No tail lights on my 2021 RAM

[Trucker215]

Hey all! Was wondering if anyone could lend some advice and or knowledge for my situation I’ll explain.

so I have a 2021 RAM I use for work, purchased in august and had it upfitted for just an 8 foot flat bed as I haul a goose neck trailer it fitted my needs. Everything worked fine I decided to also installed a really nice pair of LED headlights as mine came with the normal halogens. The headlights are from Morimoto they are the XBs. At first everything worked perfectly fine all around the truck but in the recent month I’ve been having issues with the headlights such as hyper flash or turn signals being “burned on” meaning one or both sides would just stay illuminated (only on the front headlights) these problems are intermittent and come and go, currently there are no problems with the headlights.

my newest issue is now the tail lights on the truck itself..

I don’t have a “day time running function” for my tail lights this happens at night not exactly sure how to word it is why I put the quotation marks.

during the day naturally tail lights aren’t illuminated but at night they remain off.. my brake lights work perfectly fine, my turn signals work perfectly fine. But the illumination of the lights themselves just doesnt want to work and I can’t for the life of me figure out why.

just took it to the upfitter and they ran all the test on the work they performed and everything checked out and said it’s not on their end from any work they did and I didn’t suspect it was them.. can anyone offer any advice or maybe help me understand what’s going on?

thank you so much in advance!!

 

[UnloosedChewtoy]

I'd reinstall the halogen headlights, and see if the issues all go away. I know it sounds weird that headlights would cause taillight issues, but when wires connect where they aren't supposed to, it can cause issues everywhere.

If the issues go away, then I'd reach out to Morimoto, or wherever you bought them from. Morimoto is a good brand name, but they can have their issues. At least you usually get decent support. (When the XBs first came out for the 4th gens, there were a lot of initial issues. Morimoto made most of them right, but there were still some sporadic issues when I last checked.)

If the issues do not go away, then I'd get a second opinion on the work the upfitter did.

There may be a couple things at play, but those should knock out the majority of probable causes.

 

[Trucker215]

I'd reinstall the halogen headlights, and see if the issues all go away. I know it sounds weird that headlights would cause taillight issues, but when wires connect where they aren't supposed to, it can cause issues everywhere.

If the issues go away, then I'd reach out to Morimoto, or wherever you bought them from. Morimoto is a good brand name, but they can have their issues. At least you usually get decent support. (When the XBs first came out for the 4th gens, there were a lot of initial issues. Morimoto made most of them right, but there were still some sporadic issues when I last checked.)

If the issues do not go away, then I'd get a second opinion on the work the upfitter did.

There may be a couple things at play, but those should knock out the majority of probable causes.

Thank you so much for the response I can’t express to you how much I appreciate it I am currently getting the headlights I installed myself uninstalled at this shop and have Omg him reinstall the OEM lights put back in I really hope this fixes my problem if not I will have to go back to the upfitter..

i really loved my headlights when they worked they were expensive but extremely awesome!! Sad they have to go.. i was reading comments on YouTube where others have suffered issues with these I wish I would’ve read them before I purchased.. i wish there was a solution to fix this and have these lights.

 

[firemedic10584]

Silly question - if you do not have your auto headlamp option on, only your headlights (actually DRLs) will light up during the night. Are you manually turning your headlight switch on? I know that's a dumb question, but wanting to rule out the obvious lol.

 

[Trucker215]

Silly question - if you do not have your auto headlamp option on, only your headlights (actually DRLs) will light up during the night. Are you manually turning your headlight switch on? I know that's a dumb question, but wanting to rule out the obvious lol.

No I always leave it to the auto option I never usually switch my headlights on ever..

i ended up having these aftermarket headlights removed and OEM put back in and sadly I still have the same issue.. no running lights to the rear of my truck I will be calling the dealership today since the truck is still under warranty and see if they can fix the problem.

so if they headlights aren’t the issue.. my upfitter said they don’t think it’s an issue on their end.. the dealership would be my last resource.. praying something is figured out, part of me thinks it could just be a fuse ? Like I mentioned I have lights (brake and turn signals) they just don’t turn on and run or illuminate at night or when manually switched on..

 

[firemedic10584]

No I always leave it to the auto option I never usually switch my headlights on ever..

i ended up having these aftermarket headlights removed and OEM put back in and sadly I still have the same issue.. no running lights to the rear of my truck I will be calling the dealership today since the truck is still under warranty and see if they can fix the problem.

so if they headlights aren’t the issue.. my upfitter said they don’t think it’s an issue on their end.. the dealership would be my last resource.. praying something is figured out, part of me thinks it could just be a fuse ? Like I mentioned I have lights (brake and turn signals) they just don’t turn on and run or illuminate at night or when manually switched on..

Have you checked for a fuse? There may be a fuse dedicated to the running lights. Also, are you able to pull the tail lights off and check with a tester light / multi-meter if you're getting power at the running lamp wire?

 

[Trucker215]

Have you checked for a fuse? There may be a fuse dedicated to the running lights. Also, are you able to pull the tail lights off and check with a tester light / multi-meter if you're getting power at the running lamp wire?

I can’t figure out which fuse goes to my running lights it’s not mentioned and the users manual and under the hood it’s a little difficult to understand it’s not clear I’ll attach an imagine maybe you could possibly help decipher where this fuse Is? That would be a lifesaver because I’ve been trying to figure it out myself! I did have the guy the shop that upfitted my truck check the wire running to the back of the truck for any power and he said it’s no power in the wire. Only time the wire gets power is when I press the brake, or use hazards or a turn signal but they don’t illuminate when turning the lights on running.

 

[firemedic10584]

Check fuse F12, that's the trailer tow parking lamp, just rule that out that's it's good. But the more I thought about it, the truck's lights are controlled through the BCM. Which, it may be a simple programming issue. But check that fuse and at least rule out that. I'm not 100% sure if that has anything to do with the truck's parking lights as well.

 

[firemedic10584]

Check fuse F42 as well, which controls the exterior lights. Just rule that out too.

 

[Trucker215]

Check fuse F42 as well, which controls the exterior lights. Just rule that out too.

I really appreciate the response but please educate me on these two fuses you need mentioned (F12,F42)

because when I look at them on the diagram above they read as follows

F12-CBC#3/PWR LOCKS

F42-HORN

but you mention F12 is for the trailer tow and parking lamps and F42 is for the exterior lights where did you get this information ? Or am I reading and understanding something wrong here?

 

[Rlaf75]

Get a test light and check EVERY fuse under the dash and under the hood. The fuse may be labeled as one thing but can power a couple different things. Check them all

 

[Trucker215]

Get a test light and check EVERY fuse under the dash and under the hood. The fuse may be labeled as one thing but can power a couple different things. Check them all

Excellent advice!!! I will do just that and report back! The people on this forum are very helpful I appreciate you all!

 

[Rlaf75]

Excellent advice!!! I will do just that and report back! The people on this forum are very helpful I appreciate you all!

Always start with the basics. I'm assuming everything worked properly before the lights and body got installed. It is possible that a fuse got blown during the installation of everything. I'm surprised the installer didnt check the fuses

 

[Trucker215]

Always start with the basics. I'm assuming everything worked properly before the lights and body got installed. It is possible that a fuse got blown during the installation of everything. I'm surprised the installer didnt check the fuses

You are correct! I purchased the truck with 3 miles on it and had it up fitted at 4 miles drove around 19,000 miles since August of this year and didn’t have problems until about 20,000 miles.. and Nope he didn’t check the fuses.. I went to a “nontraditional“ shop the guys are actually Amish who run and work the shop over in central PA. I do love their work they did a great job for a great price but their work isn’t exactly what we’d deem “routine“ if that makes sense..

 

[Adventurer42]

OP, Do you have a 1500 or 2500? I suspect a 2500 because of the 8’ bed and towing a gooseneck trailer - not many 1500s have that capacity. That may explain why the fuse numbers and descriptions don’t line up. This forum is for 5th Gen 1500s. You may have better luck posting your question on the forum’s sister site - http://HDRams.com

 

[firemedic10584]

I really appreciate the response but please educate me on these two fuses you need mentioned (F12,F42)

because when I look at them on the diagram above they read as follows

F12-CBC#3/PWR LOCKS

F42-HORN

but you mention F12 is for the trailer tow and parking lamps and F42 is for the exterior lights where did you get this information ? Or am I reading and understanding something wrong here?

Sorry, I was just going by the fuse panel list I pulled up online. On YOUR truck, check F29 (trailer tow) and F14 (exterior lights).

 

[firemedic10584]

Get a test light and check EVERY fuse under the dash and under the hood. The fuse may be labeled as one thing but can power a couple different things. Check them all

Yep. I've found in the past a fuse labeled for something completely unrelated to another part of the truck powered it lol. Won't hurt to check each fuse and just rule that out.

 

[Bjmillion]

Did you ever find the issue, I’m dealing with something very similar.

 

[ejennings84]

Did you ever find the issue, I’m dealing with something very similar.

Hey did you figure out what is going on?? Mine tail lights are also doing the same thing on my 2021 ram 1500

 

[Ar0d]

Also dealing with this issue if anyone has updates