HELP! Brake lights permanently on

[Alfadog]

Hi guys,

After my car has been in the paint shop for 2 weeks, I come home to realise my brake lights are actually permanently on. I fiddled around with the pedal and it doesn't seem to be that.. so I've taken the fuse out for tonight.

Do any of you guys know what could be causing this problem :stupid: or where I should start? I thought the most probable thing would be just the pedal switch (if that's how it works) not de-activating...

Ideas?

[v12horse]

I had the same problem with my Mom's VW Jetta. It was the brake switch. Luckily, VW fixed it at no charge. I wish I could help you more with this, but I would bet that it is the brake switch or pedal switch like you mentioned.

-Ben

[TomoHawk]

I thought of the switch straight way too. Did you try disconnecting the brake switch completely? If the light still won't go out, then you're going to have to start probing with a test light. I think you might first call your paint shop to ask if somebody was working in the car ( maybe messed with your wires) or some other obvious incident to cause a short.

[sblake01]

It has to be the brake light switch as it completes the circuit. If it sticks closed, the brake lights will stay on, if it sticks open, they will not come on. Very simple. A short wouldn't cause this.

[TomoHawk]

he mentioned he already fiddled with the switch, but I think he should try taking the switch totally out of the circuit to see if the problem still exists. With the switch out, the lights should not be on, unless there is a short.

[240K&Beyond]

Hey Lachlin,

The 1st Time I drove my yellow beast, the brake lights locked on too. I found it to be the brake pedal itself. That is, when I pushed the brake pedal down away from the switch, I could then press the switch with my finger. And wha la, the brake lights turned off.

But when I let go of the pedal and it came back to rest on the switch, the lights still did not turn off. Strange? Looking around on the floor, I found a little bit of blue plastic. This prompted me to take a closer look at the pedal and switch arrangement with a torch and a flexible 360 degree neck.

Sure enough, there is a hole in the pedal directly where the switch should come into contact with it. The bloody switch was poking into or slightly through the pedal. That is the pedal was not touching the switch at all.

It appears that the K had a plastic "bump-stop" on the pedal which had shattered due to its age. This cushion (bumpe stop) used to mount to the pedal, through the pedal. And when it died, all it left was a hole.

Applying the nearest "bush mechanical rule", I found a flat headed nut and bolt and filled the hole. Using the flat head of the bolt to rest against the switch. Hey, Hey, and what do you know, the Brake Lights went off.

And it is still there today.

Moral: Sometimes the simplest things can cause us to get unstuck, but it takes a special kind of nut to keep a 240k on the road. :-)

[Alfadog]

Thanks guys for all the informative and quick responses

Bruce, you hit the nail RIGHT on the head. I had a good look underneath the dash and sure enough, there was a hole where the switch should depress! I couldn't find any stopper though which is a pity.

It's very difficult to get the nut and bolt in there though! I haven't done it yet but at least I know what the problem is.

Thankyou thankyou!

[240K&Beyond]

Cheers Lachlan,

Try lying on your back looking up at the pedal with your nut and bolt ready. Then get a mate with a broom stick to depress the brake pedal through your arms. This give you clearance to fit the bolt.

Trying to use your head to depress the brake pedal only ends up in frustraion and pain !!!

The bolt you are looking for has as flatter head as possible. I used a unit with a flat blade head which was slighty curved.

[Alfadog]

I tried the head thing, yer... not good. Trouble is there is very little room to put the nut on, I can reach it just fine. It's alright though, after exams I'll have a proper go at it. Thanks again

[Alfadog]

Hello! Well, after my dual-exams today I bought a small rubber bung and put it in place. Looks perfect

I was driving my brothers car (he has two, so I use one when my car is off the road) and felt rocks in the footwell. When I got home to my surprise they weren't rocks, they were small pieces of broken blue plastic! Ahh! I must have swept them up with my thongs and transferred them to this car. Seemed a little peculiar though, and I wanted to see if the switch setup was the same as my car so I went under the dash..... you wouldn't believe it - the bung in HIS car was missing too!! How very strange. Both plastic brake-switch pieces broke at the same time. What are the chances of that?

Anyway, now I need another bung!

[drunkenmaster]

Same thing happened to my brothers Z31, took me 2 days to work it out as he has 2 brake pedal switches, and the one in plain view and that was fully functioning is for the cruise control which I didnt realise until later.

Anyhow once i saw the brake switch I noticed the stopper had perished also, I bought a new one from nissan which was $4 or so.