rumblestripe Posted December 15, 2019 Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 Okay, so here's a head scratcher. Noticed last week that the driver outer rear brake light was out. Didn't want to rush it over to the dealer and get charged $400 for something simple so I looked into a bit on my own and found out that the whole LED brake light assembly needs to be replaced when faulty or broken, not just a bulb as with incandescents. But before I went any further I tested to see what else did or didn't work in that unit. Turn signal still worked and the back up light still worked, but without the LED brake light I figured I'd have to replace the whole thing. So I went onto ebay and got a used assembly in nice condition at a nice price. It arrived today and I went to replace it. Easy as pie. Done. But when I tested it, still no LED brake light! Arrrrggghhhh. Huh? I suppose I could've gotten a broken replacement assembly but now it seems like something else. A blown fuse? But looking up fuses in the owner's manual, nothing looks especially promising: "Exterior Lights 1," "Exterior Lights 2," "Brake Module (ESC)," but I'm thinking that any fuse would be for the whole assembly and not just the brake part of it. That's why I didn't think fuse in the first place. So now I'm just frustrated and confused. Any Ideas? I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance. I will check back often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhareFred Posted December 15, 2019 Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 I don’t have led lamps on mine, but could you possibly test it on the side that works? It obviously won’t fit in the mounting location, but there might be enough wire to plug it in and see if it works. If so, start looking at the wires on the side that doesn’t work. Hope this makes some kinda sense... 2late4u, Summer Solstice and rumblestripe 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumblestripe Posted December 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 (edited) That's a really good idea OhareFred, thanks! The assembly is not hard to take off so I will definitely give that a try tomorrow! I will report back what I find out by doing this. Edited December 15, 2019 by rumblestripe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger-Dodger Posted December 15, 2019 Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 I've had both inner tail lights fail on the hatch. The problem each time was a broken wire in the flexible wire harness at the top of the hatch. All of the wiring for the hatch goes through this harness, and the frequent opening and closing of the hatch eventually breaks the wires. I never had this problem with my Town & Country because the harness is located at a different place on the hatch. I fixed both wires by peeling back the rubber 'hose' and soldering the broken wires back together. This is yet another poor design on the Journey along with the battery location and the oil filter/oil cooler assembly. When your engine and frame are covered in oil, it's time to get the checkbook out. I just had mine replaced at the dealer last week for over $800 bux....!! The entire top of the engine has to come off to get to the cooler/filter assembly. Google YouTube for videos if you think you can do it yourself. Good luck with the broken light wires. It's an easy fix. <> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumblestripe Posted December 15, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2019 19 hours ago, rumblestripe said: That's a really good idea OhareFred, thanks! The assembly is not hard to take off so I will definitely give that a try tomorrow! I will report back what I find out by doing this. Okay, so I finally got a chance to do this today and the answer is... The light assembly I bought on ebay is GOOD. I wired my good outer LED light from the passenger side to the driver side and wired the ebay assembly into the passenger side: The ebay brake light then glowed red on the pass. side and the original good brake light now wired onto the driver side was dead. Exc. idea for how to test it Fred, thanks again. Time to leave good feedback for the seller. But of course I'm still stuck with the original problem. I'll reply to the next idea after posting this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumblestripe Posted December 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 (edited) Thanks for the tip on that problem area to check out Roger and sorry to hear about your oil soaked $800 engine issue. Ugh. I haven't had either inner tail light assembly go bad on me yet but I will check the harness you describe at the top of the hatch to see if there is an issue there which might be causing my issue too. Sounds very possible. Good Info (bad design). I did see one thing that bothered me when checking out the wiring in the outer tail light assemblies. Both sides had a well-wrapped main wiring body pushed through the thick weatherproof rubber grommet that acts as a barrier to the inside of the car. So far so good. But both sides also had thin wiring (much more of it on the driver side) pushed to the outside of that grommet where they are pressed against the sharp metal edge of the opening. Of course all of those thin wires showed moderate to severe crimping with some silver wire visible on a couple of them as I 'un-crimped' them. Seems pretty lazy or poorly conceived on the assembly line to not have ALL wiring going through the middle of those grommets where it's protected from such damage. We haven't experienced any of the other issues you mention. In fact, this is the first problem we've had with our Journey in five years(!) though I fully recognize that the car isn't exactly state-of-the-art, nor was it so when new. We bought it to save money, just wanting dependable transportation (and decent oomph with the V6). It's done well in that role but I keep telling my wife that maybe we should trade up for something better while it's still running well b/c I am aware that a lot of Journey owners haven't been as lucky. So far no dice since it's her car and she's comfortable with it/in it. Fingers' crossed for a few more good years.... However, keeping on track with the brake light issue, does anyone else have an idea for what might be causing the brake light outage? I will check out the wiring harness on top of the hatch tomorrow and report back on what i see there. Thanks for your replies. Edited December 16, 2019 by rumblestripe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumblestripe Posted December 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 Okay, so I got curious and went out tonight in the dark and cold with a flashlight to look at that wiring atop the hatch. I see what you mean about how it bends a lot when opening and closing the hatch. However, that wiring does not service the outer tail lights so that can't be the issue I'm having. Thanks for the idea though; it's something to be aware of in case I get inner tail light problems in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhareFred Posted December 16, 2019 Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 Well, we now know 2 things: 1: the eBay light is good and 2: your issue is the wiring. Normally I’d say check with a volt meter, but not sure what voltage you should be looking for. Maybe someone has a wiring diagram they will share. Again, check the wires around the grommets etc,....not much help, I know.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumblestripe Posted December 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 Wife reports that a light came on the dashboard today indicating that a turn signal was not working. Sure enough, it's driver outer rear. Time to open it up again but this time in broad daylight to see what I can find with the wiring. Gonna have to have a professional look at it soon to fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumblestripe Posted December 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2019 Nevermind about the turn signal issue. In my haste to wrap up putting the assembly back onto the car I connected the wrong connector inside the driver outer tail light. So that's why a message came on the dash about the turn signal. Once corrected, no more message. Still the brake light out but no more than that now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summer Solstice Posted December 17, 2019 Report Share Posted December 17, 2019 Look at all the experience that your getting! You're going to be an electrical guru before long! It does sound like an individual wire / connector somewhere. Use a volt meter to measure the good side and then compare the bad side. OhareFred and 2late4u 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumblestripe Posted February 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2020 Just thought I'd update on what the problem actually was. Finally took it in to a trustworthy shop and he said that the trailer light converter inside the inside rear side panel had gone bad. Once he unplugged the converter then the LED brake light worked again. So that also explains what that thin wiring outside the thick rubber grommet was. I did have a hitch installed about two years ago. It never occured to me that this could be the issue. Live & Learn. I'm also relieved that the thin wiring outside the grommet that I mistook for careless factory work was unrelated to the Journey's design or assembly. (my apology to Dodge for that ;-) Whatever faults and shortcomings the Journey does have, our 2015 SXT has now gone for 5 years with no repairs needed. Not even small stuff other than a few recalls. It's hard to be unhappy about that. (finger's crossed for the good fortune to continue) Thanks again to everyone who chimed in with ideas to consider. Armando G, Summer Solstice, 2late4u and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armando G Posted February 4, 2020 Report Share Posted February 4, 2020 Thanks for the update. Out of curiosity, is it the converter or the fuse for the converter that went bad. It should have a fuse at the battery end that you should maybe check if you have kept it connected. Just a thought before you go changing the entire unit. jkeaton and 2late4u 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumblestripe Posted February 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2020 6 hours ago, Armando G said: Thanks for the update. Out of curiosity, is it the converter or the fuse for the converter that went bad. It should have a fuse at the battery end that you should maybe check if you have kept it connected. Just a thought before you go changing the entire unit. Are you referring to the fuse box on the passenger side under the instrument panel? There is a 20 amp fuse (F127) that is listed for "Trailer Tow, if originally equipped" in the owner's manual. I'll have a look at that tomorrow and see what's there, if anything. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2late4u Posted February 5, 2020 Report Share Posted February 5, 2020 no he is referring to the wire going to the battery there should bed an inline fuse installed within about 6 inch of where they hooked onto the battery, whether at the battery or at the upper battery jump post, this is used when a aftermarket tow hitch is used and with led lights you have to use that little converter box for your trailer lights. just google .......CURT 56330 Vehicle-Side Custom 4-Pin Trailer Wiring Harness for Select Dodge Journey...................... this is from amazon and will show you the little box seen on the left side of your rear brake light that converts led brake lights to the trailer lights they also have one for reg lights but i am sure you have the led ,,,the little box is probally bad ,or the fuse went bad check both.... cheap ass electronics i guess from china....LOL good luck they also show how to install this kit on you tube video if you google it to see what we are talking about... Armando G 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumblestripe Posted February 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2020 Okay thanks, I'll go have a look later today after my wife gets back with the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumblestripe Posted February 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2020 2 hours ago, rumblestripe said: Okay thanks, I'll go have a look later today after my wife gets back with the car. Well, first of all, thank god we've never had battery issues; How do you get to that?! In all the oil changes I've done on our Journey, I never noticed the battery's buried location. Anyway, to the topic at hand, I didn't notice any leads on the upper post or lower battery (as best I could tell with a flashlight). The shop guy did take out the old harness in back so maybe he took out the battery wire also? If so, I'm sure he checked it for a inline fuse in the process. Well, the next harness will be a Curt (now on order) and hopefully I won't have the same issue again. Thanks 2late4u 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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