# 2007 Civic no left/right brake lights



## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Center one only, works. Not fun to find out in the driving rain while on the Interstate. Bulb looks good, and Powerprobe shows ground on both sides of the connector. Uh oh.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

The relay is stuck in the off position.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Nealtw said:


> The relay is stuck in the off position.
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDN1ucP6wM8


Not sure this applies, since the issue is with the brake lights, not the turn signals. I checked fuse 11 and 12 and they were good. Possibly an open circuit? Interior lights don't work either.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Bigplanz said:


> Not sure this applies, since the issue is with the brake lights, not the turn signals. I checked fuse 11 and 12 and they were good. Possibly an open circuit? Interior lights don't work either.


 Are the flasher and the break light not the same bulb. The break light in the back window is the only one that is not interfered with by the flasher.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Separate bulbs for brake lights. Hard to find a wiring diagram but I think that all 3 brake lights are on the same fuse. Fuse 11 and 12 seem to be related to "stop" lights and flasher. They were both good.


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## Brainbucket (Mar 30, 2015)

Looking at wiring diagram, if the 3rd brake light is working, then the other 2 should work also. Power is coming off the same wire. Check the light sockets as they do get hot and the contacts will sink into the socket. See if you are getting power to the light socket. The ground for all the rear lights is left rear of trunk. If this car has a trailer lights wired in, check there as well.:vs_cool:


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## ZZZZZ (Oct 1, 2014)

BigPlanz, do you know if both lights stopped working at the same time, or individually?
.
.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

The driver’s side back up light was also burned out. The driver’s side brake bulb only had one filament, not two. This bulb was good. I put 12V through it and it lit up.

I took the passenger side bulb out and it was a two filament bulb, one filament was burned out. I am sort of confused, but it seems that the one filament bulb (which was good) was not the correct one. One bulb the wrong type, one burned out, maybe that’s why the brake lights don’t work (except for the middle one)? 

Easy to test this, just put two of the correct bulbs in (3157) and if the brake lights work, end of problem. I went to get some new bulbs but AZ didn’t have them in stock. I tried 4157, which are supposed to be identical to 3157, the only difference being the 4157 is brighter. New problem: it was loose in the socket! The bulbs that were in the car were all glass (see picture). The new ones have a plastic base. There is no tension in the socket with the new bulbs. They wiggle around loose and practically fall out of the socket when you turn in upside down. 

Man, it’s always something…. I am not even going to go into how I broke the positive battery cable connection on my Navigator this weekend.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Go to the junk yard and get a hand full of used bulbs.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Nealtw said:


> Go to the junk yard and get a hand full of used bulbs.


Good idea! 3157 bulb are used on everything.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Every part catalog I can find says the correct bulb is a 3157. Went to NAPA, with the burned out bulb in the picture. He said, "This is a 7443, not a 3157."

His catalog said 3157. Since the 7443 is identical to the bulb I took out of the car, I bought those. I'll put them in when the sun comes up. Weird.


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## ron45 (Feb 25, 2014)

https://www.amazon.com/SYLVANIA-315...qid=1546996903&sr=8-3&keywords=3157+auto+bulb

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81Br3BsOWsL._SL1500_.jpg


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## carmusic (Oct 11, 2011)

civic takes 7443 and 7440 bulbs not 3157
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...ectrical-bulb+&+socket,brake+light+bulb,13716



ive checked my civic and it is 7443 also


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

carmusic said:


> civic takes 7443 and 7440 bulbs not 3157
> https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...ectrical-bulb+&+socket,brake+light+bulb,13716
> 
> 
> ...




The driver’s side rear has a broken connector. Broken on the other side too, but still functions. The brake light works on the other side. Only the tail light works on the driver’s side. This is an odd connector. I went to the salvage yard to get another one, and they were all fitted with 3157 bulbs, just like the manual and parts catalogs said they used. This one uses a totally different design, 7443.

I suspect maybe this car was wrecked at some time and somebody replaces the OEM connectors with these. Very odd. Video shows what I found. 

I went to NAPA and they had nothing that looked anything remotely similar to what was installed on the car. I will poke around on the Internet, but I think this is an aftermarket “universal” connector, not OEM.

From my internet search, the 7443 is, indeed, a Honda bulb. This car must have been rear ended and somebody fixed it with what they had laying around. Does this look like a Honda connector? I thought the connector was a rough fit in the assembly, maybe that's why.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

OK, full disclosure. The reason this doesn't make sense is that this is a 2007 CIVIC not a COROLLA. I have one friend with a Civic and one with a Corolla, and since I last worked on the Corolla, it was stuck in my head. Yes, there was cursing and laughing when I realized his error.

As Emily Lettela used to say, "Never mind!"


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## ron45 (Feb 25, 2014)

It's not nice to play tricks on fellow DIY'ers who are trying to help you.

Oh, "Never mind!"


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Bigplanz said:


> OK, full disclosure. The reason this doesn't make sense is that this is a 2007 CIVIC not a COROLLA. I have one friend with a Civic and one with a Corolla, and since I last worked on the Corolla, it was stuck in my head. Yes, there was cursing and laughing when I realized his error.
> 
> As Emily Lettela used to say, "Never mind!"


 So you have two different bulbs because some one changed something, perhaps that side does take a single element.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Even my thread title says "Civic" yet my brain kept saying "Corolla." This actually is something I have been laughing about all day. Went to pull a part, looking at the RIGHT CAR this time, and found the connector I need. I will put it in tomorrow. Right now I think I should lay down.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Bigplanz said:


> Even my thread title says "Civic" yet my brain kept saying "Corolla." This actually is something I have been laughing about all day. Went to pull a part, looking at the RIGHT CAR this time, and found the connector I need. I will put it in tomorrow. Right now I think I should lay down.


 Ha, how many DIYers does it take to change a light bulb. :devil3:


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Here is what the broken connector looks like. Bulb was real loose, so there was no electrical current flowing. Connector I found at the salvage yard had hairline cracks at the same location, so this must be a common issue. All the brake lights work, so all's well that ends well, and all that.


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