hi 240 sages- this forum has saved me some serious dough on repairs by doing same myself and avoiding the plethora of shysters out there. heres the problem and what i have done. during an evening trip a few days ago a good copper(no ticket ) warned me that my rear tag lights were out. the next day i popped out the two receptacles which are held in with snap clips. i checked the two barrel bulbs on the battery and both were burned out. replaced them with new ones #6418 and checked them for light at the battery- ok. they are rated 13.5 v and 5w. i also cleaned the terminals on the receptacles- neither lighted. have been attempting to light them with the ignition switch on and the headlight switch on. fuse check- fuse is number 15 and appears ok- external strip is not separated and i cleaned the terminals in the fuse block. also the owners manual says fuse 15 controls the license plate light and the left parking light. the parking lights are working so the fuse circuit must be ok. there is a tube of wires coming out of the upper right corner of the hatch opening and going into the top of the hatch- presume this contains the circuit to the license lights and the 3d brake light in the hatch door. the 3 brake lights work. next step is to use a circuit tester on the bayonet connectors at the receptacles to see if there is continuity which i expect there isnt since neither barrel bulb lights. is there likely a grounding problem which often comes up on this forum? would appreciate your advice on how to proceed now in steps.running out of options and dont want to go to the cleaners. thanks tons oldduke