[ExpiredWater]

Quick question, passenger side tail light is out. Brake light and reverse light work fine but the actual tail light is out. Replaced the bulb, now I’m looking for the fuse, couldn’t find the tail light fuse in the owners manual and Google hasn’t been any help. Would anyone be able to point me in the right direction of which one to swap out?

[arpad_m]

Two of the BCM (body control module) fuses protect the passenger side park/position light circuits, what you're looking for seems to be F28 aka body control module 3 in the front (underhood) fuse box.

However, if you really have a 2SS, your actual tail light (ie the two hockey stick lights) is LED not serviceable, you'll need a new taillamp unit. In addition, F28 also controls side marker lights, so if that fuse is blown, your right side markers should not illuminate either.

In the circuit diagram below, you'll see that if your car has the T4F option (which you can check in the trunk, there is a full option label under the floor cover), your "bulbs", including the taillight are LED diodes. It's for the 2018 model year, but this is one specific area where the info most likely applies to your 2016 as well.

[bishopts]

Yea i just looked it up. They are the same. No dedicated "tail light" fuse. Just bcm fuses. Check for power on your grey brown wire at the tail light and if it has power fed there with the lights turned on then you have a bad taillight.

But i agree with arpad, your taillights shouldn't have bulbs if you have a 2ss

[ExpiredWater]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

Two of the BCM (body control module) fuses protect the passenger side park/position light circuits, what you're looking for seems to be F28 aka body control module 3 in the front (underhood) fuse box.

However, if you really have a 2SS, your actual tail light (ie the two hockey stick lights) is LED not serviceable, you'll need a new taillamp unit. In addition, F28 also controls side marker lights, so if that fuse is blown, your right side markers should not illuminate either.

In the circuit diagram below, you'll see that if your car has the T4F option (which you can check in the trunk, there is a full option label under the floor cover), your "bulbs", including the taillight are LED diodes. It's for the 2018 model year, but this is one specific area where the info most likely applies to your 2016 as well.

Side lights don’t work either so I’m going to go with the fact it’s most likely F28. I pulled the fuse and it doesn’t appear “blown.” Could it still be bad? I’m not super knowledgeable when it comes to auto work like my old man

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by ExpiredWater

Side lights don’t work either so I’m going to go with the fact it’s most likely F28. I pulled the fuse and it doesn’t appear “blown.” Could it still be bad? I’m not super knowledgeable when it comes to auto work like my old man

No worries. Side markers not working makes the fuse the most likely culprit. There are no relays in this circuit, just the BCM and the fuses in the diagram, plus of course the wiring harness and connectors.

GM included a couple spare fuses in the underhood fuse box, near the top, at positions F68 to F72. Find one similar to F28 (I don't know its amperage off the cuff, but you need one in the same color), swap that into F28 and see if that fixes the problem.

If there is no exact equivalent, try a spare fuse with a higher amperage, just for testing purposes. Then if that solves the problem, take the bad original to an auto parts shop (Autozone, Advance Auto Parts, O'Reilly etc.), show it to the associates and buy a set that has the same fuse.

Now if it isn't the fuse, you verified continuity and the lights are still off, then it could be a problem with a connector or wiring harness, somewhere between the fuse and the rest of the circuit. Check the color coding in the diagram and see if there's damage to the harness that goes to the side markers, maybe a rodent chewed up a wire or two.

Color coding is as follows:

BK  Black
BN  Brown
BU  Blue
GN  Green
GY  Gray
PK  Pink
RD  Red
VT  Violet
YE  Yellow
WH  White

(when a wire in the diagram shows multiple colors, it's a base color with a strip of another)

[bishopts]

Originally Posted by ExpiredWater

Side lights don’t work either so I’m going to go with the fact it’s most likely F28. I pulled the fuse and it doesn’t appear “blown.” Could it still be bad? I’m not super knowledgeable when it comes to auto work like my old man

Which side lights don't work? All of them? Both rear? Both front?

[Ventmaster]

OP you have 2 of the most knowledgeable people on the site advising you and they sure continue to impress me!
Now answer the question! Just kidding, I'm just taking the opportunity to tell'em they are great! Thanks guys- don't know what we'd do without ya except give a lot more of our hard earned $ to a dealer.

[Ventmaster]

Meant to include a "Welcome to the Site" ExpiredWater. Did you acquire your Camaro recently? You are wise to check here for info you can rely on. Keep us posted on your issue.

[ExpiredWater]

Originally Posted by Ventmaster

Meant to include a "Welcome to the Site" ExpiredWater. Did you acquire your Camaro recently? You are wise to check here for info you can rely on. Keep us posted on your issue.

Got it may of '25. Pretty much just ran into the usual thermostat/grounding issues with the 16. I love the car but I'd be lying if I said its been good to me 24/7

[ExpiredWater]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

No worries. Side markers not working makes the fuse the most likely culprit. There are no relays in this circuit, just the BCM and the fuses in the diagram, plus of course the wiring harness and connectors.

GM included a couple spare fuses in the underhood fuse box, near the top, at positions F68 to F72. Find one similar to F28 (I don't know its amperage off the cuff, but you need one in the same color), swap that into F28 and see if that fixes the problem.

If there is no exact equivalent, try a spare fuse with a higher amperage, just for testing purposes. Then if that solves the problem, take the bad original to an auto parts shop (Autozone, Advance Auto Parts, O'Reilly etc.), show it to the associates and buy a set that has the same fuse.

Now if it isn't the fuse, you verified continuity and the lights are still off, then it could be a problem with a connector or wiring harness, somewhere between the fuse and the rest of the circuit. Check the color coding in the diagram and see if there's damage to the harness that goes to the side markers, maybe a rodent chewed up a wire or two.

Color coding is as follows:

BK  Black
BN  Brown
BU  Blue
GN  Green
GY  Gray
PK  Pink
RD  Red
VT  Violet
YE  Yellow
WH  White

(when a wire in the diagram shows multiple colors, it's a base color with a strip of another)

So I just threw a spare 15A in F28. Started the car up and the tail light and side lights came on for split second and immediately shut back off. I'm wondering if there is something cause the fuse to blow?

[ExpiredWater]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

No worries. Side markers not working makes the fuse the most likely culprit. There are no relays in this circuit, just the BCM and the fuses in the diagram, plus of course the wiring harness and connectors.

GM included a couple spare fuses in the underhood fuse box, near the top, at positions F68 to F72. Find one similar to F28 (I don't know its amperage off the cuff, but you need one in the same color), swap that into F28 and see if that fixes the problem.

If there is no exact equivalent, try a spare fuse with a higher amperage, just for testing purposes. Then if that solves the problem, take the bad original to an auto parts shop (Autozone, Advance Auto Parts, O'Reilly etc.), show it to the associates and buy a set that has the same fuse.

Now if it isn't the fuse, you verified continuity and the lights are still off, then it could be a problem with a connector or wiring harness, somewhere between the fuse and the rest of the circuit. Check the color coding in the diagram and see if there's damage to the harness that goes to the side markers, maybe a rodent chewed up a wire or two.

Color coding is as follows:

BK  Black
BN  Brown
BU  Blue
GN  Green
GY  Gray
PK  Pink
RD  Red
VT  Violet
YE  Yellow
WH  White

(when a wire in the diagram shows multiple colors, it's a base color with a strip of another)

Slot F28 does look like it might have a slight bit of corrosion/rusty look on the metal connectors that actually touch the fuse as well but I'm not quite sure how to clean that given I dont have a wire brush that small to fit in there either

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by ExpiredWater

So I just threw a spare 15A in F28. Started the car up and the tail light and side lights came on for split second and immediately shut back off. I'm wondering if there is something cause the fuse to blow?

Aha, so it seems you have a short somewhere that causes the fuse to blow almost immediately. I am not a mechanic and don't have a lot of experience chasing down similar issues, but I'd whip out a multimeter and try to determine the location of the short.

Originally Posted by ExpiredWater

Slot F28 does look like it might have a slight bit of corrosion/rusty look on the metal connectors that actually touch the fuse as well but I'm not quite sure how to clean that given I dont have a wire brush that small to fit in there either

Corrosion on the fuse terminals won't cause it to blow. My suspicion without seeing your car is that your car may have had water intrusion near the front or the rear side marker socket, and that may cause a short that is "activated" when you install a new fuse. The taillight assembly is less likely to be damaged or to leak, but that's also a possibility.

bishopts, what do you think?

[ExpiredWater]

Originally Posted by arpad_m

Aha, so it seems you have a short somewhere that causes the fuse to blow almost immediately. I am not a mechanic and don't have a lot of experience chasing down similar issues, but I'd whip out a multimeter and try to determine the location of the short.



Corrosion on the fuse terminals won't cause it to blow. My suspicion without seeing your car is that your car may have had water intrusion near the front or the rear side marker socket, and that may cause a short that is "activated" when you install a new fuse. The taillight assembly is less likely to be damaged or to leak, but that's also a possibility.

bishopts, what do you think?

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=547527

I found this forum and just went and pulled out the side marker to see if I could disconnect that for now, no bulbs... hardwired in. Do you think buying a set of OEM side markers could do the trick?

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by ExpiredWater

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=547527

I found this forum and just went and pulled out the side marker to see if I could disconnect that for now, no bulbs... hardwired in. Do you think buying a set of OEM side markers could do the trick?

Gotcha, there's your issue then. Depends on what that "hardwiring" looks like... can you post a picture or two?

You can simply disconnect all 4 side markers for consistency and have a working talllight until you solve the side marker situation. If I'm already spending money, I would buy a quality LED replacement kit such as this one, but yeah, OEM will work as well.

(I for one replaced every single incandescent bulb on the car with quality LED, from the trunk light through license plate lights and side markers to reverse lights, just to remedy the impact of GM's usual penny pinching. Zero issues with any of them, and they don't deplete the battery to tatters while the car is parked either.)