why do my brake lights stay on?

[JawzSS]

recently when im driving and i let off the break the lights still stay on? i have to stick my foot under the pedal and pull up to get them to turn off. is there slack in the pedal? if do how do i fix this problem?

 

[thepotroast]

recently when im driving and i let off the break the lights still stay on? i have to stick my foot under the pedal and pull up to get them to turn off. is there slack in the pedal? if do how do i fix this problem?

Brake stop light switch, located in the vicinity of your brake pedal. It's about a $100 part believe it or not for your 04 Mountaineer. Before shelling out a C-note for it, pull it out...clean the terminals, and see if that helps. Although, it will be pretty apparent if it's a mechanical failure, if the button mechanism is jammed. It literally attaches to your brake pedal lever, and activates the brake lights...a simple little part, unfortunately it's quite pricey for these vehicles. I've seen them for less than 10 bucks in parts stores for other makes however.

Just looking at AutoZone, they want about $140 for their Duralast brand, but I did find it on rockauto.com for about $100...so shop around.

 

[ColoCherokees]

When you say that you have to pull the brake pedal back up, just how much do you mean? My Cherokee had a similar problem - when cold, the brake pedal wouldn't return all the way on it's own, and I had to use my foot to bring it all the way back up. Culprit was a bad brake booster. Can you tell if the brakes are actually still applied before you lift the pedal all the way back up?

Just suggesting something else to check, if the switch mentioned above isn't the problem.

 

[skeeter123]

Some cars have a hard rubber disk glued to the brake pedal where it makes contact with the brake pedal switch when you take your foot off it. The glue can give out and the disk falls off; then it won't close the switch. Have you seen a small button-like disk on the floor mat? If that's what happened, you can super-glue it back on, or improvise a new one and glue it in.

 

[JawzSS]

Brake stop light switch, located in the vicinity of your brake pedal. It's about a $100 part believe it or not for your 04 Mountaineer. Before shelling out a C-note for it, pull it out...clean the terminals, and see if that helps. Although, it will be pretty apparent if it's a mechanical failure, if the button mechanism is jammed. It literally attaches to your brake pedal lever, and activates the brake lights...a simple little part, unfortunately it's quite pricey for these vehicles. I've seen them for less than 10 bucks in parts stores for other makes however.

Just looking at AutoZone, they want about $140 for their Duralast brand, but I did find it on rockauto.com for about $100...so shop around.

hope its not this! but thats for the help buddy. i will pull it out and clean everything and see what happens.

When you say that you have to pull the brake pedal back up, just how much do you mean? My Cherokee had a similar problem - when cold, the brake pedal wouldn't return all the way on it's own, and I had to use my foot to bring it all the way back up. Culprit was a bad brake booster. Can you tell if the brakes are actually still applied before you lift the pedal all the way back up?

Just suggesting something else to check, if the switch mentioned above isn't the problem.

i literally pull it up and slightly to the side like 1 cm! and that shuts them off. i mean it still feel pretty solid?

Some cars have a hard rubber disk glued to the brake pedal where it makes contact with the brake pedal switch when you take your foot off it. The glue can give out and the disk falls off; then it won't close the switch. Have you seen a small button-like disk on the floor mat? If that's what happened, you can super-glue it back on, or improvise a new one and glue it in.

i have not seen anything like that on the floor.. how would i know if its missing.



this happened a few weeks ago and then went away for a few weeks and now it started happening again.

 

[BigFellor]

Brake stop light switch, located in the vicinity of your brake pedal. It's about a $100 part believe it or not for your 04 Mountaineer. Before shelling out a C-note for it, pull it out...clean the terminals, and see if that helps. Although, it will be pretty apparent if it's a mechanical failure, if the button mechanism is jammed. It literally attaches to your brake pedal lever, and activates the brake lights...a simple little part, unfortunately it's quite pricey for these vehicles. I've seen them for less than 10 bucks in parts stores for other makes however.

Just looking at AutoZone, they want about $140 for their Duralast brand, but I did find it on rockauto.com for about $100...so shop around.

What the hell is so special about a $10 part that this one is $140? Pull it out, take pics, then post them here. Then, go compare it to one at your local AZ.

 

[Equnoxe]

go to the junk yard and get another switch

 

[alexk]

Its probably the switch. Happened to mine and I got it replaced about a month ago. It cost me $180 installed. Im not sure if it was a screw up from either the ford dealer where my part was ordered from or the mechanic ordered from the wrong year, but my mechanic had to do some re-wiring to get mine in and working. I had the same symptons you did. I would get it fixed asap, its more dangerous than you might think.

 

[BigFellor]

Any updates, OP?

 

[JawzSS]

YEA THERES AN UPDATE ALRIGHT!! I CRASHED THE F-ING THING INTO A TELEPHONE POLE YESTERDAY BC SOMEONE RAN ME OFF THE ROAD ...its not to bad.. passenger side front quarter panel needs to be replaced along with the mirror...needless to say ill update you all in a few days once i figure out why the f-ing thing is stuck in limp mode.... you all can visit my other thread now... this thing is cursed!

 

[thepotroast]

YEA THERES AN UPDATE ALRIGHT!! I CRASHED THE F-ING THING INTO A TELEPHONE POLE YESTERDAY BC SOMEONE RAN ME OFF THE ROAD ...its not to bad.. passenger side front quarter panel needs to be replaced along with the mirror...needless to say ill update you all in a few days once i figure out why the f-ing thing is stuck in limp mode.... you all can visit my other thread now... this thing is cursed!

Sorry for the bad luck there man. Personally I would tell the insurance company that since the accident, now your brake lights are staying on...have the repair shop fix it while it's in there.

Keep us informed...

 

[thepotroast]

What the hell is so special about a $10 part that this one is $140? Pull it out, take pics, then post them here. Then, go compare it to one at your local AZ.

I about fell over when I saw it for over $100....I worked in auto parts some years ago (what is now "Advance Auto Parts"), and people would come get those stop light switches all the time, never saw one over $15, even for imports...I was surprised that this one was so high actually.

I'd be hitting up some junkyards for one as well, don't really think I would ever pay that much for a small switch

 

[BigFellor]

I about fell over when I saw it for over $100....I worked in auto parts some years ago (what is now "Advance Auto Parts"), and people would come get those stop light switches all the time, never saw one over $15, even for imports...I was surprised that this one was so high actually.

I'd be hitting up some junkyards for one as well, don't really think I would ever pay that much for a small switch

There is something wrong with the look up or something. The only reason I say that is because I had to replace the switch in my 02 Explorer not long ago. Rock Auto, AZ, Advance were all telling me the switch was $100 something, but the picture looked nothing like mine. I did some searching, found the switch from an 02 Windstar that matched mine, and it was like $12. Works fine.

 

[Mirge]

YEA THERES AN UPDATE ALRIGHT!! I CRASHED THE F-ING THING INTO A TELEPHONE POLE YESTERDAY BC SOMEONE RAN ME OFF THE ROAD ...its not to bad.. passenger side front quarter panel needs to be replaced along with the mirror...needless to say ill update you all in a few days once i figure out why the f-ing thing is stuck in limp mode.... you all can visit my other thread now... this thing is cursed!

I'm really sorry for your misfortune, and I'm glad you're still around to tell the story! But L-M-F-A-O at the first portion of your post...

 

[JawzSS]

I'm really sorry for your misfortune, and I'm glad you're still around to tell the story! But L-M-F-A-O at the first portion of your post...

guess i can only joke about it now lol... its sucks though

 

[papkoan]

Have you reported this to the NHTSA? From what I am reading (this happened to me also, but I cannot find the part since it has been discontinued) this is a common issue, but no recall has been performed. For me to correct this problem I have to by the conversion kit (per Ford faulty part so came out with conversion for safe part) which is alot more pricey than just the part itself.

 

[BigFellor]

Have you reported this to the NHTSA? From what I am reading (this happened to me also, but I cannot find the part since it has been discontinued) this is a common issue, but no recall has been performed. For me to correct this problem I have to by the conversion kit (per Ford faulty part so came out with conversion for safe part) which is alot more pricey than just the part itself.

:scratch: What? It's a simple part that goes bad on vehicles, brake light switch. Read up a few posts.

 

[papkoan]

I know it is a simple part, but when it is discontinued and a conversion kit is made for it, it isn't so simple any more. I even found a recall for the same part for the 2000-2003 Taurus which uses the same brake light switch as the 2003 Explorer yet no recall was performed for the Explorer. I called Ford and they said the part for the Brake Light Sswitch on the Taurus and Explorer for that year (2003) have always been the same

 

[thepotroast]

I know it is a simple part, but when it is discontinued and a conversion kit is made for it, it isn't so simple any more. I even found a recall for the same part for the 2000-2003 Taurus which uses the same brake light switch as the 2003 Explorer yet no recall was performed for the Explorer. I called Ford and they said the part for the Brake Light Sswitch on the Taurus and Explorer for that year (2003) have always been the same

Where are you seeing the part as being "discontinued"? There are several parts makers who produce the stop light switch for this vehicle.

 

[papkoan]

The part I am trying to find is the original 2 prong series. I have been unable to find it anywhere. Ford, Pep Boys, AutoZone and Advanced Auto only have the replacement which is a 4-5 prong switch. That is the replacement switch which is available everywhere for the this model. I am however unable to get the 2 prong switch which is what my truck has without buying a conversion kit to swap it to the 4-5 prong kit. The Taurus had the same problem my truck is having via NHTSA Campaign # 04V106000. They did a recall on the Taurus and Sable for the switch, but because they didn't have enough complaints about the Explorer even though they use the same switch the Explorer was not included in trhe recall.