Lower Brake Lights Not Working. Liftgate Light Works.

[Christopher11]

Hello friends. The lower brake lights in my 2008 Pontiac Torrent are not working. The top one, on the lift gate, works. I tried replacing a bulb, Sylvania 3157, but that didn't work. Then I tried checking and replacing the 15 amp fuse no. 27 in the fuse compartment under the hood. The original seemed good, and this didn't fix the problem either. I read about "Stop Lamp Relay", but I'm not sure what this is.

Thank you sincerely for any responses.

 

[melsg5]

have you used a test light or volt meter to check if the bulb socket has power?
have you used an ohmmeter to determine if the bulb socket has a good ground?