Brake light got me a ticket

Headlight housing? Do you mean taillight housing?

 

Tail light housing you don't say what country city state you're in go to court tell the judges is a known issue you can't see it from sitting in the car the other two tail lights including the third eye allrlsr on car works perfectly your honor a fix it ticket seems more appropriate your honor don't you think?

 

It might just be a fix-it ticket that shows a fine; if not repaired within 30-60 days. Fix-it tickets ensures compliance; kinda like some people I know that has a glove box full of parking tickets and was surprised there was a boot on her car one day.

Follow your wires back and look for a dirty or intermittent ground - more than likely your issue. Especially true if that car was a former mouse house.

Good Luck....

 

....any ideas?

$20 at a local salvage yard for a whole replacement assembly

 

Won't help if it's a wiring issue....

 

Usually so far on the seven or eight vehicles that I've owned like this the issue been right on tail light assy . Not cars wiring . I run only the 04 05 blacked out tails in all mine no. Matter year. I've had the brake light intermittent issue millions of times . But the other brake lights working . Negating a need for a civil ticket generally speaking .

 

Merely basing my idea from this portion of the OP, ...........It's pretty rare to hear of long term success when people do DIY fixes on LED assemblies.

I replace this little circuit board thing that's in the headlight housing and it seemed to have fixed it It was good for a while and now it's doing it again.

 

Intermittent problems are a pain.

In this case I would start by putting in a new (and working) bulb and cleaning the connector/socket. Figure out where the ground is and verify that that wire is good and its attachment to the chassis good. But did that fix it? You can't see the light while driving. So tap the wire which supplies 12V to the bulb and run an insulated(!) wire from that up to the cabin. Run another wire from a ground under the dash (any bare metal) to the same location. This is temporary, so it can just go around the seats rather than pulling down the headliner or something like that. Then wire a voltmeter to those two wires. Or use some other low current detector, like a 2mA LED in series with a 6KOhm resistor. Then you can see if 12V is always showing up when it should. (This assumes this bulb isn't wired permanently to 12V with the ground switched, which is the case for things like door closed switches.)

If the signal is what you expect than you are done. If not, work upstream to where the 12V isn't where it should be.

 

To be fair to the OP, those boards are connectorized and so this doesn't seem to be some half-baked Gen-Z aftermarket add-on.

Practice using your reflection in doors and windows to see if all three lights are working.
As for the LEO?
Not going to comment or judge either one of you.
It is unusual for a LEO to light somebody up for one out of three brake lights out - but I can think of MANY reasons that they may have done so using the light as a pretense.

Either way....
Take the ticket and a copy of the receipt for the board you replaced and 'explain to the Judge, Clerk, Sheriff or whomever that you've fixed the problem and you're monitoring for a recurrence.
Ask them for a card in case you get yoinked again so that you can tell the LEO that you really are working the issue.
In my experience nearly 100 times out of 100 they will waive the fine and since this is an equipment ticket you're not out any points even if you pay the fine.
Two exceptions to the nearly 100 times out of 100 rule would be if the county is hard up for cash or if the LEO wasn't the only jerk during the stop.
Like I said....I wasn't there and not judging either one of you.
With a handle like '80's guy you're not quite a boomer but you're getting a little long in the tooth to attract a lot of attention from the local constabulary - especially on your birthday - and it's a pretty sure bet that LEO DID notice that it was your birthday.

As for the brakes?
Hard to say.....
Priuses use soy based insulation from what I've been told and your car is old enough to vote and join the military...AND New York has four very diverse seasons with powerful opinions about how long your car will be dependable.
Maybe look for a how-to thread for adding a trailer wiring harness and rig up some temp lights while you're sussing all this out?

Good Luck!