I just acquired a 1997 and had to undergo state safety inspection. It failed because one of the items that did not pass was the 3rd brake light. When I went to the local auto parts store and asked them for the replacement bulb, they couldn't find it. So I opened up the rear and realized that it was an LED setup.
I went online to check around to see how much it would cost to replace and the thing is quite pricey for a used unit (Almost $200)!
Since I would rather spend that money towards new carpet, I decided to try to fix it. I measured the current before the LEDs and it wouldn't read anything after the diode. Tried to look for a diode in my stash but couldn't find any that was close to what's soldered on there. Luckily, a Micro Center near me had one in stock:
1N5338B Zener 5.1V 5-Watt
Removed the old one and replaced it with the new diode and it works!
I went online to check around to see how much it would cost to replace and the thing is quite pricey for a used unit (Almost $200)!
Since I would rather spend that money towards new carpet, I decided to try to fix it. I measured the current before the LEDs and it wouldn't read anything after the diode. Tried to look for a diode in my stash but couldn't find any that was close to what's soldered on there. Luckily, a Micro Center near me had one in stock:
1N5338B Zener 5.1V 5-Watt
Removed the old one and replaced it with the new diode and it works!
