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Brake lights

Vanquish502

Well-Known Member
Joined
December 12, 2004
Messages
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City, State
Kitchener, Ontario
Year, Model & Trim Level
91EB, 91EB, 92XLT
K this has ####ed me out of 2 road tests now, and I need to fix it. My brake lights are intermittent. Sometimes the right one doesnt work, sometimes the left one doesnt work.

I've changed the bulbs, and cleaned all the **** out. Ive wiggled the wires as far back as I could reach, and the lights didnt so much as blink.

The hell is wrong here? This trucks just clinging from going to the junkyard.

ps. Both lights are never out at the same time, and the 3rd light always works.
 



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take the road test in a diffrent truck?.......or run a new positve wire from the source(im not sure were it is) to the brake lights on each side.
 






SkanlaxJMO said:
take the road test in a diffrent truck?.......or run a new positve wire from the source(im not sure were it is) to the brake lights on each side.
Up north I believe a road test is similiar to a vehicle Inspection.. I would get a wiring manual and start chasing wires.. When the lights go out, do they stay out or come back on quickly? If they stay out then you can use a meter and test the bulb socket to see if its getting any power...
 






The lights will 'die' at any random time, they also come back at any random time. You dont need to hit anything, close a door, start the engine, nothing.

After the first road test I went to work. Before I went in I checked the lights and they worked, came out at lunch and the left one didnt work.
 






thzat sounds like a short or maby the wire got stripped somehow and is rubbing on somthing else......like derocha said chase the wires down.
 






When one side is out, lift the Directional Stalk a bit and see if that makes the light come on.
I have a lazy return on one side of mine. When I use the left directional, I have to give it a slight lift after I make the turn or the left brake light wont work. Directionals and Brake lights are the same Bulb filiment
 






The flux capacitor? What the hell is a directional stalk? lol.
 






OK Marty, the Flux capacitor, I mean the Directional Stalk is "The Blinker"
Lift the Blinker handle and see if that affects the brake lights.
 






Just a heads up.. My local stealership wanted $220 for the Multi-Function-Switch (thats the technical term for the directional stalk)..

Online dealers (fastpartsnetwork and milleniumford) wanted about $120..

Local junk yard found me one in a ranger for $50 (bring your old one.. the book said the ranger one wouldn't work, but we matched it up)..

If you get one from a yard, don't forget to check to make sure that not only is the turn signal part tight (not floppy) but that the switch for the wiper feels good.. (the first one they brought out felt like the wiper switch portion was going out).

~Mark
 






before you spend a ton of money , make sure you check the swith on the brake pedal that operates the brake lights.
 






The brake switch by teh pedal would affect both lights at the same time.. It uses a single wire that then goes through the multi-function switch which then determines which light to put on (both if the switch is centered)..

I know that circuit pretty well now..
I spent a week tracking down my short under the dash.. and it was in that circuit..
Turns out, I had a short at the rear of the truck which melted the 2 wires that go to the brake light switch which in turn melted the wires together which made the switch stay closed.. which then let the magic smoke out of my multi-function switch since I was driving around with brake lights for a few hours which got my multi-function switch hot.. so.. fixed the short in the back of the truck, then fixed the wires to the brake switch at the pedal, and put in a new multi-function switch.. now all is fine..




~Mark
 






I agree with Tony H I have that exact problem, and if I lift it to high the other side goes out. Im replacing mine this weekend luckily I cant stand it, wondering when Im going to get pulled over for an out tail light only to explain that its not out really lol, good luck, Jon
 






re-wire the tail lights, or trace that harness back as much as you can...def sounds like a short. Does this truck have a hitch and wiring? If so start with the wiring/splices that were done then
 






Thewishkah. I saw your later post about Pulling the Steering Wheel. When you finish 'Practicing on your 'X', you are welcome to come over and 'Practice' on mine LOL
 






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