How I Fixed Brake Lights and Saved Hundreds!
I too made the mistake of wiring trailer lights directly into the tail light assembly on my 2007 Jeep Patriot, which knocked out my lower brake lights and sent me to the dealership to get circuits analyzed. After paying $68 to be told I need to buy a new integrated power module (TIPM) costing $725 plus tax & labor, I decided to try a different approach. My overhead brake light still worked but I knew tapping into that circuit would probably knock it out too. I decided to use the overhead brake light to trigger a relay for the lower brake lights, using power from a separate fused circuit directly from the battery. I paid $23 for parts from Advance Auto, which can be obtained a bit cheaper on line. I used a Novita RL44 relay with RS40 socket and followed the wiring diagram, using the existing tail light ground wire and crimp connectors. I connected # 30 lead (Blue) to battery, # 85 lead (White) to ground, # 86 lead (Black) to top brake light, and # 87 lead (Yellow) to lower brake lights. Bingo, all brake lights work again! From here I plan to use trailer wiring harness mentioned in post # 7 of this thread. You must run a 14 AWG wire from the battery to the back lights, which took the most time. This may not help Paul's problem from 2011, but hope it helps some other Jeep / Chrysler owner who gets burned by the Mopar TIPM circuitry. I recommend using relays for any added circuits and take power straight from the battery. -Rick from Indiana
