Replacing Third Brake Light

My new dog broke my damn third brake light. He just snapped it somehow, so I went to the JY and got a new one. Unscrewing the two screws is really easy, the problem I have is disconnecting that damn harness that goes from the lift gate to the Third brake light. Can someone please tell me how to do it? Thank you.

CharlesS said:

IIRC the bulb recepticle is just twist out for the third brakelight. Try twisting the bulb recepticle 90*.

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Thanks, but I am talking about changing the whole assembly. My new dog literally cracked the assembly.

what year is your Jeep?


on my 99, I had to repair a wire in there and what I did was take off the whole rear interior trim panel, and from there was able to fish my arm up, disconnect and remove the rear light. wasn't too bad...accessing the rest of the wires on the other hand wasn't fun!

JrTxJ said:

what year is your Jeep?


on my 99, I had to repair a wire in there and what I did was take off the whole rear interior trim panel, and from there was able to fish my arm up, disconnect and remove the rear light. wasn't too bad...accessing the rest of the wires on the other hand wasn't fun!

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Ooops I missed the one cardinal rule to get good help.
Mine is a 1996.


Here's an update for other silly folks like myself; The bulbs are part of the harness that I was trying to disconnect. Here's how I fixed the problem:
1: Unscrew the old assembly. (2 gray screws)
2: Unscrew the red lens. (2 black screws)
3: Disconnect the bulbs by twisting them 90 degrees like Charles S said.
4: Replace the bulbs in the red lens
5: Replace the two screws in the red lens onto the gray assembly.
6: Replace and mount the gray assembly

Sit back and smile that you think you did something when it's actually some minor shit, but hey, a victory is a victory............. :thumbup:

If you want to replace the complete assembly remove the two screws and start pulling the power wire out, there's a connection a few inches down inside the hatch. From then on it's plug and play.

Mike