brake lights out

Hey guys,
I appreciate it not a land rover but you guys really know your stuff which i know from when I had my hippo.

I thought id ask in the freelander section as tractors still use candles and stuff for lights

so I am having a nightmare as my brake lights have just packed up and I am due to drive to france on Xmas day.

Ok,
Jeep compass 2007 CRD, UK
both brake lights are out:
3rd light works fine (window brake light)
bulbs are fine as I have tried new bulbs and still dont work
fuse is fine, I have fitted a new one and still doesnt work
all other lights work fine

tail lights and brake lights shar same bulb (double fillament) and tail lights are fine
I an getting 12v power to the fuse but no power to either back brake light.

It cant be the fuse, it cant be the bulbs as both are new. It cant be the switch as 3rd light works and it uses the same switch.

what can it be?

cant see how it can be a ground as I believe both light units use their own ground therefore likely hood of both failing is very low.

checked all fuses that I know of and all are fine. I am completely stuck??

it still could be a earth problem as side light take low power but brake lights take a higher power and the lower power could be running a earth through the system if this makes any sence.and you should have said I have another car and do not mention the word j----------agh!

I know I bloody hate the thing. If my hippo wasnt doing 21 mpg on a run I would still have that.

I have an auto sparky coming tomorrow to look at it but im scared to death i wont find the issue before xmas day. I then face the nightmare of having to borrow my dads car as its the only one with enough space to fit the 5 of us and luggage.... a reno scenic its absolutely terrible, no power, it smells and is by far the worst car i have ever driven in my life.

EARTH!! you maybe right. I have just had a thought.

the car has a towbar and the brake wire from the towbar is joined to the rear light properly not with one of those stupid blue clippy things. however the towbar obviously has its own earth maybe this is not good enough?

ok gonna go check that now!!

ok so that didnt work.

all the earths seem good.

I just hope the switch by the brake pedal isnt some sort of double switch that runs the 3rd light separately to the tail lights

The foot pedal switch will control all i guess

You need to check the wiring around all the lights, both sides.

Havnt looked at the diag but shorts, corrosion etc cause all sorts of ****e

Is there a relay for the brake lights?
The window led's could be on the circuit that powers the relay, the car and trailer brake lights after the relay switch.

Do the brake lights on the trailer work when plugged in ?. If so then is the wiring for the towbar causing the issue.

Hi, just to keep updated:

the 3rd brake light was working and the other 2 were not. all 3 run off of the switch so since the 3rd was working this shows the switch was fine.
they all also run off of the same fuse, so again this was fine.
multimeter shows 12v going to fuse but no power at all going to rear sockets.

spoke to auto electrician who states he has asked around friends and jeep use a TIPM (some sort of turning signal unit) and that he cant fix this as its a specialist jeep item.

towbar was not working for brake lights only as it was wired into tail brake lights. all other parts of towbar work as do all other lights.

Jeep confirm it is likely to be the TIPM but they would have to diagnose first (£136). if it is TIPM they cannot repair / reset it and would have to order one from America which takes a week and then fit it.

I looked on the net and someone had this done in America with diagnostic, part and fitment and it cost 1200 dollars!!!

this TIPM controls various aspects of lights, not fully sure what but it controls things individually therefore is working for everything except brake lights.
this is apparently because it doesnt like towbars being fitted unless they have a Mopar relay. and it HAS TO BE MOPAR. I was not aware of this as the Jeep does not have any on-board system telling you lights are out etc or any other sensors so I just wired towbar straight in without relays.
It is only the brake lights in the towbar it doesnt like, something to do with the on.off power source makes it trip itself out (yet it is not concerned about indicators).

The 3rd brake light for some reason completely bypasses the TIPM and goes power>fuse>switch>light.

based on this I have just wired the 2 rear lights into the 3rd light.
Hey presto they all work completely fine now, as does the towbar.
spoke to my uncle who had a Jeep Grand Cherokee and this happened to him, he did the same and had no further issues for 4 years and then sold the car.

so all sorted now but just wanted to finish the thread for onlookers incase anyone else is crazy enough to ever buy a Jeep as they all apparently have this TIPM crap.

hope this makes sense, and thanks for the advice

Well done and thanks for posting back.

My friend has a Fiat Ducato based motor home. His wipers broke, stopping totally perpendicular each time he tried to use them. No auto-park, no sweep.

It was diagnosed as the "body computer" that controls loads of things. £750 + fitting.

He disconnected the input plug and wired a couple of switches in (from a12v source) and now has 2 speeds (no auto park either, but this is not required for MOT purposes).

similar thing to the trucks at work. They have a box that controlls all lights, windows and a couple of other things. If you have a short to earth and you are unlucky that it doesnt blow a fuse then it will blow one of these units at £750. Can have scenarios where 2 out of 6 indicators will work or only some of the lights. Bastard things.

Glad you followed up the thread though. I was going to suggest wiring from the 3rd brake light as a temp measure.