Brake Light Woes

C

Carl_Auer

Groovy
My brake lights refuse to come on.

Switch at pedal box is fine. Brand new from Matt, tested and works. Power is fine at the switch.

Somewhere along the way from the switch back to the lights in the rear I have lost the power. Back lights are fine, just the brake lights are not getting power.

I have checked the fuse box prior to verifying the power at the switch, and all fuses are good.

My question for you is, where does the wire to the brake lights go from the switch? I know it heads up into the dash and I assume that it goes down into the center console, and then into the tunnel to get into the engine compartment, and then comes out into the trunk. What would you look for and, if you were going to run a new wire from the switch to the lights, where would you run it that would be the easiest to run with out having to rip the interior out of the car?
 
Check a couple things,

1, check the ground tree inside the engine bay. (left)
2, The brake wire enters the left rear side of the car. Remove that light assy and check the connection at the bulb. It jumps to the right side from there.

If all is well, let us know.
 
Bob,

I ran a jumper wire from the brake light switch to the drivers side rear light assembly. I clamped the wire to the brake light socket at the back where it comes into the drivers side light, hit the brake pedal and the lights came on. If I use my volt meter to check the cable from the brake light switch to the light assembly side and I get no motion on my VM telling me that some where from the brake light switch to the brake lights there is a brake in the wire.

Ground in the trunk is clean, ground in the engine compartment is clean.

So, is there an easy button answer for this?
 
What was the last thing you did to the car (repair, maintenance, etc) before you noticed the problem?

BTW, I got a ticket in 1983 in Ogden, KS for no rear lights on my '82 X!!!
 
There are only a few wires in the tunnel. The paired main battery to starter wire and the power wire to the FI relay are definitely in the tunnel.

There is a large wire bundle that parallels the tunnel on the passenger side, it's under the carpet.
 
OK Carl,

The last thing I can think of related to the brake light harness is that the harness itself runs through the fuse block as its interconnect. (This assumes you have the late model harness) You'll have to disassemble the fuse block from the tray to troubleshoot.

There are no other breaks in the line that I am aware of.
 
I think it is the fuse box....

I dropped the fuse box, checked for loose wires, did not find any, but the brake lights worked....put the fuse box back up, lights stopped working. Dropped it down again, repositioned some of the wires as I put it back up, got the lights working again, and I am going to keep my fingers crossed until I can take it apart and tighten it up...

One drawback, got the lights working, but now my stereo doesn't. Which is ok...would rather have brake lights than a stereo, but it also lets me know there might just be a crossed wire there some where. I am planning on totally rewiring my stereo in the next couple weeks, so maybe I can figure it all out then...
 
So then, you FOUND it...

Or at least the location of it.

It's not unusual for the connections on the back of the fuse block to corrode to varying levels.
The Fix: Remove the offending connector and re-insert it a few times to scratch through the corrosion and remake the connection. Those spade connections can degrade like that. If you're a die-hard like me, you'll lightly burnish all the contacts on the bottom of the fuse block. The connectors in the plug-ends are a PITA to remove and check, but it's unlikely you'll have to do that.

BTW, I had a problem with a "pass-through" connection (such as yours) that involved my left blinker. It had me working for about an hour...
 
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