So, last week I noticed that the rear brake light on my wife's s2k was out. I went to honda, bought the light and installed it yesterday. No big deal. However, what I noticed later is that when the brake is depressed, the light works, however, when the headlights are on (meaning the back light comes on), the light doesn't work. What gives? Did I miss something? I checked the bulb, it is fine. any suggestions?

 

Did you check all the bulbs? Check the fuses as well. Some of the fuses for the car do a couple things, and their function may be listed incorrectly

 

I did check the other bulbs. They all look ok, but i will check the fuses tonight..

 

did you buy single or dual filament bulbs?

the rears need dual - sometimes even installing duals the wrong way causes them to only operate singly. if you got the dual, try rotating it 180*

 

I got the dual filament. Both are still intact.
I will try to flip it tonight and see if that works.
Thanks for the suggestion.

 

could be a bad contact somewhere. on my dad's lexus there were some pressed on ground wires that after 10 years didnt have any connection which caused the brake lights to turn off when driving at night

 

Sounds to me like you may have inadvertently loosed the wire to the passive taillight bulb. Recheck the two connections.....

Utah

 

did u ever figure out what was wrong?? i am currently experiencing the same problem. please help! thanks

 

this is how it looks when my lights are turned on. however, if i press on the brakes, the circles will go on. i also checked the fuse box and there was nothing labeled "taillights". So which fuse should i check? thanks

 

Could it be a bad relay? Possibly a short somewhere.