Brake Lights?

[96TA]

I noticed (or rather was told) the other day that my brake lights (except for the 3rd brake light) were out. I've checked all of the bulbs and fuses, they check out fine. Any ideas? Is there a switch or relay connected to the brake pedal that I might've overlooked? Could the turn signal switch be to blame?

Thanks! :thumbup:

[chud]

yes, there is a switch connected to the brake pedal. when your foot isn't on the pedal, the arm of the pedal is applying pressure to the switch, keeping the lights off. but your third light wouldn't be working either if that was the culprit.

there is a problem with the light bulb sockets shorting out. the fix is to replace the sockets. it's just odd, but not impossible i suppose, that both of them would go out at once.

you might have a short somewhere down the length of the wiring, after the split for the third light, but before the split for the two rears.

[96TA]

Originally posted by chud
yes, there is a switch connected to the brake pedal. when your foot isn't on the pedal, the arm of the pedal is applying pressure to the switch, keeping the lights off. but your third light wouldn't be working either if that was the culprit.

there is a problem with the light bulb sockets shorting out. the fix is to replace the sockets. it's just odd, but not impossible i suppose, that both of them would go out at once.

you might have a short somewhere down the length of the wiring, after the split for the third light, but before the split for the two rears.

Yeah, I realized the switch was probably still good if the 3rd light was coming on but I was too lazy to edit. :sillyme:

Well, the odd thing is that all of the bulbs light up when I turn the headlights on.... Someone suggested maybe the bulbs were in "backwards" but I didn't realize that was possible... :confused:

[chud]

Originally posted by 96TA
Someone suggested maybe the bulbs were in "backwards" but I didn't realize that was possible... :confused: it's possible, but did you just put these bulbs in or something?

[dooley]

mine used to do that in my old car when they were backwards or sometimes when the sockets were dirty:shrug:

[96TA]

Originally posted by chud
it's possible, but did you just put these bulbs in or something?

Well, the lamps had gone out so I went and got replacements and put them in. I tried reversing them and the "bright" filaments would light up (ie. the filaments that illuminate when you hit the brakes) and stay on instead of the "dim" filaments. So, I don't think it's a case of them being in backwards...

The possibility of a short in the wiring seems more likely now but it's just odd that it seemed to have come out of nowhere (although that's generally the nature of a short :grumble: )... Anyone have a wiring schematic for the taillamps? It's still under warranty but I don't want to pay the GMPP deductible if I can help it since nothing else is wrong. ;)

Thanks for all the help! :thumbup:

[dstonemega]

Do your turn signals work?

[96TA]

Originally posted by dstonemega
Do your turn signals work?

Yeah, those work fine... go figure. :think: