Brake Lights stopped working.

[ecohen2]

Well my brake lights have stopped working for no apparent reason and now I am stumped.

So this is what I have done so far.

1. Looked over all of the fuses in the fuse box and they all seem to be ok. Everything else works, so I don't think its a fuse.

2. Replaced the brake light switch on the brake pedal. I haven't even screwed it in yet to make sure it would think the brakes were on.

3. Checked all of the light bulbs. They all seem to be fine.

This is what has me really confused. About 2 weeks ago I was sitting at a light and saw that the brake lights were on even though my foot was not on the pedal. When I got home they were off and have not come on since.

Any suggestions?

[A1.6HPE]

Have you checked the old switch?
My theory:
Old switch either went short circuit or unscrewed enough that the lights came on. With the lights being on for an extended period a dodgy connection has overheated and gone open circuit. Hence replacing the switch appears not to help. I guess you need to get a test lamp and check along the circuit to find where the voltage/current ends.
As always the dodgy connection could be the earth connection but the earth is common to all the tail lights - do they work?

Leo

[ecohen2]

Yes, every other light and function on the car seems to work.

I just spent an hour going through the wiring diagram. It appears that it is the second fuse that also gets power and the brakes are connected to the ignition relay.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks,
Ed

[Will]

Ed.
Did you check the left side tail light connector? It can work loose and create symptoms you describe. Reseat it on the PC card edge, and if that doesn't work, take the damn thing out and test at the connector.

[ecohen2]

Yeah, I actually pulled the plug on both sides and then replugged them...

[scorp77]

I had this happen to me only on 1 side, and it was the ground stud that completly came off the body. I put a nut & bolt with a star washer, and never had a problem again. Hope this helps -

[ecohen2]

I had this happen to me only on 1 side, and it was the ground stud that completly came off the body. I put a nut & bolt with a star washer, and never had a problem again. Hope this helps -


Were all the lights out on that side or just the brake light? This is the odd thing about this situation. Only the brake lights don't work on both sides. Everything else works.

[ecohen2]

THEY WORK!!!

So it was a combination of two things. I don't know which was the first, but both the switch was bad and the connectors for the circuit boards do not stay on properly. In addition someone had mucked with the ground.

Now all the lights work, but the reverse lights. Ill work on that tomorrow.

Thanks for all of the advice, it really helped!

Ed