brake lights come on with headlights

[cknaak]

Hi all, I'm trying to track down a gremlin and looking for any feedback that can steer me in a certain direction.

All lights were working fine and then all of a sudden the brake lights stopped working, all the other lights in the tailights worked fine. Next thing I know, the brake lights are turning on when I turn on the headlights.

I've fiddled with the bulbs and even replaced the brake light bulbs in hopes there was just a bad contact. Nothing seems to work.

Also, with the brake lights on, they don't turn off or on when I depress the brake pedal.

Thoughts??

[wwest]

Short between tail light circuit and stop light circuit, usually socket contacts.

[Bob Kontak]

+1 on wwests comment

If you do have to remove the assembly to track down the short/cross-talk, there is a product from NAPA called Butyl rope. Its used to seal windows. If that grey caulk stuff falls apart, this is a perfect replacement for that seal on the back of the light box.

[cknaak]

Thanks guys, I fiddled around with it some more and jiggled the bulb until it turned off while still in the correct position. After doing so I was able to get the passenger side brake light to work as it shoul. The driver side won't come on when the pedal is pressed. Both bulbs seem to be a bit loose in the socket so maybe just bending the contacts forward a bit will fix the problem.

[DRACO A5OG]

Most likely you have a short in the assembly itself, bending the contacts may make it worse.

The sockets are on a Computer PCB board type material and is very fragile and brittle. This is the time to reinforce and crimp joints of the sockets with a mallet and a socket extension. I used JB weld and plastic milk carton as a backing reinforcement for the PCB.


PCB type board that fracture

joints that need to be re=pressed

Butyl rope would have been perfect, but I just used caulking to seal the back of assembly, 5 years later still working :-), Heck you might get lucky and the ground may have just fallen off.