'94 850 Third Brake Light Issues

ItMeansIRoll · Post by **ItMeansIRoll** » 26 May 2011, 19:12

Hi Everyone,
I have a 1994 850 and the third brake light is not working. It has in the past flickered on and off, but not recently. I have disassembled the housing already and cleaned all the contacts (one is broken but still makes contact) and replaced the bulb. None of this has fixed the problem. From reading a few other topics I can see that a lot of people recommend a new brake light switch. Would this be an appropriate fix for my issue? If not, what would be?

ItMeansIRoll · Post by **ItMeansIRoll** » 26 May 2011, 19:32

Also, if it is the brake light switch, which of the two varieties should I use. My car is factory code two and the chassis number is is 1539** (I'm not really sure why I don't want to give out the last two digits, but I don't imagine they are important).

Post by **phat78ta** » 26 May 2011, 20:38

if the contact is broken, its not making good contact. see if you can solder it back together, or just replace the socket. your brake switch is fine as long as you have the other brake lights working.

toolmanjsp · Post by **toolmanjsp** » 28 May 2011, 17:40

I had a lot of problem with the socket for the third brake light in the spoiler on the sedan. I would work then not work then work again. It even caused me to get pulled over one time when I probably shouldn't have been driving. Cop was kind though...

I soldered wires to a new bulb and to the leads in the trunk, stuffed it all in and called it good.

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 28 May 2011, 23:01

ItMeansIRoll wrote:Hi Everyone,
I have a 1994 850 and the third brake light is not working. It has in the past flickered on and off, but not recently. I have disassembled the housing already and cleaned all the contacts (one is broken but still makes contact) and replaced the bulb. None of this has fixed the problem. From reading a few other topics I can see that a lot of people recommend a new brake light switch. Would this be an appropriate fix for my issue? If not, what would be?

There's only one switch for ALL the brake lights.
If it's a wagon, you may have broken wire in the tailgate hinge.
Sedan? I'd put a meter on the wire feeding the third eye fixture.

ItMeansIRoll · Post by **ItMeansIRoll** » 29 Jun 2011, 13:51

The problem is the contacts within the light assembly, one of the two metal prongs has broken. I soldered a temporary replacement but it looks like I will have to replace that part at some point. I asked my local dealership about the part, apparently I have to purchase the whole assembly ($75). Does anyone know a better (read: cheaper) way to fix this? My solder won't last forever, there wasn't much metal left to work with.

Edit: My Volvo is a Sedan.

Post by **jblackburn** » 29 Jun 2011, 13:58

Cheaper!

http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exec/p ... ght+Switch

Or do what I did - go pull one from a junkyard for $5!