Can't Shift out of Park! Brake lights not working! Help!

[ThomasG]

Hi all ,The name is Thom and I am new to the ford family. I recently purchased a 2002 Explorer LTD in mint but high miles.It has been fantastic..that is up till a couple days ago. I could not shift it out of park.I had to use the access hole to disengage the shift lock. Later on I tried again while moving the steering column up and down and the solenoid engaged the shifter and i was fine and i did see the brake lights flash on and off as i depressed the pedal but after that they did not work. As far as i can see the 2 fuses that control these are good. Am i looking at a brake switch replacement or the solenoid or possibly a broken wire as i can get it to work when moving the steering column?
All help is greatly appreciated..thanks

 

[swshawaii]

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=351168

 

[cowcar0]

There is a button behind the brake pedal that likely went bad. Happened to me one day. When you press the brake pedal if meets this button to let the car know to shift to a different gear such as Drive, Reverse, etc... It is a quick fix.