Left Rear Tail Light Out Message

[TimothyLong]

This one has me baffled. A few weeks ago, I started getting the "Left Rear Tail Light Out" message in the EVIC (I have the LED taillights). A quick inspection showed that the turn signal lamp on the left mirror (I have the tow mirrors) was out, everything else looked fine. I ordered a new one and replaced it. Still got the taillight message. So I did a more thorough inspection. As near as I can tell, all of the LED's in the left rear light assembly are working (taillights, brake lights, turn signal, 4-way, and the incandescent reverse light). They all light up just like the right one does. About this time I noticed that the turn signal lamp on the right side mirror went out as well. Just got the replacement for it today, changed it out, and I still get the message in the EVIC. This, of course, causes the turn signal lamp on the left mirror, as well as the indicator on the dash to blink in "hyper mode", while the front and rear left blinkers blink normally. I checked the fuses in the fuse block under the hood to see if any were loose and they all seem to be seated properly. At this point, I have no clue. So before I take it to the dealer, I thought I'd ask you all to see if anyone has any suggestions.

2013 Ram 2500 Laramie QC LB 4x4, Thuren Fabrication track bar, sway bar kit, and 2" leveling kit, Bilstein 5100 shocks, Goodyear Wrangler Trailrunner AT's LT285/70R17, Westin Chrome Ultimate Bull Bar, Weatherguard Saddle Box, Line-X Bed Liner

 

[AH64ID]

What kind of bulbs did you use in the mirrors?

 

[TimothyLong]

I got the MOPAR replacement LED lamp assemblies (68302828AA and 68302829AA). The originals were the LED lamps as well.

I also have to make a correction. The message I am getting in the EVIC is the "Left Rear Turn Signal Lamp Out" and not the taillight that I had originally stated. My bad! That's what I get for posting just before going to bed.

 

[smittyd174]

Not sure about this but worth a shot. These trucks use the Canbus system which means the computer controls everything . Aftermarket led lights are a pain because you have to use resistor ballasts to make them work without errors like your getting. I'm thinking the oem's must be the same . They must have a ballast somewhere and yours could be faulty. The lights would still work but because there is no resistance the computer assumes its burnt out. Try this if possible switch assemblies from left to right see if the message follows .

 

[PBJ2500CTD]

You beat me to it smittyd174...
My guess would be the LED circuit in the tail/turn signal light assembly itself or a bad connection in the turn signal connection. A ground should involve all circuits in the assembly.

 

[AH64ID]

The OEM LED's don't use a resistor, but rather get programmed to be LED/incandescent in the computer. So as long as the bulbs were LED before then the computer shouldn't have an issue with them.

 

[TimothyLong]

Not sure about this but worth a shot. These trucks use the Canbus system which means the computer controls everything . Aftermarket led lights are a pain because you have to use resistor ballasts to make them work without errors like your getting. I'm thinking the oem's must be the same . They must have a ballast somewhere and yours could be faulty. The lights would still work but because there is no resistance the computer assumes its burnt out. Try this if possible switch assemblies from left to right see if the message follows .

I had thought of doing this to see if it made a difference. I'll have to give it a try. Thanks!

 

[PBJ2500CTD]

The OEM LED's don't use a resistor, but rather get programmed to be LED/incandescent in the computer. So as long as the bulbs were LED before then the computer shouldn't have an issue with them.

I was thinking a fault identification circuit in the light assembly, which would trip a voltage/current comparator activating the warning circuit and displaying the message. The spaz-out of only the indicator and mirror lights have me curious though. Wish wiring and logic schematics were available.

 

[TimothyLong]

Not sure about this but worth a shot. These trucks use the Canbus system which means the computer controls everything . Aftermarket led lights are a pain because you have to use resistor ballasts to make them work without errors like your getting. I'm thinking the oem's must be the same . They must have a ballast somewhere and yours could be faulty. The lights would still work but because there is no resistance the computer assumes its burnt out. Try this if possible switch assemblies from left to right see if the message follows .

I was able to swap out the left taillight assembly with the one from my wife's truck (she has a 2013 Ram 2500 pretty much like mine except she has the short bed) and I still got the "Left Turn Signal Lamp Out" message.

 

[EDankievitch]

Check the plug connector I had water get in mine and it threw the same message

 

[TimothyLong]

Check the plug connector I had water get in mine and it threw the same message

When I took the connector off to swap the taillight assemblies I didn't notice any dampness in/on the connector, but I just took it apart again to thoroughly inspect the connector. It's as dry as a bone and we did have rain here over the weekend. No rust or other corrosion that I could see on the harness connector or the taillight assembly.

 

[TimothyLong]

I have an update that I thought you all might be interested in. I finally got around to taking my truck to the dealer this past Friday for this issue as the hyper mode blinker on the left turn signal and the EVIC message was driving me nuts. The final diagnosis was that the approach lamps/puddle lights were out on both mirrors and there was also a broken wire in the main harness. The puddle lights was something that I did not notice or even think about. I did all of my testing in the daylight, so I wouldn't see if they worked or not and I didn't think to specifically check them, nor did I notice that they weren't working when it was dark out. That was my bad, but even if I had replaced them, it wouldn't have completely solved the problem. As for the broken wire, the repair order doesn't say which harness had the broken wire other than the main harness. I didn't ask for detail as it was late when I got my my truck this evening and none of the Techs were available to ask. It works now and I'm happy about that. When it was all said and done, the final cost was $221. Not too bad considering I am beyond both the factory and extended warranties.

The absolute worst part of all of this was the rental that I (they had my truck over the weekend and today). As the dealer had no loaners available, they got me in a rental from Enterprise. They tried to hook me up with a Chrysler/Dodge product, but Enterprise didn't have any available. So the service manager got approval for a non-Chrysler product rental. Of all of things that I could have gotten, I ended up with a Ford F-250 gasser. It was bad enough that I had a Ford sitting in my driveway for the weekend, but having to drive it around was even more embarrassing. Needless to say, I heard about it from my neighbors and co-workers. The only good thing about having the F-250 was that I didn't have to pay for it. The dealer picked up the cost of the rental. The only thing more insulting than having to drive a Ford would have been having to pay to drive it as well.

 

[PBJ2500CTD]

Thanks for the detailed follow-up Tim.

 

[TimothyLong]

Thanks for the detailed follow-up Tim.

You're welcome, Bruce! Thank you and everyone else that gave me advice when I was trying to diagnose the problem. I would have been remiss as a member of this forum to not provide an update/solution to the issue I was having. We're all here to help each other.

 

[mpaulson]

Just a note to others. If the brake light on the back of the cab is out, it will show up as the left tail light out if I remember correctly. Happened last year to me.

 

[kthaxton]

Just a note to others. If the brake light on the back of the cab is out, it will show up as the left tail light out if I remember correctly. Happened last year to me.

Happened to me too.

 

[Lynx0849]

I had a couple of odd messages as well.
When I replaced my (soggy) headlight assemblies, after I was done I got a front right directional fail message.
Of course I checked it and it was working though the dash indicator was at double speed.
I shut it down. Later when I took it out for an errand, I got the message again. However, when I came out of the store, it started with no messages and was fine for a couple of months.

So, last week I took the truck in for the annual safety and emissions inspection. I had checked everything before I arrived just to be sure. After, with a new sticker, I started the truck and the front turn signal message was back. A couple of starts later and it was gone.

Maybe the Evic got confused after the inspection connected to the diagnostic port?

 

[GIFarmboy]

My 2016 3500 Mega cab just started doing the same thing.
The dash and side mirror lights flash fast but the front and rear LED lights flash correctly!
I'll go out tonight and check the puddle lamps first.
Paul

 

[GIFarmboy]

My 2016 Mega cab started doing it a month ago.
I checked and the front and rear LED lights work normal, but the outside drvr's mirror and the dash blink rapidly.
yesterday i did pull the rear LED tail light and checked the connections all looked fine and dry.
I'll still have extended warrenty, so its sounds like it's worth the $100 deductable to have the dealer chase it, since I have no schematics.