Bad bulb indicator on when braking.

Post by **rguzz** » 09 Jan 2026, 16:59

96 855 the bad bulb indicator comes on when i touch the brake pedal but all bulbs appear to be intact/working. Possibly volt/watt problem with one of them? I switched a few around still happens though. External appearance suggests all bulbs are equally bright. More annoying than a functional problem, of course!

Post by **scot850** » 09 Jan 2026, 17:20

Is the high level brake light working? Can't recall on the 850 if there are any dual bulbs. It could be one is going bad and throwing when the brake is being used.

The systems can sometimes not like some brands of bulbs. I know my local dealer service manager (and master tech) says they regularly get issues that are down to bulb quality in aftermarket replacements. Changing the bulb usually fixes the issue.

Neil.

454cid · Post by **454cid** » 09 Jan 2026, 22:30

When that happened to me, it was the 3rd brake light. It was intermittent.

crlande · Post by **crlande** » 10 Jan 2026, 14:28

Yes, I too, would go with the third brake light. Bulb maybe fine but contacts a little crusty. Same issue awhile back.

Post by **CIK7** » 15 Jan 2026, 19:11

So, I had an almost bad bulb on the rear with that light coming on. I replaced it. It went off. Then I decided to replace all the brake lights and reverse lights with LEDs and that light came back on. What's tripping it is the lack of power being drawn. Those light bulbs are supposed to draw, I think, 55 watts or 25 watts, something like that. LED bulbs only draw maybe five watts I thithink.

Jotunn77 · Post by **Jotunn77** » 20 Jan 2026, 08:11

I had to replace the brake light switch when I had this problem. I was chasing the issue at the rear end of the car like yourself, switch bulbs and checking wiring with no solution. Ended up being a simple switch under the brake pedal. FCP and IPD have them.