98 discovery LSE, 121,000 miles

So I was politely informed by a local police officer that my left brake light was out today. As soon i got home I proceeded to try and confirm that it was a dead bulb but I soon hit a road block.
I pulled the plastic seat out that the bulb sits in only to find that the bulb was still in working order. I cleaned all connections inside the plastic piece and swapped the bulb just for the heck of it but had no luck. Before i go diving into the sea of wires to pin point the problem I wanted to know if anyone else has came across anything like this or if there is something that im simply overlooking.....

 

Are you sure that you have the brake light and not the rear fog light?
It could have just wiggled loose, my rear turn signals in my bumper do this all the time.
Every 4 months or so i have to take one of them out and then put right back in and it works great...for another 4 months or so.

 

Most of the time its just the element within the bulb,, it burns through but if you bump it the element will touch and light,, that is until it bulb cools back down and the coil element contracts.
Just change the bulb.

 

I had the same issue, but it was one of those quirky LR things. As soon as I would take off the backing the light would work. Once I put the entire fixture back on the truck, it wouldnt work. I tried I new bulb with no luck, and put the old one back in. Since putting the old one back in, its been perfect ever since. I have no idea why, and I dont even want to know. I'm just happy it works now. I know thats no help to you, but sometimes the electrical ghosts in these trucks just like to play games.

Your best bet is to make sure the connections are good. Also, make sure the tab where you put the bulb is not messed up, sometimes they get pushed down and cant make contact with the blub in an upright position. SO give that a try. Beyond that im clueless.

 

I had the same problem. Remove the tailight assembly from both sides and plug the right tailight assembly to the harness plug on the left. if the lights work then you have just ruled out any problen with the fuses or wiring leading up to the tailight assembly and narrowed the problem down to the left tailight assembly itself. At first I thought it was a bad socket, but since you cant find just a replacement socket, and to replace the whole tailight assembly is over $100, I figured what the heck, strip the taillight assembly and check for bad wiring before I drop the $100. I removed all the sockets from the plastic housing, and the electrical tape and exposed all the wiring connections, made sure everything has a solid connection. I put it all back together and Voila!- tailights. They have been working ever since (3 months so far) and I did not spend a dime!

 

well stupid me. I was under the impression that there was only 3 bulbs in the whole assembly (thats all i could feel) until i decided to remove the whole thing. I found the forth which is the tail light/brake light and it turns out one of the wires in the dual bulb were burnt out..case closed..thanks guys