2015 Genesis Trunk Lid Brake Light Out but found a work around!

[joegr]

Isnt this covered by warranty ?. I have a 100K WRAP extended warranty and I just had a noisy air condition fan, a broken lock on my glove box ,and depleted TPMS sensor battery, and all was covered under my extended warranty.

I suspect that not everyone has an add-on warranty. I know that I don't. The factory 100K warranty only covers some of the powertrain, and this harness is definitely not part of the powertrain.

 

[5.0KDM]

Oh shoot, I didn’t see that explicitly called out. Are you referring to the little clip bracket circled?

Ya I unbolted mine and tossed it in the trash. Its a silver piece.

 

[dfyffe]

I suspect that not everyone has an add-on warranty. I know that I don't. The factory 100K warranty only covers some of the powertrain, and this harness is definitely not part of the powertrain.

From a person that usually never go for extended warranty, luck was on my side, I bought my car in 2017 with 41K miles, and decided to purchased the platinum wrap 100K extended warranty for $1868, and I must say, it was the best thing I did, so far warranty work done on my car total $4500 with 8K milles remaining.

 

[Bradley_8]

I have the same problem, I assumed it was the actual light, but it not . I Ohmed out the circuit and I found out I was missing a ground. Broken wires

 

[Tim Sly]

My original repair of just running a jumper wire from the left brake wire to the right only lasted a while. Since as others above revealed that the wiring harness gets repeatedly bent and breaks wire after wire. So the right trunk brake light and running light quit working. I took it all apart as described above, I had 4 cut wires and 4 that were just about cut through. I soldered on wire extensions so they had more freedom. All the lights work now. Thanks everyone for the tip!

 

[OregonApe]

Does anyone have a diagram of what wires are for what component? I pulled apart my trunk last night and found one black wire that was broken. I repaired it but it didn't fix my issues. Both my left reverse light (the white reverse, not the amber flash) and trunk latch are still non-functional. I'm sure the wiring harness is the cause of the trunk issue as just moving it around gets it to work intermittently.

I'm not sure how to test for continuity when I only have access to the middle of each wire. I don't want to just start splicing in new segments for every wire.

Oh and the plastic casing of the thicker gray wire is cracked but the wire within looks ok.

 

[joegr]

...I don't want to just start splicing in new segments for every wire.
...

This may still be your best option. The wires that haven't broken yet, probably will sooner or later too. Some may be holding on by only a strand or two.

 

[5.0KDM]

Does anyone have a diagram of what wires are for what component? I pulled apart my trunk last night and found one black wire that was broken. I repaired it but it didn't fix my issues. Both my left reverse light (the white reverse, not the amber flash) and trunk latch are still non-functional. I'm sure the wiring harness is the cause of the trunk issue as just moving it around gets it to work intermittently.

I'm not sure how to test for continuity when I only have access to the middle of each wire. I don't want to just start splicing in new segments for every wire.

Oh and the plastic casing of the thicker gray wire is cracked but the wire within looks ok.

Make sure you also peel back a lot of that black wrap. The open wire might be further up or down. Again don't forget to toss that bracket or at least move it.

 

[OregonApe]

Make sure you also peel back a lot of that black wrap. The short might be further up or down. Again don't forget to toss that bracket or at least move it.

Thanks. I had gone all the way up.

I didn't realize that the harness also runs up the left side of the trunk because the TSB only shows the right side. I'm guessing that I have more breaks on that side. I'll take a look tonight.

 

[joegr]

Make sure you also peel back a lot of that black wrap. The short might be further up or down. Again don't forget to toss that bracket or at least move it.

It's not a "short," it would be an "open."

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[5.0KDM]

It's not a "short," it would be an "open."

sry fixed it above

Thanks. I had gone all the way up.

I didn't realize that the harness also runs up the left side of the trunk because the TSB only shows the right side. I'm guessing that I have more breaks on that side. I'll take a look tonight.

I don't think till be on the left side of the trunk. like @joegr said splicing all the wires might be your best shot. The insulation might've stretched more than the wire inside and could be snapped internally.

 

[OregonApe]

sry fixed it above


I don't think till be on the left side of the trunk. like @joegr said splicing all the wires might be your best shot. The insulation might've stretched more than the wire inside and could be snapped internally.

You might be right, but at this point I don't see how it could be the right side. I pulled off the trunk liner and it appears that none of the wires for the trunk lock actuator or left trunk side lights run along the right side that the TSB covers. Instead, they run to the left, around the bumper side of the trunk, and then into the fuse box. The right side bundle powers the backup camera, right license plate light, trunk release button, and right reverse/brake/turn lights but not the trunk lock actuator or the left lights. You can hear a click from around the fuse box when you press the trunk button or use the fob, but the actuator does not actually engage.

 

[5.0KDM]

You might be right, but at this point I don't see how it could be the right side. I pulled off the trunk liner and it appears that none of the wires for the trunk lock actuator or left trunk side lights run along the right side that the TSB covers. Instead, they run to the left, around the bumper side of the trunk, and then into the fuse box. The right side bundle powers the backup camera, right license plate light, trunk release button, and right reverse/brake/turn lights but not the trunk lock actuator or the left lights. You can hear a click from around the fuse box when you press the trunk button or use the fob, but the actuator does not actually engage.

I see I'm sorry. Maybe you can run a jumper from the fuse to the actuator to see if the actuator didn't fail.

 

[OregonApe]

Well, it was the left side. Ground was broken for the actuator and a power was broken for the reverse light. Interestingly the ground had been repaired before and broke right at the old butt connector.

Photos for those who come after.

 

[joegr]

Well, it was the left side. Ground was broken for the actuator and a power was broken for the reverse light. Interestingly the ground had been repaired before and broke right at the old butt connector.

Photos for those who come after.View attachment 53775View attachment 53777

Yeah, you can't just splice the wires back together and expect that to work. You have to cut out a few inches of wire on each side and then splice in a new piece of wire a little bit longer than the wire that you cut out on both sides. Solder and heatshrink would be better than the crimp barrels.

 

[OregonApe]

Does anyone have any suggestions or photos of how to best mount the right side harness back in place? I tried following the TSB but it rubs furiously against the truck liner to the point that it is difficult to open or close my trunk. I've tried a bunch of different positions and even gave up and reinstalled the old mounting bracket that the TSB says to discard.

 

[OregonApe]

Well I'm about ready to throw in the towel and pay the stupid dealership just to put the harness back in place and reassemble the right side liner. I've tried zip ties and electrical tape to my wit's end and it massively rubs and distorts the right liner when opened or closed.

 

[carguy75]

Does anyone have any suggestions or photos of how to best mount the right side harness back in place? I tried following the TSB but it rubs furiously against the truck liner to the point that it is difficult to open or close my trunk. I've tried a bunch of different positions and even gave up and reinstalled the old mounting bracket that the TSB says to discard.

Here is how I rerouted my taillight wiring harness after I repaired the broken wires just as described in the TSB. I have no issue opening and closing my trunk.

Old wiring harness location with bracket and broken wires

New location after the repair with bracket removed.

 

[OregonApe]

As a follow up, it turns out that it wasn't the wiring harness messing up my liner. It was the trunk strut. Somehow the liner had shifted to being underneath the strut so every time I shut the trunk the strut was pushing the liner down.

 

[TswanACE]

Just popping in to say that this topic was a godsend. Had the trunk latch, rear blinker, and reverse camera go out in order over several weeks so I came right here and performed exactly what the TSB described and performed it the exact way by using the non-insulated connectors and electrical tape. Everything is good as new!!