Reverse lights not working

Thank you so much for this post. It was the relay in my car. It cost me $32.00 all fixed!

I have the same issue with our 2006 Tribute. The Reverse switch on the transmission checks out okay, and the K3 relay, the bulbs, and the #29 fuse all check out too. Still no lights.

Thanks for your response. Based on your schematic, I have checked everything except a signal from the fuse through the relay to the bulbs, although I did get continuity from the wire (blk/pnk) on the j-2280c connector to the bulbs, and that was okay. I also checked continuity from the bulbs to ground, the reverse switch to ground, and the vil/wht lead from the reverse switch to connector j-2280b (going into the passenger fuse panel). They all check out. I also removed K3 based on your other schematic (assuming that's the correct relay for the reverse lights) and it bench-checked okay. I'm not sure about where the JSB is that you are referring to, however I think the K3 relay you show on your other schematic is on the back side of the Fuse circuit board and is accessed within the inside console. Really hard to get to. Not sure if that is the JSB or not, but all I could see where relays and harness connectors there, one being j-2280c. Also, the K3 relay (if I found the right one) is located at the top instead of the bottom, so I assume your schematic showing the relays is actually upside down. Everything else operates fine on the car, so I can't imagine anything as serious as the JSB that you mentioned, or whatever it is, would be bad without something else not working, and I'm reluctant to do any additional checking around the relay if it is somehow hooked into the car's computer or PCM. I leads me to believe there's an open circuit somewhere but I'm afraid that would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Any additional thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

Forgot to mention, it is a manual transmission.

Hello, and thank you so much for your website. There's nowhere else on the internet any better. Anyway, I haven't jumped the reverse switch yet. I will do that, but based on the tests I have already done, I doubt it will light up the reverse bulbs. I understand now that the JSB is the whole unit that holds the relays and the fuses, and what you said about the circuit in the JSB that accepts the signal from the reverse switch to energize the relay seems to make the most sense of what the problem is. But the JSB is very expensive, $300.00 - $400.00 new, so I don't want to go that route. Do you know if only the circuit board in the JSB is replaceable? Probably not. Not sure why they would combine so much different circuitry in one unit. I'd be almost inclined to rewire around the relay to somehow operate the lights only through the reverse switch, but that may not be a good idea either. Not sure what to do next. But Thanks again!