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Tail lights are not working

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Kevinxu, Feb 6, 2020.

  1. Kevinxu

    Kevinxu New Member

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    Hi everyone,

    I have a 2016 Toyota Prius C. Recently, I was bothered by both tail lights of my car. When I am driving at night, I make the turn signal on the position 'light', I’m sure it is not on the DRL position, the turn signal lights, brake lights, backing light, and plate light are working normally, but both tail lights are not working. Can anyone provide any suggestion to me to fix them? Thanks in advance.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    Fuse?
     
    Montgomery likes this.
  3. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    The tail lights often have a common ground for both bulbs.
    First check the bulbs.
    Then check the ground.
    If you don't know how to do that, find a Toyota shop.
     
  4. Kevinxu

    Kevinxu New Member

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    Thank you Bisco, there is nothing wrong with the fuse.
    Thank you Sam Spade 2, I will check the the light bulb, but looks like they are LED.
     
  5. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    That doesn't mean they can't fail.
     
  6. cutter44

    cutter44 Member

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    I'm going to add to this thread. since the same thing just happened to me with my 2012 C4. I was driving home last night and a co-worker happened to be behind me. He called me to tell me that my tail lights were both out. Brake lights work, turn signals work. I was hoping it was just a fuse (BTW, what a pain in the...back...to get to that fuse box) but the fuse is fine. Plus, the fog lights and other things on that fuse all work.

    As it happens, I just replaced a tail light bulb a couple of weeks ago. Seems like it would be a weird coincidence for both bulbs to have now failed. Could that have anything to do with it? If not, what are my next options? Thanks.

    -edit-

    Oops. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure it was a turn signal bulb i replaced.
     
    #6 cutter44, Feb 8, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2020
  7. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    As was covered in this thread......first be sure it wasn't in the DRL position.
    Buy a multi-meter and check the voltages and grounds.
    Take it to a shop. Hopefully the problem and the fix will be simple and inexpensive.
    And if not, you probably couldn't have done it yourself anyway.
     
  8. cutter44

    cutter44 Member

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    No, it was definitely in full "lights on" position. But it was a simple fix. I replaced both tail light bulbs and all's well. Funny thing is when I first discovered the problem, I was hoping it was just a fuse. But after going through all the contortions required to check the fuse, now I'm grateful it was the bulbs, as they're a lot easier to replace. :)
     
  9. Mick Byrne

    Mick Byrne New Member

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    Just found this forum, love it.

    I’m having pretty much the same problem as described here. I’ve changed both bulbs, hasn’t helped. Doesn’t seem to be the fuse, as all the other lights that are meant to on the same circuit are working (park lights, license plate light). I guess I’ll take it to an autoelectrician, will try to remember to post here what the issue is.
     
  10. Dangrenade

    Dangrenade New Member

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    Both of my tail lights went out. Fuse #30 under the steering column / dash was blown. Replaced. Blew again.

    turns out, the wiring on the DRL light in the front (right, but could happen on the left) was fried and shorted, taking out the fuse.

    here’s what I think happened: the front DRL lamp housings got corroded (see pic). Corrosion causes connector/wires to get hot. Insulation melts. Wires touch. Fuse blows. All DRL/tail lights go out.
     

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  11. Dangrenade

    Dangrenade New Member

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    Sorry. More pix.
     

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