Brake lights not working!!

[CarbonBlack240]

SteveJ... so now I have 12 volts on both sides of the fuse and Nothing in the back with the brake pedal up. However, with the pedal still up I have continuity on one side of the brake switch and a solutly nothing on the other. When the brake pedal is down I have continuity on both sides of the switch. I'm super confused now. Any ideas?

[Zs-ondabrain]

When you press the brake pedal, you Should have power on both wires of the brake switch, so it sounds like it's working correctly now.

So now you need to trace that wire from the switch to the back to make sure the power is getting back there. Test at the bulb(s) if nothing then work towards the front. Test the connectors at the passenger side area, if the power is there then the break is easily between the paasenger kick panel and the rear.

If no power on that wire on the passenger kick, then it's between the kick panel and the switch. Porcess of elimination. one wire and connection at a time. You'll get it, just take a breath and take a second look.

[SteveJ]

SteveJ... so now I have 12 volts on both sides of the fuse and Nothing in the back with the brake pedal up. However, with the pedal still up I have continuity on one side of the brake switch and a solutly nothing on the other. When the brake pedal is down I have continuity on both sides of the switch. I'm super confused now. Any ideas?

If you are using a tone for continuity, you CAN get a tone on the downstream side of the brake light switch to ground if you have lightbulbs in the sockets and the brake pedal is up. That is why I specified voltage instead of continuity, and that's why I prefer a voltage reading over a noid light.

(Side note: I work on AC equipment, and in doing continuity checks, we can get fooled by thinking we have continuity when we are actually reading across a transformer.)

PLEASE download the FSM from the XenonS30 link in my signature. You can go to the BE section of the FSM and find a simplified drawing of the stop light circuit. Print it out and use it as you go through your diagnostics. If you get stumped, you can tell us what you were doing and where. Then we can look at the diagram and help you out better.

Also, when describing continuity or voltage measurements, please describe where you placed the meter probes. That will help us figure out what you're seeing.

[CarbonBlack240]

Thanks ya'll for all your help!!

[SteveJ]

So does that mean you've made some progress, or are you just waiting until I can make it down your way?

[CarbonBlack240]

Haha well untill it gets warmer Im not doing anything. All my gauges on the dash quit working this past weekend so I have a few more problems with all the electrical. So im trying to gather patience before i even touch the car now haha.

[CarbonBlack240]

Finally got the brake lights working. Found out my wire running from the switch to the tail lights was bad and grounding out somewhere in the line.. Took it out and replaced with a new wire. Temporary fix till I can tear apart the dash and see what's up. Again thanks for all of your help!!

[SteveJ]

A common place for a wire to short to ground would be where it passes through a hole in the sheet metal. If the grommet is missing, the wires can rub against the metal. It's interesting that it didn't take out the fuse if it was shorting.