Chrysler Repair: brake lights burn out quickly, voltage gauge, vacuum seal

Question
my g/f drives a 2001 sebring. her brake lights keep failing. and it seems that the bulbs keeep burning out. could this be an electrical problem or is it something else...also how do i go about changing the bulbs?....she always has her uncle do it but he no longer lives here....

Answer
Hi Brian,
Two possibilities I can think of for bulbs burning out quickly: the voltage of the alternator output may be running high due to a short to ground of the control wire for the field coils/poor control by the computer, or water leaking in might be cold 'shocking' the vacuum seal of the glass.
If it has a voltage gauge on the cluster, how high does it read when cruising compared to when she first turns the key to 'run' before starting it? That would be a clue to the first possibility. If you have a voltmeter you should find that the voltage across the battery when you rev the engine to 2500 rpm should be less than 15.2V or so. The second would be shown possibly when you remove the bulbs and you find water inside the housing.
The removal of the bulbs appears to be from the trunk, without having to remove the housing, based on my '03 manual, which may apply to the '02. If not, let me know and I can check my '00 sedan or '98 convert manual, but tell me which car she has.
Roland