mc01ta

My 2001 Trans Am is having a spoiler mounted 3rd brake light issue. I replaced the bulbs which were burnt and the fuse which was busted. There is still no light. What to do next?

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

You have to go about diagnosing the problem in a step-by-step sequence.

First get yourself a test light or multimeter. Remove the bulbs and test that there is power and ground at the sockets when somebody presses the brake pedal. If both are present then the problem is still with the bulbs. If not then check for power by using an independant ground such as the hatch release mounting bolts. If this works then you have a bad ground. If not then there is a power interruption someplace. Check the fuse again because it is the most common cause of power problems.

If it's a ground problem then check the ground bolt under the headliner next to the dome light. If that's OK then check that the black wire from there to the brake light isn't broken.

If it's a power problem then check for power at connector C330 under the headliner near the dome light just forward of the ground bolt. The brake light wire will be light blue on one side of the connector and either light blue or yellow on the other side. If you have power at the connector but not at the brake light then the wire between the two is broken somewhere.

If everything else checks out but there is no power at the connector then there is a break in the wire someplace between the brake light switch and the connector.

(All this assumes that the other brake lights are still working - otherwise the brake light switch is another possible suspect.)