My driver side tail light stopped working but the turn signal and brake still works? Tried new bulbs and nothing. Help?

140

Asked by Carlos Apr 11, 2011 at 02:56 PM about the 2001 Chevrolet S-10 LS Crew Cab 4WD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

33 Answers

1,785

DISCONNECT BATTERY 1st !!! Sounds like the socket itself might be bad...... but 1st try prying the copper connectors out from the sides a little. Might be bad contact.....?

20 people found this helpful.
140

Not the contact a buddy told me to try that and it didn't work. Any other ideas?

14 people found this helpful.
1,785

You Might not want to try this, but I would ....... Cut the wires and switch -R to L- tail lites ! See what happens? Let me know!

14 people found this helpful.
540

don't do any of that! For those of you who face this exact problem, I found a blown fuse in the fuse panel in my cab of the truck. Number 5, a 10amp fuse I believe. Once replacing that fuse, the problem continued. I then checked my fuse box under my hood and found another 10 amp blown fuse. When I replaced that fuse, everything worked fine. Don't cut wires or splice and follow leads until you have checked ALL fuses! Good luck!

54 people found this helpful.
130

Thanks for the info it was my fuse under the hood

13 people found this helpful.
270

I have a 98 s10. Checked ALL the fuses. I have it narrowed down to the brown wire has no power but turn and brake light work.

27 people found this helpful.
180

i have a 99 s10 and I have had the same problem to where my driver side tail light will not work only with turn signals and brake, I have tried replacing the bulb and didn't fix the problem, I looked in both fuse boxes in the truck and under the hood had no blown fuses, looking at several wiring diagrams and found out that its a wire problem, I started by using some dielectric compound, is like lube but a conductor for electricity. and put a new bulb in and it has been working ever since.

18 people found this helpful.
200

I tried everything but then I found the parking lamp fuse , located under the hood RR PARK was blown and replaced and now I have a tail light again! It really isn't clear on the fuse map ... hope this helps anyone

19 people found this helpful.
190

I like what I have read in response to the question , I had the same problem ... but got it fixed... it was the fuse in the box under the hood , I was ready to rip wires apart , saved me a lot of work , thank you

6 people found this helpful.
110

My brothers taillight on the drivers side wasn’t working so we cleaned the ground cable and all but that’s wasn’t it. Turned out to be a fuse under the hood. Thanks to everyone who said it could’ve been a fuse.

11 people found this helpful.
60

The 10 amp fuse under the hood made mine work thank you so much

6 people found this helpful.
180

response to problem i am having the same issue all my lights work except my driver side tail light i checked all fuses i have no current in the wires at all soo my queston is what else could it be ? or is there another fuse that might be blown that i don't know about?

10 people found this helpful.
200

i actually checked all my fuses one by one, it was a random one that had blown. Once i changed it was fine

1 people found this helpful.
200

i don't recall, but it was a random one from the fuse box under the bonnet. I checked every single one, one by one. tedious but worthit

100

i done everything ,,checked fuses everwhere...tried bulbs that were working on one side but would not work on the other..i checked the socket and put electrical solution in it..i traced the wires from the tail light/brake light right to the fuse box under the hood..no current..what can it be? i have no signal or brake light.on right side

10 people found this helpful.
70

I have a 2003 s10 and have same problem mentioned above; driver side rear turn signal and break out. All others operational. Replaced bulb, socket, checked all 10 amp fuses, all good. Need suggestions, wire?

7 people found this helpful.
90

My issue is the drivers side brake light works when it wants to. Typically if the right turn signal is on the brake light will work on the drivers side. Otherwise it does not.any ideas?

4 people found this helpful.
40

I have the same problem but nothing works for my driver side tail light I've changed the fuses relay bulbs and checked everything else I'm about to change the brake switch to see if that work any other suggestions in case it doesn't?

4 people found this helpful.
90

So I think I need a new turn signal itself. Occasionally my windshield wipers won't work. If I use the right turn signal the left brake light quits working. Unless I click the arm left then the light resumes working again.

4 people found this helpful.
50

I have a 2003 like Mark same issue can’t find a fuse no power to the brown wire there was a trailer wiring harness that shorted out I smell the wire can’t trace it back to where the power is. I’m thinking of jumping into the black stripe wire that goes to the right tail light .

5 people found this helpful.
50

I have a 2000 s10 and I'm having problems with the driver side brake light. Blinkers, flashers, tail lights and running lights are working just fine. I've checked fuses, bulbs, and tried changing the socket. When I barely touch my blinker it makes that brake light flash. Any ideas? It has me stumped.

5 people found this helpful.
20

Hi everyone! I am here to provide my little grain of salt. My situation was similar to the one of the title. The right tail light would just just perfect. The driver tail light would work when breaking and turn signal. I would not work just as a normal night light. The solution was to replace the fuse under the hood like everyone else says.

2 people found this helpful.

Had to blown fuses under the hood. Change both of them out back light started working once again.

90

I had to change out the whole turn signal assembly. Picked up a used one and that took care of the light/brake/turn signal issues.

1 people found this helpful.
50

If you find that all the usual solutions do not work then you will undoubtedly know it is actually a problem in the lighting system after the fuse (so this is any electrical component that is connected to the wire that is protruding from the fusing box carrying the current from the battery). Instead of making an attempt in replacing these components you can simply hack the power from any surrounding lighting system. Personally I decided to use the passenger side "running light". So I used a sharp blade to very carefully remove around 1/4 of an inch of insulation from an area located approximately 2 inches from the light socket. I spliced a 12 volt speaker line to this area using a decent amount of solder and a thick layer of black electrical tape.. this line ran directly at the bottom of the truck bed where the back bumper connected. I used the top of the bumper with a gap about an inch wide, and ran the wire directly behind the bumper so it is easily accessible and hidden from sight. It if course then ran into the other running light on the driver side, connecting in the same way with solder and tape. I also made sure to replace the 10amp fuse for the passenger side light, with a 20 amp fuse. I tried a 15 amp fuse but it only lasted about a month. It's been abt 6 months since I introduced this new line with success this far. Of course if your vehicle is a car I would advise running the line in the trunk attempting to place it in a concealed area which should also protect it. I should note that emphasis is needed when connecting this new power line you should cut your old line following the splice and insulate the end incase it becomes live in the future. I hope this helps someone someday.

5 people found this helpful.
30

I just fixed my s10 tail light problem,, after checking every bulb and wire I found a broken wire. Trailer harness,, driver side behind back tire,, found the harness at Autozone.easy fix!!

3 people found this helpful.
20

I just had the same 1 tail light not working and yes it was a 10amp fuse under hood

2 people found this helpful.
30

If you don't tow, get rid of trailer harness. Those always corrode and go bad. Clean old ground with wire wheel, replace with SS ground screw and washer, they don't rust.

3 people found this helpful.

Drivers rear running lamps out, all other front and rear running lamps work. Brake and turn signals also work. 10Amp Fuse in the underhood power distribution center (fuse block) was open (blown), replaced and all worked fine. I do have a trailer harness (that hasn't been used in years), maybe it got shorted temporarily via water/snow. My whole rear bumper was recently a big snow/ice ball for a week. Now has melted away.

20

Bless you internet angels. I had replaced the bulb in my right tail light and was confused how the brake light of my 2001 Chevy s10 would work, but not the parking light. Popped the hood and found the RR park 10 amp fused was blown. Replaced and it corrected the back right tail light.

2 people found this helpful.

Your Answer:

S-10

Looking for a Used S-10 in your area?

CarGurus has 3 nationwide S-10 listings starting at $12,975.

Postal Code:

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Andrew Olsen
    Reputation
    9,860
  • #2
    Robert Smith
    Reputation
    3,420
  • #3
    Gene Arnett
    Reputation
    2,830
View All

Find great deals from top-rated dealers

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Chevrolet Silverado 1500
202 Great Deals out of 5,975 listings starting at $2,975
Used Toyota Tacoma
55 Great Deals out of 1,071 listings starting at $8,708
Used Ford Ranger
18 Great Deals out of 1,529 listings starting at $2,888
Used Ford F-150
321 Great Deals out of 14,968 listings starting at $1,712
Used GMC Sierra 1500
148 Great Deals out of 7,258 listings starting at $3,950
Used Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD
16 Great Deals out of 1,285 listings starting at $8,995
Used Nissan Frontier
22 Great Deals out of 878 listings starting at $5,998
Used Dodge RAM 1500
3 Great Deals out of 71 listings starting at $4,000
Used Chevrolet Blazer
19 Great Deals out of 872 listings starting at $19,499
Used Dodge Dakota
20 listings starting at $3,999
Used Chevrolet Camaro
16 Great Deals out of 307 listings starting at $10,500

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.