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Hey everyone,
So I noticed yesterday that my 3rd light is out on my 2004 G35 Coupe. Below are my steps in diagnosing and fixing the issue:
1) Folded down the rear seats and then slid a minus screwdriver under the entire third light assembly. Pushed up on the assembly and popped it out. Slid the assembly towards the front of the car to remove.
2) Disconnect the brown connector
3) Brought it in the house, pulled back the sound deadening material and then unscrewed the LED assembly from the mounting cover velvet thing.
4) Unclip the LED strip from the reflective housing.
5) Inspected the board and saw something interesting:
The power cables were corroded and crusty.
6) VERY IMPORTANT - CHECK THE ENTIRE BOARD
I did not quickly try to adress the problem. With a multimeter, I tested the entire board and determined that the wire was the issue by following the circuit throughout the board.
There are multiple points on the board where you can test electricity flow. Everything gave me a reading and the LEDs were able to turn on when I tested with a multimeter, except for the plug in wire which was hit and miss. One thing of interest is that the resistors do not have the resistance their color bands say they do... hmmmm
7) As a 90's baby, I remembered a very similar issue to PS3s. The solder joints would mess up and you would put it in the oven (i.e. a reflow). So, I simply took a soldering iron, got it heated, and then melted the solder and let it resolidify.
I did not add or remove any solder, or remove any either. I simply melted it and then cooled it.
8) Tested with a multimeter and I now get reliable reading! Reflowed pic below:
And now it works!
It might have been worked on before. That brake light going bad is a common issue. One of the fixes involves soldering in a bigger resistor than the original. Thats what I did to mine and its been workin fine since.
Unless you desoldered the resistor to test it you're likely going to get a false value. Interesting fix though, fortunately my CHMSL has never given me any problems.
