Re: 2007 PT No Brake Lights Question
Ok ... started my day at the dealer. Needed an oil change anyway.
I really hate how dealerships use a "svc adviser" as a middle guy to relay info. He didn't understand the problem and really couldn't explain to me what the technician was doing.
So the svc manager ended up stepping in and talking to me directly. After three hours, they said my car was ready. First thing I did before I left the lot, was checked my brake lights. And they weren't working still!! They claimed that my problem was my trailer converter. Causing a constant ground on the 12v stop lamp line. I disagreed, telling them that I had the converter completely out of the car, back to factory wiring, and still no brake lights working. So home I went. Spent 15 minutes completely removing the converter from the car and leaving the wiring as it was from the factory. Still, I had no brake lights.
On a whim, knowing it wouldn't fix the problem, I stopped on the way back to the dealer at my local parts store, and installed yet another set of new bulbs. Thinking just maybe one was bad and causing a ground. Still, no brake lights.
Got back to the dealer, talked to the svc manager again, and he took the car in and an hour later, I have working brake lights. And he wouldn't really say exactly what he found or what he did to get them working.
He showed me a schematic, where the stop lamp module is in the tipm. There's an orange wire that feeds from that where he said they showed 12v coming out when the brake was applied.
Where this orange wire goes from there, appears to run into the harness just under the dash on the left side. Then out comes a white and orange wire that run to both stop lamps. He did a good job of confusing me about the problem. How can you have 12v coming out of the tipm but nothing at the back of the car?? LoL ... so I can only assume that they fixed something or reset something to get it working again.
The funny thing is, the trailer place said I had to have a "powered" converter. So as to not draw extra amps off the cars system. So the converter is wire directly to the battery for power and it only senses when there is 12v on the line, thus, switching the trailer lights on, while drawing it juice directly from the battery. There were pretty knowledgeable about the PT and the changes from 2006 on.
The svc mgr also rattled off something about going into the tipm, with a computer I presume, and having to authorize a converter on the bus??? The basic idea of a powered converter is quite simple in how it works. He just did nothing but confuse me.
He asked if it ever worked correctly. Well, for two months it did. Then he suggested taking it back to the trailer place and having them install yet another converter and if the problem returned again, to buy one of Mopars trailer wiring harnesses. Which run $139 according to the parts counter guy. And looking at the picture of it, its nothing more than a T connector that plugs right into the junction just behind the left tail light. Where it looks like it draws power right off the line.
So anyway, now I'm not sure what to do about trailer lights. Go back and get another box installed and possibly have the same problem again??
Last edited by katfishgr : 07 Jul 2008 at 02:29 pm.
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05 Jul 2008, 09:28 pm
Don't sound good. Good Luck.
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