Okay, so I just found out how retarded it is to replace the front turn signals on the Blazer. The Haynes manual also gets the replacement process wrong - my 97 Blazer has no "tabs" that you lift up to "allow the light assembly to rotate and drop." I have to undo the bolts that connect the adjuster arms to the light assembly. I just found out that one of my headlight assemblies has been replaced in the past and it uses different turn signal bulbs, and I have no idea what bulb it uses.

Anyways, how do I remove the rear tail light assembly so I can replace the bulbs? I can't get a screwdriver on those dang philips screws. I may be able to get the top one off, but the bottom one is blocked by the tailgate shock. Also, my top light bar doesn't work. Is there just a single bulb in there that I am somehow supposed to replace?

 

You'll likely need to disconnect the tailgate shock in order to get to it. There's a small metal band around the strut (picture below) and when pryed back, will allow the shock to move free of the ball mount.

The third brake light on top seems to be a common failure. I think there's a fuse and relay for it called CHMSL (center high mount stop lamp). Unfortunately, it's not a simple bulb though, it's an array of LEDs and if it's a faulty assembly, the entire thing will need replacing.

Here's an example of how to remove the tailgate shock, the picture on the right showing the screwdriver is an identical process to the ones on our trucks.


The Haynes manual described the process on the 98-05 models, they're pretty bad about partially explaining one method that may or may not work.

 

Thank you mdehoogh. #C in that photo was exactly what I needed to know. Now my turn signal is functioning properly. The top bulb was blown so bad it actually had a hole in it. No mistaking which one needed to be replaced.

 

Yes, thank you for answering my question. I know it was over a year ago, but you did solve my problem. As it turns out, I have a bad wire in the system somewhere so the lower left bulb won't stay lit.