does not light up
>> when I step on the brake. The right brake light works as it should.
>>
>> It seems to be an intermittent problem. Sometimes, when people say
>> the left brake light is not working, I back up to a store front
>> window and step on the brake and the brake light on both sides are
>> working. . . . ,
> Every time I have chased problems like this it has turned out to be a
> grounding problem. I have had to take sandpaper to the inside of the
> socket and base. I've had to run an additional ground wire. Some
> don't even have a ground wire, just make contact with the metal frame.
Thanks. I seem to have fixed the problem for now (see my other post), but
if the problem returns I think the next step will be to try to see if there
is a grounding problem somewhere.
Partner <som...@comcast.net> typed:
>> "TomR" wrote in message news:n57g1a$lf5$1...@dont-email.me...
>>
>> I have a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe V-6 with a 3.5L engine.
>>
>> People keep telling me that my left brake light does not light up
>> when I step on the brake. The right brake light works as it should.
>>
>> It seems to be an intermittent problem. Sometimes, when people say
>> the left brake light is not working, I back up to a store front
>> window and step on the brake and the brake light on both sides are
> Every time I have chased problems like this it has turned out to be a
> grounding problem. I have had to take sandpaper to the inside of the
> socket and base. I've had to run an additional ground wire. Some
> don't even have a ground wire, just make contact with the metal frame.
if the problem returns I think the next step will be to try to see if there
is a grounding problem somewhere.
Paul in Houston TX
Dec 22, 2015, 6:32:53 PM12/22/15
to
Wish we still had free access to the mfg manuals.
jtees4
Dec 23, 2015, 12:50:54 PM12/23/15
to
07. Not so much since.
TomR
Jan 7, 2016, 11:33:50 AM1/7/16
to
In news:n5bnrm$9pq$1...@dont-email.me,
TomR <To...@tomrljp5.lhd> typed:
>> I would get out the multimeter / ohmmeter and check the socket
>> ground. You can check the bulb with the ohmmeter, too. No need to
>> keep replacing them. No need for a test light either, use the volt
>> function on the multimeter.
UPDATE and a new question:
Well, it stopped working again after my fix. It is still the left brake
light that does not work when stepping on the brake -- most of the time. A
friend who followed me said that sometimes it would light up when I was
stopping, and other times, it was not working.
I plan on taking it all apart again -- both sides -- and seeing if I can
find a loose connection or a poor ground connection or whatever.
My question is, since when I had them apart before I could move the Right
side bulb wires around and sometimes that bulb would go on and off. So, is
it possible that a loose wire or connection on the RIGHT side could be
causing the problem that I have on the LEFT side?
TomR <To...@tomrljp5.lhd> typed:
> In news:n57t91$kn9$1...@dont-email.me,
> Paul in Houston TX <Pa...@Houston.Texas> typed:
>> TomR wrote:
>>> I have a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe V-6 with a 3.5L engine.
>>> People keep telling me that my left brake light does not light up
>>> when I step on the brake. The right brake light works as it should.
>>> It seems to be an intermittent problem. . . . ,
> Paul in Houston TX <Pa...@Houston.Texas> typed:
>> TomR wrote:
>>> I have a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe V-6 with a 3.5L engine.
>>> People keep telling me that my left brake light does not light up
>>> when I step on the brake. The right brake light works as it should.
>> I would get out the multimeter / ohmmeter and check the socket
>> ground. You can check the bulb with the ohmmeter, too. No need to
>> keep replacing them. No need for a test light either, use the volt
>> function on the multimeter.
Well, it stopped working again after my fix. It is still the left brake
light that does not work when stepping on the brake -- most of the time. A
friend who followed me said that sometimes it would light up when I was
stopping, and other times, it was not working.
I plan on taking it all apart again -- both sides -- and seeing if I can
find a loose connection or a poor ground connection or whatever.
My question is, since when I had them apart before I could move the Right
side bulb wires around and sometimes that bulb would go on and off. So, is
it possible that a loose wire or connection on the RIGHT side could be
causing the problem that I have on the LEFT side?
Paul in Houston TX
Jan 7, 2016, 7:09:12 PM1/7/16
to
Check the left socket wires, too.
TomR
Jan 18, 2016, 4:00:41 PM1/18/16
to
In news:n57g1a$lf5$1...@dont-email.me,
TomR <To...@tomrljp2hg.mht> typed:
> I assume that there must be a loose connection or wire someplace, . . . .
> ,
Thanks all. I finally fixed it.
I took both taillights off and unplugged all of the sockets from the
taillights. Then, with the wires, sockets, and bulbs all hanging out loose,
I was able move things around one bulb and set of wires at a time to see if
I could find a loose connection and reproduce the problem. Since I was
doing it myself, I cut a piece of wood to the right length and put it under
the steering wheel and connected it to the brake pedal to keep the brake
pedal depressed so the brake lights would be constantly on.
When moving the wires and sockets etc., I was able to narrow it down to a
bad stop light socket on the left (driver) side. It wasn't a wire but
instead was something in the socket itself which caused the brake light to
go on and off when I moved the socket and bulb around. I tried cleaning and
adjusting the bulb contacts etc and that didn't fix the problem. And,
moving just the wires didn't reproduce the problem. So, it seemed like the
problem was somewhere inside the brake light socket itself.
I went to a Hyundai dealer and they only sell the wiring harness itself for
all 4 sockets, and do not sell just the one socket. So, I paid $33.50 and
bought the new wiring harness. The one I bought looks like this:
http://tinyurl.com/jxn2l8c
I had a problem figuring out how to access to the place where the wiring
harness plugs in and then I found a YouTube video for installing a new
trailer hitch wiring that showed me how to get to where the original
taillight wiring harness plugs in. It involved removing part of the trim on
the driver side inside the rear hatch area. Here is a YouTube video set to
the part of the video that showed this. It shows the passenger side first
and then the driver side. Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLvK12BCORE&t=2m10s
I didn't do all of the removal of bottom floor parts of the trim etc that
they showed beforehand and instead I just tried unclipping the driver side
interior trim and tried just pulling the top of it back enough to try to
reach in and disconnect the old harness and plug in the new one. In the
process, by pulling back too far on the top of the trim, I managed to crack
the trim in the lower left corner (oops). But, it is an old car and I don't
really care that I botched that part up.
However, another choice that I had was that I could have just left the old
harness in place and take just the new brake light socket off the new
harness and use it to just replace the old brake light socket without having
to open up the trim and replace the whole harness. But, I didn't do that
even though it would have been a lot easier and quicker to do.
But, it is now fixed and I don't have to worry about being pulled over by
the police for a non-working brake light (which had already happened a few
times before and after my prior "fixes" where I had replaced the bulb etc).
TomR <To...@tomrljp2hg.mht> typed:
> I have a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe V-6 with a 3.5L engine.
>
> People keep telling me that my left brake light does not light up
> when I step on the brake. The right brake light works as it should.
> . . . ,
>
> People keep telling me that my left brake light does not light up
> when I step on the brake. The right brake light works as it should.
> I assume that there must be a loose connection or wire someplace, . . . .
> ,
>
> Can anyone suggest anything else that I could try?
FINAL UPDATE:
> Can anyone suggest anything else that I could try?
Thanks all. I finally fixed it.
I took both taillights off and unplugged all of the sockets from the
taillights. Then, with the wires, sockets, and bulbs all hanging out loose,
I was able move things around one bulb and set of wires at a time to see if
I could find a loose connection and reproduce the problem. Since I was
doing it myself, I cut a piece of wood to the right length and put it under
the steering wheel and connected it to the brake pedal to keep the brake
pedal depressed so the brake lights would be constantly on.
When moving the wires and sockets etc., I was able to narrow it down to a
bad stop light socket on the left (driver) side. It wasn't a wire but
instead was something in the socket itself which caused the brake light to
go on and off when I moved the socket and bulb around. I tried cleaning and
adjusting the bulb contacts etc and that didn't fix the problem. And,
moving just the wires didn't reproduce the problem. So, it seemed like the
problem was somewhere inside the brake light socket itself.
I went to a Hyundai dealer and they only sell the wiring harness itself for
all 4 sockets, and do not sell just the one socket. So, I paid $33.50 and
bought the new wiring harness. The one I bought looks like this:
http://tinyurl.com/jxn2l8c
I had a problem figuring out how to access to the place where the wiring
harness plugs in and then I found a YouTube video for installing a new
trailer hitch wiring that showed me how to get to where the original
taillight wiring harness plugs in. It involved removing part of the trim on
the driver side inside the rear hatch area. Here is a YouTube video set to
the part of the video that showed this. It shows the passenger side first
and then the driver side. Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLvK12BCORE&t=2m10s
I didn't do all of the removal of bottom floor parts of the trim etc that
they showed beforehand and instead I just tried unclipping the driver side
interior trim and tried just pulling the top of it back enough to try to
reach in and disconnect the old harness and plug in the new one. In the
process, by pulling back too far on the top of the trim, I managed to crack
the trim in the lower left corner (oops). But, it is an old car and I don't
really care that I botched that part up.
However, another choice that I had was that I could have just left the old
harness in place and take just the new brake light socket off the new
harness and use it to just replace the old brake light socket without having
to open up the trim and replace the whole harness. But, I didn't do that
even though it would have been a lot easier and quicker to do.
But, it is now fixed and I don't have to worry about being pulled over by
the police for a non-working brake light (which had already happened a few
times before and after my prior "fixes" where I had replaced the bulb etc).
Paul in Houston TX
Jan 18, 2016, 6:34:34 PM1/18/16
to
TomR wrote:
>
> FINAL UPDATE:
>
> Thanks all. I finally fixed it.
>
> I took both taillights off and unplugged all of the sockets from the
> taillights. Then, with the wires, sockets, and bulbs all hanging out loose,
> I was able move things around one bulb and set of wires at a time to see if
> I could find a loose connection and reproduce the problem. Since I was
> doing it myself, I cut a piece of wood to the right length and put it under
> the steering wheel and connected it to the brake pedal to keep the brake
> pedal depressed so the brake lights would be constantly on.
>
> When moving the wires and sockets etc., I was able to narrow it down to a
> bad stop light socket on the left (driver) side. It wasn't a wire but
> instead was something in the socket itself which caused the brake light to
> go on and off when I moved the socket and bulb around. I tried cleaning and
> adjusting the bulb contacts etc and that didn't fix the problem. And,
> moving just the wires didn't reproduce the problem. So, it seemed like the
> problem was somewhere inside the brake light socket itself.
>
> I went to a Hyundai dealer and they only sell the wiring harness itself for
> all 4 sockets, and do not sell just the one socket. So, I paid $33.50 and
> bought the new wiring harness. The one I bought looks like this:
> http://tinyurl.com/jxn2l8c
Excellent! Thanks for the update.
>
> FINAL UPDATE:
>
> Thanks all. I finally fixed it.
>
> I took both taillights off and unplugged all of the sockets from the
> taillights. Then, with the wires, sockets, and bulbs all hanging out loose,
> I was able move things around one bulb and set of wires at a time to see if
> I could find a loose connection and reproduce the problem. Since I was
> doing it myself, I cut a piece of wood to the right length and put it under
> the steering wheel and connected it to the brake pedal to keep the brake
> pedal depressed so the brake lights would be constantly on.
>
> When moving the wires and sockets etc., I was able to narrow it down to a
> bad stop light socket on the left (driver) side. It wasn't a wire but
> instead was something in the socket itself which caused the brake light to
> go on and off when I moved the socket and bulb around. I tried cleaning and
> adjusting the bulb contacts etc and that didn't fix the problem. And,
> moving just the wires didn't reproduce the problem. So, it seemed like the
> problem was somewhere inside the brake light socket itself.
>
> I went to a Hyundai dealer and they only sell the wiring harness itself for
> all 4 sockets, and do not sell just the one socket. So, I paid $33.50 and
> bought the new wiring harness. The one I bought looks like this:
> http://tinyurl.com/jxn2l8c
I would have replaced the entire harness, too.
wesley...@gmail.com
Apr 28, 2017, 10:48:13 PM4/28/17
to
On Sunday, December 20, 2015 at 6:12:52 PM UTC-6, TomR wrote:
> I have a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe V-6 with a 3.5L engine.
>
> People keep telling me that my left brake light does not light up when I
> step on the brake. The right brake light works
I had a similar issue with same make/model. Same problem, also noticed a new bulb would stay extra bright when headlights were on. I took the bulb out of the brake light socket and cleaned it out real good. It was kinda rusty inside. Put new bulb back in. So far, so good, working as it should. (fingers crossed) Seems to be a grounding related issue.
> I have a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe V-6 with a 3.5L engine.
>
> People keep telling me that my left brake light does not light up when I
> step on the brake. The right brake light works
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